Performing Control in Southeast Asia's Drug Wars
Southeast Asia's performative drug policies marginalize migrants and minorities, leaving criminal networks untouched.
In 2010, Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, a human trafficking victim, was sentenced to death in Indonesia on drug trafficking charges. She was denied adequate legal representation and spent nearly 15 years on death row before her eventual release.
Her case highlights the precarious position of economic migrants and minorities in Southeast Asia's war on drugs.
Mary Jane's story reflects a regional pattern of performative border control, where drug wars are mobilized as populist tropes. Governments across Southeast Asia have leveraged public outrage over drug use and foreign drug smugglers to define drugs as national security threats.
This justifies the politicization of borders, minority targeting, and harsh sentencing, linking back to the Philippines' 1970s martial law.
Author's summary: Southeast Asia's drug policies target migrants and minorities.
- Performative drug policies in Southeast Asia
- Marginalization of migrants and minorities
- Case of Mary Jane Veloso
- Politicization of borders and minority targeting
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