Pakistan Institute of International Affairs

Challenges to Global Security

Author(s): V. R. Raghavan
Source: Pakistan Horizon, Vol. 60, No. 3, GLOBAL SECURITY (July 2007), pp. 23-39
Published by: Pakistan Institute of International Affairs
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Challenges

to Global

Security

V. R. Raghavan
It is widely accepted that security and peace in nations is contingent
upon security and stability in the world. With the growing interdependency in the present globalized world, the actions of one state have
the capacity to influence and alter the actions and policies of other states.
And, not surprisingly,a threat in one part of the world is now capable of
challenging the peace and stability of far-flungcountries. The fact that
the 11 September terroristattacks not only shook the United States but
also sent shock waves across the world suggests that notions of 'security'
and 'defence' are notjust limited to national boundaries.
The 'war against terrorism', which became the hallmark of US
diplomacy, sets a classic example of how a threat to one nation changed
the approach and attitude of all those concerned about global peace and
security. Some say that the world's most pertinent questions relating to
securitythreats are revolvingaround states' attitude towards handling of
internal strifeand external challenges. Given that most threats emanate
fromwithin,it is importantto look at all those factorsthat are compelling
countries to shift their security focus from traditional security to
comprehensive security with emphasis on the individual and human
dimension of security.There is an emerging class of non-militarythreats
that are no less importantthan the traditional militarythreats, with the
potential to challenge and destabilize domestic and global security. In
fact, insecurity today is more about lack of basic amenities, rights and
freedomand less about militaryattacks froma hostile neighbour.
The world has changed profoundlysince the end ofthe Cold War. With
the collapse of the Soviet Union, an era of 'new security challenges'
ushered in, encompassing the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, international terrorism, regional conflicts and ethnic
nationalism, to name a few. The post-Cold War period has not only seen
an increase in instability due to all this, but also a rise in the levels of
conflict,unresolved tensions, and new pressures. Earlier, conflictsthat
occurred during the war period that bore the capacity to spread and
threaten the power balance were kept in check and many internal revolts
V. R. Raghavan
is Director,
DelhiPolicyGroup.He wasa Commissioner
ontheWeapons
ofMassDestruction
Commission.
* Theauthor
theresearch
assistance
ofPujyaJ.Pascal.
acknowledges

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24

PAKISTAN
HORIZON

were clamped down by the superpowers. The two power blocs helped
maintain a stable environment and deterred many internal revolts.
However, this dramatically changed afterthe Cold War came to an end.
A linked trend contributing to the increase in conflict was the
proliferationoflight weapons into the developing countries and regions of
instability. Rise in terroristactivities and growth of paramilitaries such
as the militias in Colombia and Sudan furtheraggravated these crises.
Adding to this was the growinginequality among the masses, large-scale
migrationsand political violence, varying fromregion to region. In short,
global threats increased in magnitude with large-scale casualties taking
place in the conflict-riddenstates, whereas the means to quell these
conflictsremained largely limited.
Punctuated with challenges emergingfroma unipolar world order,the
post-Cold War period witnessed a seemingly positive cooperative
arrangementbetween the US and Russia in the 1990s. Arms controlwas
one key area which promised 'collective security assurances to nonnuclear weapon states and a united frontin favour ofindefiniteextension
of the NPT'.1 However, the greatest security threat of weapons of mass
destructionpossibly falling into the hands of rogue states and non-state
actors still exists. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of
superpower nuclear confrontationhas, in fact, catapulted the issue of
weapons proliferationinto the limelight. The fact that wars are getting
less frequentand less deadly is good news', but mountingchallenges from
segments beyond the war zone continue to threaten global peace and
security.2
There are, thus, a host of challenges emanating from the military,
economy, environment and polity, each of which comprises a critical
dimension of a comprehensive securityframework.Given that regions of
Asia and Africa are believed to be the most challenged continents in
terms of security and stability,a multidisciplinaryapproach, in order to
address issues of survival and welfare,must be the order ofthe day.

1 Rebecca Johnson, Tost-Cold War security: The lost opportunities/

DisarmamentForum(Geneva),no. 1,January1999,p. 7.
2 Human SecurityCentre,Human SecurityReport2005: War and Peace in the
21st Century(Vancouver:The Liu Institutefor Global Issues, Universityof
BritishColumbia,2005).

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CHALLENGES
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25

Military challenges
'Anyuse ofnuclearweapons,by accidentor design,riskshuman casualties and
of such weapons
economicdislocationon a catastrophicscale. The proliferation
and theirpotentialuse, byeitherstateor non-stateactorsmustremainan urgent
forcollectivesecurity/
priority
NTI AnnualReport20043
Our understanding of security has undergone profound changes ever
since the Cold War. In the post-war era, 'military planners were under
pressure to produce a peace dividend by cuttingback on forces,arms and
expenditure'.4 The idea was to scale down nuclear and armed threats
emanating fromthe power blocs and reduce the threat of war. Although
the end of the East-West confrontationpaved the way for East-West
cooperation, certain security assumptions began to fall apart. Within 18
months of the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),
India and Pakistan conducted a series of nuclear tests, which served as a
setback to the entire non-proliferationregime. The security parameters
fornuclear as well as non-nuclear states have altered dramatically since
then and it seems that nuclear weapons will continue to underpin the
defencediscourse fora long time to come.
The notion that securityis about states using forceto manage threats
to their territorialintegrityand national stability,primarily fromother
states, began to change as new transnational threats stemming from
demographic movements, deforestation, global warming, and
transnational crimes began to surface. It might have been hoped that
such threats would prompt a rethinking of security parameters and
options, but instead the world started to rearm itself to fight against
'perceived threats' and asymmetricwarfare.5Since the terroristattacks of
9/11,the mobile chemical labs, dirtynuclear bombs, anthrax spores, sarin
gas, and other weapons of mass destruction have fuelled popular fears
and inspired countless anti-terrorism initiatives coming to the fore,
pushing non-militarythreats into the background.

