Prospects of Improving Civil-Military Integration to Address Maritime Drug Trafficking in Sri Lanka
Abstract
Centrality of its location in east west
sea lanes has placed Sri Lanka in both
advantageous and disadvantageous positions in
the context of national security. Though Sri Lanka
does not have an immediate threat for her
national security in the form of a traditional way,
expansions in non-traditional security issues
cannot be ruled out easily. Drug trafficking has
become one of the serious non-traditional
security threats and the existence of the issue is so
complex that military alone cannot address it
effectively. Therefore, the researcher examined
and explored the problem of identifying lapses in
civil-military integration in countering drug
trafficking and has brought out certain
recommendations to enhance such integration.
Since this issue mostly affects the Sri Lankan
society, the survey method has been used and
experts in both military and civil sector in
maritime security as well as drugs and narcotics
fields have been interviewed to gather primary
data. The qualitative approach facilitated the
researcher to better analyse their opinions and
subsequently test and compare their validity with
available literature such as drug apprehension
reports, journals and articles. It was revealed that
the level of integration between civil and military
is at a very lower level in this context. Thus,
understanding the gaps between civil and military
and their abilities at having effective counter drug
mechanisms would benefit society as it is able to
have a peaceful, uncorrupted and secure
environment. Certainly, this healthy integration
would not only be applicable for a drug trafficking
scenario, but also to have better counter actions
for other non-traditional security issues as well.