International Exclusive

International Exclusive

The contradictory role of the International community in eradicating poverty under the umbrella of human security and development

The contradictory role of the International community in eradicating poverty under the umbrella of human security and development in conflict – prone countries.

 

Security is improving the collective resilience of a given population against the contingents and uncertain nature of its existence.(Duffield 2006, pg 16) It guarantees peace and encourages development. Insecurity in most conflict-prone countries has pushed citizens to abandon their homelands for other destinations and migration has become part and parcel of today’s globalizing world. The issue of security which used to focus on the state has changed its phase as more attention is now directed to human security. This is because many nation-states have failed to protect their citizens as they have become victims of genocides, social exclusion, conflicts, natural disasters and poverty related diseases like HIV Aids. There is therefore the need for global security to deal with these societal problems which have direct effect on human beings.

When a country lacks human security, its internal affairs are threatened by internal civil conflicts among groups and because we are living in a globalized world, they have a direct effect on the world as a globe. Contemporary security is focused on human beings as the subject of security and ensuring security in a society brings development as sustainable development can only reign where there is peace.

Until 2001 when the global war on terrorism was launched after the September 11 attacks, security and development were focused on the respect of human rights and the allocation of aid to poor countries as a means to eradicate poverty and its related diseases. Today, most International aid designed for development are directed  to liberal democratic states, as the International Community led by the U.S has as prior objective to transform all states into democracies which, according to them is the most appropriate political system. In order to receive International aid for development, you must speak democracy and be part of the democratic culture. When you cannot be identified as a democracy, then you are seen in the eyes of the International Community as an enemy, the dangerous others. Since in security, one secures the border lines of his circle, the International Community, in securing its border line which separates those within its circle from those outside (the dangerous others), will do everything in its capacity to either create or support insecurity in your nation-state. The result of this is definitely internal conflicts between groups of people sharing the same national identity but have different political views. During these conflicts, the International Community will be called upon to establish peace among the conflicting groups. The U.S and its European allies now use this as an opportunity to spread capitalism and impose democracy in the said country. They support the rivalry group by supplying them with arms to fight against the non-democratic regime in power. These actors intervene in conflict zones as peace –builders, yet, they provide arms; what a contradictory role. I think what they are more concerned about in conflict zones is ensuring that capitalism reigns. An example of such interventions by the International Community is their presence in Afghanistan where the U.S and its allies wage a war on Al Qaeda by relying on the power struggles among the armed conflicting groups. Their original mission is to establish sustained peace and post – conflict reconstruction in this country but practically, these peacekeeping mandates reflect the interest of major countries which form the International Community. They are determined to transform Afghanistan into a democratic secular state. The concept of security and development which is supposed to be a humanitarian process has been politicized by the International Community with the great powers fighting for their personal interests. Thus, the concept of security and development of post-conflict countries is just a system designed by the U.S to claim its hegemony of the world. Afghanistan is just one example amongst thousands where the West has used the umbrella of security and development to fight for its personal interest. When one looks at the colonization of Africa and its outcome, one would definitely agree that, interventions by great powers are for their personal gains. Under the umbrella of Christianity and development, colonizers bought slaves, and resources which they used to develop their nation-states. They bought the secrets of Africa and imposed their language on them. Today, Africa is losing its cultural value as many Africans do not speak their mother tongue and though they do not know the history of their home land, they know everything about the history and culture of the west.

According to liberal democrats, democracies enjoy a kind of perpetual peace and do not go to war with each other. To be part of this peace, you must be in the group. But the question is whether democracy or capitalism is a pre- requisite for development and security.

Since 9/11, human security has become a catch phrase of politicians and the international community, yet it is not respected in many countries and people still go unpunished. According to Foucault, bio politics has marked the transition from the classical right to take life and let live ‘to a new power to foster life or disallow it to the point of death’ (Foucault in Mark Duffield, 2006, pg 16). With contemporary globalization, power is regulatory and operates at the collective level of the population. Since bio politics is a security strategy that works through regulatory interventions which seek to establish equilibrium at the level of its population,(Duffield,2006) the concept of security should create such equilibrium to a given population irrespective of their political statuses.

