Poverty in an Era of Globalization - Essay Example

Poverty in an Era of Globalization Poverty is unfortunately endemic to much of the world. Although poverty is a near universal characteristic of our globalized world, in some regions poverty is more pronounced than in others. The African continent, although the cradle of humanity and endowed with vast natural resources, is home to some of the poorest countries on the planet. Accordingly, Africa is characterized by a growing population and a basic lack of resources to sustain this high level growth. Thus, a lack of growth in food production, fragmentation of land, and a lack of basic infrastructure are pushing this continent further and further into the poverty trap. Seeking to explore poverty and malnutrition across the globe through an analysis of the political and economic situation in Somalia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, this essay will shown the linkages between poverty and political instability. Accordingly, this essay will show that political instability perpetuates economic stagnation in Somalia and any attempts to resolve the poverty crisis in the region must address the political causes behind underdevelopment. Underdevelopment breeds poverty in Somalia which is demonstrated through widespread malnutrition, low life expectancies and poor rankings in a variety of indicators of overall health (Spencer 2008). Seeking to explore poverty and malnutrition in Sub Saharan Africa through an analysis of the political and economic situation in Somalia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, this essay will show the linkages between poverty and political instability in an era of globalization. Accordingly, this essay will show that political instability perpetuates economic stagnation in Somalia and any attempts to resolve the poverty crisis in the region must address the political causes behind underdevelopment. Underdevelopment breeds poverty in Somalia which is demonstrated through widespread malnutrition, low life expectancies and poor rankings in a variety of indicators of overall health (Pretty 1999; Spencer 2008). Aiming to address the linkages between underdevelopment characterized by malnutrition and poverty and political instability, this essay will explore the relationship between these two diverse, although seemingly interdependent phenomena. Does poverty breed political instability? Are poor countries more prone to political violence and insecurity? What good is democracy if people remain poor? These questions and many more will be addressed with reference to our analysis of the linkages between democracy and political stability. An analysis of the political and economic situations of Somalia, our case study, will explore the relationship between poverty and political instability and demonstrate whether the absence of democracy and hence political stability, breeds poverty and economic stagnation. Poverty, it seems is a universal feature of the global community. What are the global ramifications of extreme poverty and how does one define poverty in the face of unprecedented human development in the more prosperous regions of the world? What is Development? According to the United Nations Human Development Index, development includes a variety of attributes and is not solely an economic consideration. The Human Development Index, or HDI, explores development using a wide net and combines a variety of social indicators in its index to account for development including life expectancy, rates of literacy, GDP per capita, educational opportunity, standards of living, and opportunities for advances for women, etc. HDI is used to measure the development of a particular country and focuses on a variety of indicators to do so. Sustainable development, the belief that development can sustain itself, promotes development not only now but also in the future. Development which is long-term and not focuses only on the immediacy is said to be sustainable. The UN Human Development Index explores the sustainability of development and views development through a wide lens. Since the purpose of this analysis is economic development however, the following will focus more on economic modes of development, while keeping in mind the important indexes put forth by the United Nations. Due to the increasingly interlinked nature of the globalized world, certain regions of the world have benefitted from modernity and from the spread of modern capitalist economic growth. Other regions of the world, particularly in Africa, have not benefited from this growth and remain economically behind. What is the relationship between poverty and political development? It is to this question that we now turn (United Nations 2008). Poverty, Democracy and Political Stability What is poverty and how can it be defined? The term poverty refers a deprivation of some sort that affects one’s quality of life. Poverty is often described in monetary terms and varies from country to country. Poverty thus is environmentally specific as the idea of poverty will differ in North America and Africa. Many developed countries use a low-income cut-off to gage poverty in their respective societies and a so-called poverty line can be useful for understanding poverty. While very difficult to measure globally, the United Nations frequently uses the analogy of a dollar a day to refer to someone who is poor (for more information on the challenges associated with poverty measurement, see Amartya Sen’s Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement). What are