Security, Conflict and Development - Term Paper Example

Security, Conflict and Development Introduction Generally, security can be defined as a state in which a person, system or country is free from any sort of internal and external danger. To be more pertinent we can say that security is such a term, which gives a sense of safety to the people of a nation to play their role in the development of the country freely. Conflict means “clash”. Conflict depends on its intensity. The harder the conflict the more horrible can be the outcome. Conflict may develop between individuals, groups and countries on the issues of national interest (Dupuy 1992). Developments in any field are always dependent on the state of a security and absence of conflicts between individuals, groups and nations. Wars and conflicts between different nations of world have adversely affected the development of developing countries in the past. Asian, central Asian and African countries are the major victims of war. Conflicts of high magnitude between the developing nations have resulted in social and political instability and economic downturns. War hit countries like Pakistan and India in south Asia, Palestine in Middle East and few African nations have witnessed inflation, unemployment, economic recession, poverty, political and social instability, lack of health facilities as outcome of the war (Mannion 2003). Moreover, war and conflicts between the nations has lead to arms race between the developing countries (Dupuy 1992). This situation prevents developing countries to carryout economic activities for national development. Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan and land issue between Israel and Palestine has forced these developing nations to spend huge resources on arms instead of economic activities over the decades. These conflicts have kept the masses deprived of basic amenities of life. To settle the long-standing conflicts between the nations and to help them to recover from the catastrophic outcomes of war, United Nations Organization was established at the end of the 2nd world war as a global organization (Mason and Fett 1996). UN has always endeavored to promote peace in the world and also assisted developing countries to get back on the track of development through various development projects (Stephen, et. al 2002). UN has also established millennium development goals in order to help developing countries to reduce poverty and improve livelihood. Role of Military in Any Country’s Security Military leaders of the world have realized that all the major conflicts of the world can be resolved through dialogue and with less military adventures. Conflicts and wars cause maximum damage to human life and future generations (Dupuy 1992). It is also understood that wars are immoral under international laws. UN, NATO and EU are established to find more viable solutions to international conflicts other then war. UN has achieved significant objectives as a peacemaker after the 2nd world war. Diplomacy and involvement of third party or group can help in solving conflicts and keeping peace. International community is making hard efforts in order to force warring parties to peace table (Stephen, et. al 2002). These efforts have seen partial success in Burma, Kashmir, Bosnia, Kosovo and Sudan. UN peacekeeping missions, funding by international monetary institutions, NGOs and other regional organizations did a good job to resolve the issues and help the people to live a better life. Globalization has strengthened the cultural, educational, economical and political dependencies of the countries on each other. US enjoys good relations with China after the decades of harsh terms. US needs China’s financial help to keep value of dollar stable. On the other hand, China recognizes US as a massive market for export (Mannion 2003). These two superpowers are also connected with each other through different trade unions. Global warming has forced the big and middle nations to sit together and combine their financial resources to tackle global warming and save environment, oceans, wildlife and food from global warming. Military leaders and nations of the world are convinced that use of military forces be curtailed against the small targets which can be handled by intelligence, police and regional organizations (Stephen, et. al 2002). Instead of waging war military should be used as a threat. Military should help fighting the natural disasters, keeping infrastructure intact and should also give people a sense of security to play their role in development of their nation. World bank’s View on Conflict World Bank is an international financial institution that supports developing countries in their development and progress. The role of World Bank in terms of provision of support to developing countries cannot be negated. As far as conflict or a war condition is concerned, World Bank is very considerate about it and provides assistance to countries that are affected badly because of internal or external conflicts (Stone and Wright 2006). The support that World Bank provides deals with health, education, infrastructure, development and much more. The countries that are conflict stricken are helped out by World Bank but because of extensive conditions and unsupportive environment in such countries, the steps taken by World Bank are not fully applicable and advantageous (The World Bank 2005). The administration of World Bank is of the opinion that conflicts and wars should be avoided and suitable measures should be taken to control them as they drag the countries towards their previous underdeveloped state and all the efforts that are done till the time of conflict to help in development