Does Insecurity Promote Development

Does Insecurity Promote Development

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Executive Summary

Insecurity does not contribute, or promote to the development of a country. A majority of the poorest countries globally, are the ones that experience high levels of insecurity. Countries such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo are rich in natural resources, yet brutal civil wars, and other forms of insecurity have contributed to these countries failing to experience significant development in the last few years. In fact, these case studies are an indication that insecurity leads to a country to lag behind. The purpose of this paper was to provide evidence demonstrating how insecurity negatively affects development. The methodological approach that the researcher used was conduct case studies on countries that are currently experiencing different forms of violence, which has contributed to their insecurity, and assess its impact on their development initiatives. The countries that were selected were Afghanistan and Central Africa Republic. The findings of the study suggested that insecurity impedes the development of a country.

Keywords: Insecurity, Development, Economic Growth, Investments, Economic Activities and Violence

Introduction

There is no nation in the world that has reported significant development within its borders, while experiencing a high level of insecurity. Wars, or violent conflicts mainly in the developing countries has contributed to heavy human, economic and social costs that contribute to high levels of poverty and under development(Bowman et al., 2008). A majority of the poorest countries globally, are the ones that experience high levels of insecurity. Countries such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo are rich in natural resources, yet brutal civil wars, and other forms of insecurity have contributed to these countries failing to experience significant development. Even though experiencing peace in a country does not guarantee development initiatives, there is a high level of correlation between insecurity and underdevelopment (Brück & De Groot, 2013). In this paper, the researcher has provided evidence on how insecurity acts as a hindrance to the development of a country.

How Insecurity Negatively Impacts Development

Civil war that is experienced by a country contributes to the national government losing revenue that could have been used in the development initiatives. According to Collier (2007), the average cost of a civil war to the affected country is $64 billion. In a study that was conducted by Oxfam, a Non-governmental Organization (NGO), estimated that between 1990 and 2005, civil war, and other forms of violent conflicts in different Africa countries cost approximately $300 billion. Oxfam equated this amount, to the total donations, or international aid figures that African countries had received during that period (Oxfam, 2010). An important point to note is that, between 1990 and 2005, there were 23 countries that reported issues of civil unrest and violence. If these countries did not engage in violent conflicts, they would have experienced a high level of economic growth. For instance, in Guinea-Bissau, prior to its 1998/99 conflict, the projected economic growth for this country was expected to reach approximately 5.24%. However, its actual growth during that period was -10.15%. These studies provide evidence that, African countries that engage in civil unrest, or civil war activities, which contribute to insecurity issues lose large amounts of money that could have been used to boost the economy and engage in development initiatives.

Insecurity disrupts the development initiatives that were to be carried out in a specific area. According to Dike (2013) he suggested that, the lack of security to protect the lives, and the property of people in a specific area, it acts as a hindrance to any form of meaningful development. The reason for this is that, when there is a climate of fear in a region, it frightens the domestic and foreign agencies that may have been interested in carrying out different development programs, in that region as they are not guaranteed security for their potential investments. This has largely been experienced in the River States of Nigeria where the high level of insecurity because of the control of the region by the Boko Haram, instead of the Nigerian government has halted development initiatives in that region. The increased killing, kidnapping, armed robbery, and even cultist activities have contributed to people fleeing these states (Dantala, 2014). There are many development projects that were abandoned as the people who were involved, move to new regions to start over their lives, or invest in areas that they consider safe, and where their investments will be protected.

In a study that was conducted by Ugwu (2013), there was evidence that insecurity negatively affected community development. A majority of communities in the regions that are insecure have failed to witness any form of development projects, because of the existence of unresolved conflicts (Pejić Bach et al., 2018). In such regions, it is difficult to recruit, or mobilize members of the community to undertake development processes, as workers may be afraid to work in violent prone communities as they fear to be exposed to hostility (Verwimp et al., 2019). Such areas lack adequate infrastructure such as effective transportation systems, communication networks, water, and electricity systems. In addition to that, they lack basic social amenities schools and hospitals.