the effects of poverty on individuals? People who are poor face a variety of challenges in their daily lives. Accordingly, poverty can lead to poor health, lower life expectancy and fewer life chances. People who live in endemic poverty in much of Sub Saharan Africa frequently live off less than $1 per day and subsist on a diet which is low in protein, nutrients and essential vitamins. Poverty compromises the lives of those it touches and is serious health hazard across the globe. How does one define political stability? Theoretically speaking, the term is notoriously difficult to define and definitions will necessarily vary (see Fosu 1992). Nonetheless, it is integral that the concept of political stability be defined for the theoretical purpose of this essay. Political stability in much of the world is defined as the establishment of democracy and democratic rules of governance. By giving everyone a voice, the argument follows that the political regime will be perceived as being legitimate and political stability will be the result. Furthermore, Leon Hurwitz explored four conceptions of political stability and defined it as: 1) the absence of violence, 2) the duration of government, 3) the existence of a legitimate political regime, and 4) the absence of structure change (1975). Since this definition is comprehensive it will guide an important component of this essay as well as complement the overall analysis of our case studies. CASE STUDY: Somalia Situated on the easternmost tip of the Horn of Africa, Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries with a per capita GDP of $600 (2007 estimate). In fact, in a global GDP per capita ranking by the US Central Intelligence Agency, Somalia scored last out of a total of 216 countries. Also that year, Somalia’s estimated official Gross Domestic Product was estimated to be a mere $2.483 billion (CIA World Factbook, 2008). Political Situation Following renowned scholar Leon Hurwitz’s definition of political stability, Somalia today is an incredibly unstable country, beset by extreme violence and lacking central authority in the form of a national government. Hurwitz explored four conceptions of political stability and as a refresher, defined the term as: 1) the absence of violence, 2) the duration of government, 3) the existence of a legitimate political regime, and 4) the absence of structure change (149-163). Is Somalia a violent place? Yes, in fact Somalia, along with Iraq, is one of the most dangerous and violent countries in the world. The life expectancy of the average Somali today is 47 years for men and 49 years for women (BBC Somalia Country Profile, 2008). According to Time Magazine: Since the collapse of the last functioning government in 1992, Somalia has been a prisoner of bloody anarchy, a void filled by vicious and impressively armed chaos, as rival warlords, clans and sub-clans and Islamists prosecuted a series of civil wars — over power, over historic tribal animosities and over competing visions of Islam (Perry, 2008). How durable is the Somali government? According to Mohammed Hussein Farah Aidid, former warlord and Somalia's new Deputy Prime Minister, "It's a symbolic government. Permanence we do not have. We do not have institutions; we do not have a credible force. Unless [we receive outside assistance] quickly, we have no chance of building a nation." (Perry 2008). Is the current Somali regime legitimate in the eyes of the Somali public? The British Broadcasting Corporation reports that “Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.” (BBC Somalia Country Profile, 2008). In fact, chaos, anarchy and factionalized fighting between warlords have been the normative state of affairs in Somalis for more than 15 years. The current government – known as the Transitional Federal Government - headed by former warlords President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein was installed in Mogadishu by Ethiopian forces in December 2007. Ethiopia has historically been the traditional enemy of Somalia and this is certain to hurt the credibility of the current regime among Somalis. It must be noted that chaos remains supreme and the transitional authority is unable to maintain law order. Its current grasp on power is tenuous at best (BBC Somalia Country Profile, 2008). Has Somalia experienced recent structural change? The Somali state imploded following the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991. Civil ensued and resulted in total Somali institutional collapse. All institutions of governance (the security services, the judiciary, the economy) ceased to function in any coherent capacity. Recently, attempts have been made to install a Transitional Governing Authority but the traditional pillars of government (legislature, executive, and judiciary) do not presently exist in Somalia (BBC Country Profile, Somalia, 2008). The Somali government is totally lacking in democratic credentials and is not conceived of as a legitimate political force. Economic Situation As with GDP, unemployment and inflation in Somalia are difficult concepts to quantify and measure. While it is known that there is extreme poverty and unemployment in Somalia, actual numbers are hard to come by. In fact, in its annual Human Development Report for Somalia, the United Nations was unable to measure unemployment in Somalis and listed it as “not available” (HDI, 2007/2008). Despite this estimates exist and in 2005 the World Bank reported that Somalia's labor force was an estimated 4.6 million (or 56% of the country's total population) with