Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Human Trafficking: A Global Tragedy In Five Acts, Cynthia Rhiannon Knight

MSU Graduate Theses

Transnational security is an emerging sub-field within the broader scope of international relations. Human trafficking is a wide-spread but rarely emphasized threat to global security with powerful transnational dimensions. This type of crime threatens security at all levels of society. At the individual level, the victims of trafficking are abused, tortured, and experience incredible trauma. The traffickers themselves exploit weaknesses at the state level, either leveraging lack of political will or corrupt officials into their schemes to make more money, or by circumventing lax laws entirely. States have serious power to affect change at this level, particularly in the realm …