Insecurity and Economic Disparity among the Citizens

A majority of the countries that have experienced large-scale violent conflicts are considered to be the most corrupt. This is an indication that there is a causal linkage between conflict, or insecurity, and corruption, which ultimately results in a country, or region lagging behind in its development initiatives (Justino, 2008). There are various ways in which corruption causes conflict, and contributes to the underdevelopment of a region. First, corruption activities will contribute to the weakening of the government (Lambsdorff, 2006). The reason for this is that, it will constantly be losing funds that could have been channeled to development initiatives to individuals. The government will be incapable of providing its mandate to the people, and this will contribute to its weakening.

Second, corruption initiatives will cause grievances, and discontent among the people. Citizens of a country may become disgruntled, if despite paying high taxes, they do not experience, or witness any development initiatives in their areas (Stewart, 2002). It increases their likelihood to rebel against the government given the opportunity. An important point to note is that corruption will mainly contribute to insecurity of a nation, and lead to under-development if the stolen, or diverted funds are accessed by rebels, or people who want to overthrow the government (Detges, 2016). The reason for this is that, they will use these resources to purchase weapons and other supplies and recruit forces that they can lead to a violent conflict in a country.

Case Studies

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country’s violent conflicts, and insecurity issues began in 1979, following the Soviet Invasion in the country. The decades of war in this country have destroyed a majority of the social institutions in this country. According to the World Bank, Afghanistan is one of the least developed, and one of the poorest countries in the world (World Bank, 2019). It is estimated that, over a third of the country’s population live below the poverty line. In addition to that, four out of five people live in the rural areas where they have limited, or no access to social amenities such as hospitals, lack of significant health education, which means that a majority of pregnancy complications are not evaluated and treated (Haider & Kumar, 2019). The country also experiences nutrition issues, and such factors have contributed to the country having a high infant mortality rate of 110.6.

The main economic activity in the country is agriculture. However, even though this is one of the main pillars of the country’s economy, factors such as undependable climatic changes, natural disasters such as drought and floods have meant that the country is unable to experience any form of significant economic prosperity through agriculture (Haider & Kumar, 2019). A majority of people who rely on this economic activity are able to self-sustain without external assistance in the form of foreign aid.

Coincidentally, foreign aid is considered to be one of the main economic pillars of the country’s economic development initiatives. The reasons as to why Afghanistan is still largely dependent on foreign aid is because of its political and strategic problems that have contributed to the country experiencing a high level of insecurity, which has ultimately had a negative impact on the overall development of the country. An important point to note as to why the country still heavily relies on foreign aid as part of its main economic pillars is because of security concerns in the country. Although, there has been a significant reduction in the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan, there are still 2,500 US soldiers in the country who are trying to establish peace, and political stability in the country. As of 2019, the Afghanistan government controlled only 53.8% of the country’s territory, 33.9% of the country’s territory is still under conflict as the government and allied troops battle Taliban forces for control. 12.3% of the country’s territory is still under Taliban rule.

The continued conflict between the Taliban forces and the Afghanistan government forces has had a negative impact on the economic activities in the country such as local and foreign investments and industrialization efforts, which could have contributed to increased employment opportunities for a majority of the citizens of the country. In addition to that, the other factors that have contributed to Afghanistan’s increased reliance on foreign aid are: the weak governance in the country, and high prevalence of corruption in the government institutions, which one can argue have also contributed to the continued conflict in this region.

