ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter discusses the ‘securitization’ concept1 and its relevance to transnational crime in Indonesia, with special reference to Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Illegal Drug Trafficking (IDT). SALW and IDT are globally recognized as major non-traditional security threats to states, society and human security. In the Indonesian context, the significant risks of SALW and IDT to domestic security have been exposed in many cases, particularly violent conflicts and crime. The fact that Indonesia is an archipelago with porous borders complicates the capacity of the state to respond to the risk. As in other parts of the world, Indonesia faces real threats of transnational crime that operate as ‘business as usual’2 and no single country is immune from the possible silent attack from them in this new anarchic world.3
