The Triumph of Neoconservatism and the Religious Right : Thai Sex Trafficking and American Moral Politics

Since 2000, there has been a renewed commitment by the economic North and, specifically, the United States to stop unwelcomed people infiltrating their borders. Globalisation has created a new war; sex trafficking. Within the dominant trafficking discourse, the stereotypical image of trafficked women is that they are all 'victims' to this new war. In this book, I will argue there is a link between the US national identity and the Thai sex industry. As members of the power lite in the US perceive a threat from sex trafficking upon American exceptionalism. The analytical framework that underpins this examination, and which allows for a micro dimension analysis, is the Copenhagen School of securitisation. Sex trafficking became a legislative issue, when a Faith-based/feminist coalition joined forces to bring about the TVPA of 2000. According to the Bush Administration, the clandestine movement of human cargo poses a threat against US interests as it relates to its security concerns. In December 2002, President Bush signed the NSPD-22 which states that prostitution is tantamount to sex trafficking - human slavery.