The high insecurity levels in most parts of Afghanistan, especially in the rural areas have contributed to these regions receiving little, or no development programmes, or initiatives. The underdevelopment and lack of consistent economic activities in the region have led to a majority of people engaging in illegal activities in particular growing opium. Afghanistan has been the world’s leading Opium producer from 2001, producing over 85% of the illicit heroin that is distributed globally, and more than 95% of the heroin that is supplied in Europe (Rowlatt, 2019). It is estimated that, the annual export returns from opium trade in Afghanistan is between $1.5-3 billion, which mainly benefits the Taliban, and is one of the main income source for this terrorist group (Azami, 2018) . The high insecurity levels in most parts of Afghanistan have contributed to the increase in opium farms in the country, and Taliban tax opium farmers, which is used as part of their income, or resources to fund their war initiatives, ensuring that the country remains unstable.

There is disparity in education attainment in Afghanistan. The overall adult literacy rate is 43.02%. However, while the male literacy rate is considered to be 55.48%, that of females is significantly lower at 29.81%. This has widely been contributed by the insecurity issues that the country is facing. It is estimated that in the rural areas, thousands of students, and in particular the female ones are unable to attend groups because of security threats that are posed by militia groups such as the Taliban. Additionally, there are high incidences of corruption and embezzlement that have had a negative impact on the quality of education in the country. Millions of dollars that was meant to improve the level of education in the country was embezzled by the education officials in the country. This means that the quality of education cannot be compared with the set global standards.

Notably, there is a shortage of teachers in Afghanistan, and this has affected the quality of education. One of the reasons as to why there is a shortage of teachers in this country is because of the low wages that the teachers are compensated. It is an indication that there is no, or less financial incentive for the individuals who were trained as teachers to be willing to engage in this practice. Other factors that have affected the overall quality of education in Afghanistan is that the curriculum that is used, needs to be revised to ensure that what the students are taught is relevant, and applicable in the 21st century. There is also the need to increase the number of textbooks and other reading materials that the students can refer to, while they are learning to improve their overall knowledge. Furthermore, there is the need to develop key infrastructure that will promote, or motivate the students to want to learn. This means that there is the need to build schools, libraries, and enough tertiary institutions to accommodate the students that are completing high school. This should especially be conducted in the rural areas where the shortage of infrastructure is more pronounced.

Central Africa Republic (CAR)

The Central African Republic is considered to be one of the world’s least developed countries. It ranks second last in the UN Human Development Index, at 188 out of 189 countries as of December, 2018 (Human Development Index (HDI), 2019).The country has been in a consistent state of economic instability since it got its independence from France in 1960. The country’s main economic activities are agriculture, mining, and export of timber. The export of diamond is considered to be the most successful export, and revenue generating initiative for the country. However, revenue from these exports are mainly unaccounted for because of poor management by the government, and political instability issues, which have contributed to increased violence in the country and insecurity issues.

As of February 2021, there are still internal clashes in Central African Republic between government forces and armed groups in different parts of the country. The violence in the country has resulted in over 600,000 people to be internally displaced (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). The violence began in 2013, and there seems to be no end in sight as to when there will be resolution, or an effective peace deal will be brokered. In 2017, there was a peace agreement that was signed between the government, and thirteen of the fourteen armed groups in the country (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). However, this peace deal did not result in an end in the violence. It is estimated that the ex-Seleka and anti-balaka militias in the country control approximately two-thirds of the country’s territory. This means that the country’s national government only controls approximately one-third of the country’s territory.

According to a 2019 World Bank report on CAR, it was stated that the country’s economic growth in 2018 reduced to 3.7% (The World Bank, 2019). This was a result of the violence that erupted in late 2017 after the peace deal that had been brokered between the government and the armed militias was broken (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). The violence inhibited the country’s main activity through the disruption of the main agricultural activities, mining of Gold, uranium and diamonds, forestry, and even delaying the projected investments that were to be initiated.

Currently, the poverty levels in CAR are high. According to projections, it is estimated that roughly 71% of the country’s population is living below the international poverty line i.e. $1.90 per day (The World Bank, 2019). There are approximately 643,000 people who are internally displaced, and an additional 575,000 people CAR refugees in the neighboring countries. As of 2019, there were approximately 2.9 million people in CAR, which is more than 50% of the country’s population will need, or require humanitarian aid, out of which 1.6 million people are considered to be in dire need of this aid. It is an indication that a majority of people do not have a stable household, and they are unable to provide for themselves the basic needs without foreign intervention. Also, given that the national government only controls a third of the country’s territory, it means that they are unable to provide the required assistance to the people.