of a country prove to be void (Stone and Wright 2006). Therefore, World Bank is not in view of supporting any kind of conflicts as the conflicts affect the countries negatively and result in annihilation of any development. However, after the solution of conflicts, proper financial and social aids are provided to the developing countries to help them overcome the destructiveness of the conflicts (Dupuy 1992). Africa is a land that requires the support of World Bank because of the dire adverse conditions that it faces. There are a number of conflicts and internal problems with African countries due to which, they require foreign aids for positive development of their lands (The World Bank 2005). World Bank is very much focused towards controlling any conflict or internal war that is going to disrupt the developmental efforts of World Bank (Stone and Wright 2006). World Bank has started various programs for the betterment of African countries that are most poverty and conflict stricken. Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia, Mali and many other African lands need assistance of World Bank in the lieu of their development (The World Bank 2005). In all the African lands, the administration of World Bank tries to stop any kind of renewed conflict so that their efforts for the progress and growth of Africa should not result in null. Year 2005 was marked as year of Africa, the world bank group’s African action plan was also launched in September 2005. World Bank is facing a lot many challenges in development of Africa. Africa has countries, which are progressing at different pace due to weather, eco conditions and initial conditions. Developing partners of Africa need to focus on the challenges of good governance and supporting the drivers of the growth (The World Bank 2005). Conflict Affecting Socioeconomic and Human Conditions Conflicts between the nations have always affected the socioeconomic conditions and human relations in the past. Great care must be exercised to avoid conversion of a tension into conflict due to poor monitoring and untimely decisions. Lack of technical expertise and infrastructure render state unable to resolve social, political and eco grievances (Dupuy 1992). This makes them unable to provide services, which are vital for human development. Conflicts not only affect the geographical boundaries of a country but at the same time they have long lasting adverse affects on the socioeconomic life of surrounding countries as well. Middle East crises in the Asia have shown adverse affects on the complete region. In Palestine, the conflict is ongoing since the establishment of a Israeli state in the region in 1948. Both countries have fought numerous wars on the land issue but issue stands unresolved. Due to the conflict over the land, about 4 million refugees migrated to Syria, Jordon, Lebanon and Iraq. Socioeconomic life of these countries also faced problems due to unrest in Middle East. Israel started raids on Palestinian territory and closed border for the Palestinian workers to avoid infiltration of terrorists (Mannion 2003). Association of Wars with Destruction of Countries Wars that are fought in the world until this time has always resulted in something. No one can deny the fact that the wars whether they are external or internal always have dire consequences due to which, the involved countries have to face drastically for many years to come (Mason and Fett 1996). In the case of developing countries, wars are very much disadvantageous as they take the countries to their past underdeveloped state (Stephen, et. al 2002). Due to the wars, the infrastructure of the countries, their educational and social development, their health institutions and their technological boost, all are affected negatively due to which, there are various steps taken to avoid any kinds of wars (Holden-Reid 1999). Unlike other wars, civil wars are such kinds of wars that are internally commenced and affect the country drastically. The civil wars are fought between the members of the same state over some issues that are considered differently (Suliman 2006). The civil war that was fought in American South and North also came up with negative consequences on economy and industrial infrastructure. American Civil War was a war in which, the country as a whole was divided into two parts, South and North (Mason and Fett 1996). The Southerners regarded the Northerners as their enemies because, they thought that the government of North was interested in subjugating Southern States by ending slavery and by giving equal rights to the slaves (Holden-Reid, 1999). In the American Civil War, the blacks were oppressed due to which, the country’s people were involved in a conflict. When the Civil War finally ended around April 1865, the South was devastated (Stephen, et. al 2002). People faced great losses financially and economically and much time was required for reconstruction of the state. In Afghanistan, a war was fought between a group named Taliban and the Afghani government. Taliban took over the control of Afghanistan and introduced strict policies for the residents of Afghanistan. The Afghanis had no form of reconstruction. Buildings destroyed during the war in Afghanistan were left in shambles, and no new buildings were permitted to be constructed. America got involved in fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan due to which, there was heavy loss of financial, economical, industrial and social infrastructure (Mannion 2003). Somalia civil war was fought over fishing. International Red Cross was encouraging the consumption of seawater fish being good diet. Somali people ignored protocols over fishing and harmed ecology in the