a whopping urban unemployment rate of 66% (CIA World Factbook, 2008). A figure for inflation, as a measure of the annual increase in consumer prices, is equally hard to measure and is absent in the literature. Somalia’s total lack of functioning government and institutional capacity inhibits economic growth and the result is one of the world’s smallest GDPs per capita. Accordingly, in its annual Index of Economic Freedom 2008, the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation made the conscious (and conspicuous) decision to omit Somalia due the complete absence of the rule of law, stating that “economic freedom in Somalia is impossible to analyze” (Holmes et al, 2008). Internationally renowned and well-respected British periodical The Economist followed suit and omitted Somalia in its annual economic rankings, The World in 2008 (The Economist, 2008). Poverty, Health and Options for the Future As has been demonstrated above, political improvements must be made to address poverty and the political health challenges facing people in Somalia as well as in the rest of South Africa. Semi-subsistence food production remains the norm in much of the continent and nutritional status subsequently suffers. Reform must be made along political and institutional lines to ensure that sustainable agriculture can be implemented and deliver large increases in food production to the poorest citizens of Africa. These changes require substantial institutional and professional reform as has been shown, are inherently political initiatives (Pretty 1999; Spencer 2008; Jeffrey 2008). Concluding Remarks There is a direct and very strong relationship between a lack of political stability, articulated in the West through democratic government and poverty. The case of Somalia emphatically shows that the absence of democracy or the rule of law breeds poverty and overall societal deprivation. Poverty and malnutrition are features of the Somali experience and are caused by an absence of political authority and a precarious - some would say non-existent - political system. In an era of globalization, Somalia remains unfortunately left out from the benefits of modernity. Despite the fact that the world is increasingly interdependent and prosperous in certain regions such as North America, Western Europe or in Australia, many regions of the world remain underdeveloped and beset by important social challenges. While the West has maintained its prosperity, other regions of the world seem forever indebted and underdeveloped. Importantly, countries such as Somalia remain perpetually underdeveloped and stagnant from an economic as well as political perspective. The African continent, while the cradle of humanity and endowed with vast natural resources, remain home to some of the poorest countries on the planet. Seeking to explore poverty and malnutrition across the globe, this analysis of the current situation in Somalia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, has emphatically demonstrated the linkages between poverty and political instability. Importantly, this analysis of Somalia has demonstrated that political stability and democracy are integral to the alleviation of poverty and malnutrition. REFERENCES Ake, C. (1975). A Definition of Political Stability. Comparative Politics 7:2 (Jan., 1975): 271-283. “Country Profile: Somalia.” (2008). British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). April 26 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072592.stm Fosu, A. K. (2002). “Political Instability and Economic Growth: Implications of Coup Events in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Journal of Economics and Sociology 61:1 (Jan. 2002): 329-348. Jeffrey, S. D. (2008) Ending Poverty Traps. In Jeffrey, S.D. (2008). Commonwealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, Penguin Press HC Goldsmith, A. A. (1987). “Does Political Stability Hinder Economic Development? Mancur Olson's Theory and the Third World” Comparative Politics 19:4 (Jul., 1987): 471-480. Holmes, K. R., E. J. Feulner, M. A. O'Grady and A. B. Kim. (2008). Index of Economic Freedom, 2008. Washington: The Heritage Foundation. Hurwitz, L. (1975). “Contemporary Approaches to Political Stability”, Comparative Politics 7 (Jan. 1975): 449-463. Maxwell, D., Carol, L. & Csete, J. (1998). Does urban agriculture help prevent malnutrition? Evidence from Kampala. Food Policy, 23, 5, 411-424 Perry, F. (2008). “In Somalia, a Fragile Hold on Power”. Time Magazine June 2nd 2008. Pretty, J. (1999). Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed Africa? New Evidence on Progress, Processes and Impacts. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1, 3-4, 253-274 Sen, Amartya. (1976). “Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement”. Econometrica 44:2 (March 1976): 219-231. Schultz, T.P (1999). Health and Schooling Investments in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13, 3, 67-88 “Somalia.” Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): World Fact Book. 2009. February 18 2009 < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html> “Somalia.” Human Development Index, 2007/2008. New York: The United Nations. Spencer, D.S (2008). Infrastructure and Technology Constraints to Agricultural Development in the Humid and Subhumid Tropics of Africa. African Development Review 8, 2, 68-93. “The World in 2008” The Economist. January 31 2008. United Nations. (2010). Human Development Report, 2008. Accessed April 26 2010, http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf Read More