The interconnectedness between development and security can be seen in a ‘recurrent episodic strategisation of power in maintaining self-reliant specification of power in defense of mass society and International order. (Duffield, 2006) From this perspective, it is evident that human security is an international security technology which operates at the level of the unsecured population. Sustainable development and security are what the population needs but it can never be obtained if the International Community pursues it the way it does. For one to talk of a guaranteed human security and development in post-conflict zones and conflict-prone countries, the International Community, instead of focusing on transforming states into democracies and establishing development in these countries, it should rather search for the root cause of insecurity and tackle the problem from there, without which, the sustained global peace we seek can never be realized.

As earlier mentioned most conflicts today are centered within states and are usually religious or ethnic, human life is not valuable as people are killed in great numbers, infrastructures and livelihood systems are being destroyed. Conflicts are a threat to development and unless they are destroyed from their root causes, sustainable development in post-conflict countries will never be guaranteed. I strongly agree with the belief that poor people have a higher risk of falling into conflicts because of their social exclusion by authoritative leaders. This accounts why most contemporary conflicts and wars have an ethnic character and are from poor countries. Today, poor continents like Africa have become the heart of development and security.

Despite all international aid sent to these continents, there is still a problem, there are still conflicts, and people are still dying of poverty and other pandemic diseases. In a nutshell, there is still a high degree of insecurity in these continents. This means that the aid donors have not touched the heart of the problem and no amount of aid will bring change if the process continues like this. One reason why the impacts of the aid are not felt in these countries is because the aid donors do not check to ensure that the resources provided for development are used appropriately. In most cases, these funds which are designed to help the most vulnerable population go to greedy statesmen who without waste of time transfer them  into their private accounts in Europe and America. As they increase their wealth, the voiceless population dies of poverty, yet they tell the donors that the mission has being accomplished. The mission has been accomplished in deed; they have successfully quenched their thirst for wealth but their appetite for more remains.

Nevertheless, one dares not deny the fact that the International Community does not support conflict –prone countries. Whether they support the rivalry group or the ruling party is not important, but despite their intervention, they remain in conflict. The fact is that the International Community, in carrying out development and security projects imposes a political system without being sure that it is what the population wants. This is a great hindrance to sustainable development and security. Transforming all states into democracies means imposing a new cultural identity on them (the global culture), and people will always fight to defend their individual, national and cultural identities, no matter what it takes. Aid donors should understand that statesmen in developing countries are enemies to development and aid for development should not pass through them. They have failed their citizens in many aspects, they have failed to guarantee human security to their citizens, and they have pushed their citizens out to seek survival in other places because of bad governance. These leaders have not only failed their people but their countries. Their greed and appetite for wealth and political power have made them to dishonor their land by giving room for conflicts which are sweeping away lives of innocent people. Yet, they preach democracy and the respect of human rights. Where is the International Community to punish such people who practice fake democracy?

Unless the International Community ceases to use capitalism and democracy as pre- requisite for security and development, a sustained global peace shall not be met. Furthermore, the indigenous groups should be placed at the front of all development and reconstruction programs and should be dealt with directly without putting statesmen as middle men.  The issue of putting self interest at the fore front of development agendas is a great setback to development. What one has in return is not important but what one does to save a dying person is what is more important. It is more rewarding to give than to receive, therefore we should do our best in making those around us happy so that we can make our world a better place.

 

Reference

Duffield, Mark (2006a), Securing Humans in a Dangerous World. International Politics, 41, 1=23

Duffield, Mark (2007b), Development, Territories, and People Consolidating the External Sovereign Frontier. Alternatives, Global, Local/Political

Klingebiel, Stephan (ED). (2006), ‘New interfaces between Security and Development hanging concepts and approaches’, Bonn: Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik.

 

 

About the Author

Tendoh Constance is a student researcher at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

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