Language as a Strategic Security Resource: Criminological Perspectives on Collective Efficacy, Cultural Security, and Community Resilience

Authors

• Declan Onwudiwe, Texas Southern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Language is typically examined as a medium of communication, identity formation, cultural transmission, and education. This article advances a broader argument: language should also be understood as a strategic security resource and a significant criminological variable. Drawing on collective efficacy theory, societal security scholarship, linguistic relativity, decolonial language theory, and ethnolinguistic vitality theory, the article argues that language can facilitate social cohesion, informal social control, intelligence gathering, conflict resolution, procedural legitimacy, and community resilience. Indigenous African languages serve as repositories of historical memory, customary law, social norms, and security-relevant knowledge that may contribute to public safety and social order. The article further proposes incorporating language into criminological discourse alongside social capital, collective efficacy, and informal social control as a mechanism through which communities may prevent crime, resolve conflict, and sustain social stability. It concludes by considering the implications of this theoretical proposition for African criminology, language policy, security governance, and sustainable peace.

Recommended Citation

Onwudiwe, Declan (2026) "Language as a Strategic Security Resource: Criminological Perspectives on Collective Efficacy, Cultural Security, and Community Resilience," African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies: Vol. 15: Iss. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/ajcjs/vol15/iss2/1