The health system of the country is among the worst globally. This is signified by the country having one of the largest maternal death rates in the world at 882 per 100,000 live births (World Health Organization, 2014).This is the third highest maternal deaths globally. In addition to that, the under-five child mortality rate in the country is also high at 179 per 1,000, which is the sixth highest globally. To put into perspective the state of the health system in the country, 42% of the healthcare facilities in the country have been damaged, 50% have been looted, and 68% are experiencing a shortage of medicines. Furthermore a majority of the healthcare workers have fled from their posts.

CAR has one of the world’s poorest education system and gender equality disparity. The education system of this country has been negatively impacted by the prolonged periods of conflict. An important point to note is that, there are areas, or regions that are under rebel control, and this means that they cannot access government services. In fact, out of the 71 districts, there are 24 that have mainly been affected by poor security situations. The schools in these districts have been forced on multiple occasions to close down. According to the 2019, World Bank report, this has contributed to poor primary school results, and there are inadequate number of schools for girls who want to advance their education past the primary level. The result is that, the country has a low literacy rate level. In 2018, it was stated that the literacy rate in the country was 37.40%. This was only a 0.64% increase from the literacy rate level of the country in 2010.

Notable Findings

In the two countries that were evaluated in this paper, it was established that insecurity has slowed the development initiatives in these countries. In both Afghanistan and Central Africa Republic they have been affected by conflicts for more than four decades. Although the Central African Republic has viable economic activities that its people can engage in such as farming, mining, and forestry for timber exports, the political instability, and violence has resulted in hundreds of people marginalized, and over 71% of the population living below the global poverty line. In addition to that, a majority of its development projects, and investment opportunities have had to be delayed, or postponed until when the country will attain some form of stability, and this has denied the country opportunities to grow economically.

The poor education and healthcare sector and infrastructure in Central Africa Republic are some of the main indicators of the lack of development in this country. The country has one of the worst literacy level, and one of the highest maternal deaths and infant mortality rates. It shows that the country lacks some of the basic amenities that can promote development. With these issues at hand, it means that even if the country was to attain peace today, it will struggle to engage in development initiatives because there will be a shortage of skilled workforce to provide the necessary skills in the different economic sectors.

Afghanistan on the other hand is a country whose main economic activity is farming, or agriculture. However, natural calamities such as flooding, and drought make agriculture to be a less reliable form of sustenance, and promotion of economic activity. Violence in this country has slowed the pace for development initiatives, while providing militias such as the Taliban with the opportunity to tax the citizens so that they can be able to fund their activities and agendas. It was established that a majority of people in the country rely on foreign aid to sustain them.

In Afghanistan, the quality of education and health care is also low. Although men have a significantly high literacy level, i.e., more than 50%, for the women it is slightly below 30%, at 29%. Different factors have affected the quality of education in the country such as lack of adequate infrastructure and reading materials, shortage of teachers, and using an outdated curriculum. In the health sector, it has been established that the country has a relatively high infant mortality rate. Access and affordability of these facilities is also a challenge, especially for the people who live in the rural areas. The situation could have become worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

The evidence provided in this paper shows that insecurity has a negative impact on development. When there is no peace, people are less likely to stay in one area, or in their homes, as has been the case for CAR where there are hundreds of thousands of internally marginalized people and CAR refugees in the neighboring countries. The national governments such as is the case with Afghanistan and CAR do not have absolute control of their territories, and this affects their ability to engage in development initiatives in different parts of the country. The main sectors of the economy such as education and health sector are adversely affected. A country like Central Africa Republic may not experience significant development even if they attain peace in the next few years because of shortage of skilled employees who will become a reliable workforce and work hard to develop their country.

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