The Paradoxical Security Implications of Duterte’s War on Drugs: Emergence of a Domestic Security Dilemma

Abstract

Duterte’s war on drugs initially gained strong support but has bolstered public judgments of insecurity approaching his last presidential term. The conduct of extrajudicial killings, house raids, and incentives to kill for law enforcers have resulted in paradoxical security implications for Duterte’s counternarcotics policy since 2016. This article employs Field’s 2016 theory of Domestic Security Dilemma and argues that paradoxical security implications are well present in Duterte’s anti-illegal drug campaign, proven by the following phases of the domestic security dilemma; 1) occurrence of a domestic security threat in the form of drug abuses, 2) Duterte’s response through counternarcotic policies of extrajudicial killings, house raids, and incentives to kill for law enforcers, 3) security paradox emerges with concerns over possible misuse of government power, leading to citizens to be insecure and fear the government, and 4) implications of difficult counternarcotic policies to be implemented in the future, and the constant fear of conflict due to the introduced rhetoric of ‘war.’