The securitization of sex trafficking: a comparative case study of Sweden and the United States

Sex trafficking is a form of transnational organized crime, which may pose security threats to nation states. This project examines the roles that Sweden and the United States (US) played as global leaders in securitizing sex trafficking. This comparative case study identifies and analyzes both states' securitization processes according to the Copenhagen School's securitization framework. This project argues that both states securitized sex trafficking in the early 1990s through to 2009 in a two-stage process, initiated by civil society groups. Sex trafficking was then adopted by each states' government, and re-framed as a threat to state sovereignty. Sweden framed the issue with regards to the social, political, and economic costs of sex trafficking. The US used frames to connect sex trafficking with terrorism, and declared a ‘War on Trafficking’.