region. This ruined the fishing industry in the country and created law and order situation by carrying arms (Stephen, et. al 2002). Civil war in Cambodia caused the death of 10000 people. The Prince of Cambodia started realizing that he is losing faith due to deteriorating economic conditions (Stephen, et. al 2002). Villagers began to attack tax collection bridges because taxes were used to construct huge industrial buildings. The Sudan civil war that was fought internally resulted in a grand famine. A large number of refugees were there that were a burden on the economy. The fertile land was abandoned due to which, the country faced a famine (Suliman 2006). The famine killed thousands of people in the Darfur province. A conflict was there between farmers and rebellious members of the country due to which, Darfur conflict came to the forefront. The Darfur conflict involved the Arab farmers from Sudan and non-Arab Muslims (Suliman 2006). The conflict caused many deaths, loss of economy and disruption of social setup. The country was left in a devastative state. President George W. Bush saw the war in Iraq as key to stopping terrorism caused by radical Islamic jihadists, the likes of which were demonstrated on Sept. 11, 2001, with the bombing of the World Trade Center towers in New York. The war in Iraq caused massive migration, heavy life loss and heavy loss of economical, social and industrial setup (Mannion 2003). The country suffered as a whole because of the war on terror. America fought a war with Iraqi government on the basis of war on terrorism and this war left Iraq in a destructive condition that needs massive reconstruction and development. Intercontinental Actors benefiting from Civil Wars and Conflicts In the past intercontinental actors have always been found involved in gaining benefits from civil war. Africa is one of the most severely hurt continents in this regard. African people were traded to new world that occurred in and around Atlantic Ocean. Most of the enslaved people were transported between 16th to 19th century from Congo and Angola to North and South America for labor on cocoa, coffee, and sugar and as home servants (Stephen, et. al 2002). The shippers were Dutch, Spanish, French and Americans who shipped almost 12 million people from Africa to different countries of the world. Like slave trade, many other benefits are taken because of civil wars in countries as internationally civil wars are misused for personal motives (Mannion 2003). Conflicts Resolution and Development of Countries The conflicts and wars that have occurred till now have a major impact on countries’ development. There is a long list of conflicts and wars such as American Civil War, Cambodia Civil War, Darfur Conflict, World Wars, Vietnam War, Palestine Conflict, Civil War of Sudan and much more. Many conflicts got resolved with the passage of time because of the efforts of international institutions such as United Nations and other political and social organizations that are working for the betterment of World. The resolved conflicts enable the country to start its development again (Stone and Wright 2006). Although because of conflicts, the countries face major losses in terms of economy, industrial arrangement, social and communal environment, loss of lives and much more (Mannion 2003). A full reconstruction is required. However, when the countries have peace and no upcoming conflicts, the developmental strategies can be proposed such as development of new industries, revitalization of country’s resources, revival of infrastructure, development of educational, health and social setup and so on (Stone and Wright 2006). Many constructional steps are taken in developing countries that have passed through a hard time in terms of conflict or war such as African countries, countries in Middle East and Asian countries. The developmental programs are inaugurated by international bodies such as World Bank and other international organizations. Conclusion The developing countries are unable to develop to a commendable extent because of the conflicts in their lands. There can be really appreciative results if there were no conflicts and all the people work towards prosperity of a land as it can be seen that many developing countries are rich in resources such as Iraq and Congo. They are in need of assistance from international organizations. Conflicts and wars keep the capacity of destructing the industrial infrastructure, social setup and economical state of a country due to which, suitable measures should be taken for stoppage of any conflict creation. Peace is the key to success towards a well-developed world. Works Cited Dupuy, T.N. (Col. ret.), Understanding war: History and Theory of combat, London: Leo Cooper, 1992: 69-81. Holden-Reid, Brian. The American Civil War and the Wars of the Industrial Revolution. London: Cassel & C, 1999: 45-62. Mannion A.M. The Environmental Impact of War and Terrorism. Geographical paper No 169. UK: Department of Geography, University of Reading, Whiteknights, 2003: 124-132. Mason, David T. and Fett, Patrick G. "How Civil Wars End: A Rational Choice Approach," Journal of Conflict Resolution 40, no. 4 (fall 1996): 546-568. Stephen John et al., eds. Ending Civil Wars: The Implementation of Peace Agreements, 2002: 37-63. Stone, Diane and Wright, Christopher eds. The World Bank and Governance: A Decade of Reform and Reaction, London: Routledge, 2006: 109-123. Suliman M. Civil War in Sudan: The impact of ecological degradation. Environment and Conflicts Project. University of Pennsylvania, 2006: 55-72. The World Bank. Meeting The Challenge of Africa’s Development: A World Bank Group Action Plan. September 2005: 24-43. Read More