3 Nuclear Threat Initiative(NTI) Annual Report2004, Workingfor a safer

world',www.nti.org
4 RebeccaJohnson,op. cit.,p. 7.
5 Human SecurityReport 2005 maintains that the nature of warfare has
civil wars, or
undergonechanges. Today's conflictstend to be low-intensity
'asymmetric'wars in which high-techforcesfightpoorlyarmed opponents,'
p. 34.

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26

PAKISTAN
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Some scholars believe that access to weapons of mass destruction is

greater now than it was during the Cold War. While this fear has
prompted nations to take firm steps to contain nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons, the category of small arms has been largely
overlooked. 'Among the seemingly endless list of items on the
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) agenda that
require urgent attention,the trade and proliferationof Small Arms and
Light Weapons (SALWs) has an enduring place'.6 As one of the least
controlled elements of modern military activity, the category of small
arms and their trade begs attention fromthe international community
simply because the correlation between the proliferationof small arms
and the increase in human rightsabuses is stark and unmistakable.
The problem of arms proliferationand the ensuing conflicts in the
world have not only given rise to problems such as alienation and
instability,but have also threatened basic human rights and the security
of people. There have been numerous crimes against humanity and
countless breaches of international humanitarian law throughout the
conflictperiod. Evidence shows that there is an alarming rise in urban
violence due to the presence of small arms and there appears to be a
shocking pattern of human rights abuse in regions of instability. It has
been documented that 'weapons play a direct and indirect role in the
ability of armed groups and security forces to commit serious human
rights violations'.7 The direct impact of the use of small arms and light
weapons has mostly included homicide, genocide, torture, amputation
and other life-threateningacts of violence. Some of India's major armed
conflicts,for instance, have germinated in the north and the northeastern parts of the country, enveloping the states of Jammu and
Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. The country's longstanding confrontationwith Pakistan has given rise not only to crossborder infiltrationfor the past 50 years and more, but also deepened
social and cultural fragmentation on both sides. The north-east is
ravaged by internal strife and has surprisinglyled to a similar societal
degeneration and disorder in the region. If one has to identifya common
denominatorin both these cases, it would undoubtedlybe the role played
by the proliferationof small arms.
It is certain that small arms have significantlyaltered the pace and
nature of conflictsand have become a potential threat to human security
6 Massimo Fusato, 'Disarmament,demobilization,and reintegrationof excombatants/in Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess (eds.), BeyondIntractability
ofColorado,2003),p. 1.
(Boulder:University
7 www.armstradetreaty.org

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TO GLOBALSECURITY
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27

in the region. It is estimated that the total number of battle-related

deaths in Assam alone ranges between 881-1129 in the years 1991 to
2005.8 Be it external conflictor internal clash, the presence of small
arms fundamentally undermines the social fabric of a community and
places human security in absolute jeopardy. The fact that the Rwandan
genocide of 1994 was substantially heightened due to the availability of
small weapons proves that small arms are not only capable offlaringup a
conflict,but also capable of increasing human insecurity and social
instability. Apparently, small arms are the single most lethal means of
large-scale violence and one of the biggest challenges to human security
in all conflictzones ofthe world.
Territorial insurgency is the apparent cause of the majority of armed
conflictsin the regions of Asia and Africa, but perceived economic and
political marginalization of the tribal population and an increase in the
influx of weapons and narcotics from the neighbouring countries have
elevated the threats to human security. The gun culture in these areas
has rapidly weakened the state security forces and created pockets of
criminalbases around the cities and towns. In fact,there is an increase in
the number of civilians acquiring arms to defend themselves and their
families because there is an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and
oppression. Given that 'the objective of human security is to safeguard
the vital core of all human lives fromcritical pervasive threats in a way
that is consistent with long-term human fulfilment',weapons are a
category that can be seen as a grave threat to the aforesaid notion of
stabilityand human development.9
Economic challenges
The remarkable growth in the influence of the international market,
assisted by the opening of economies at the end of the Cold War, has
rewarded many. This post-Cold War liberalization of the market
equations was popularly conceived as globalization, and the concept
largely encompassed activities such as 'actions of a few in one locale
having significant consequences for "distant others", or events in one
country directly affecting the others; the shrinking of borders and
geographical barriers and an intensification of global integration and

8 Uppsala conflict
database,www.pcr.uu.se
9 Sabina Alkire, A Conceptual Frameworkfor Human Security (Oxford:
ofOxford,Queen ElizabethHouse,2003),p. 2.
University

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28

PAKISTAN
HORIZON

interconnectedness'.10Globalization is also associated with the worldwide

spread of capitalism where the network of financial flows and economic
regimes envelops every state. A useful way of looking at the world, apart
fromthe system of states, is in terms of a complex set of networks.These
networksconstitutethe new face ofmarketingthat substantially modifies
the operations and outcomes in processes of production and capacity
building.11These networkstranscend spatial boundaries, questioning the
key elements throughwhich the state is understood. One such element is
the institutionof defence manned by the state's own personnel, including
means of violence and coercion.12This networking has been possible
through transnational linkages of private capital, a trend characterizing
the rising industry of 'private military firms',which is also distinctlya
representative of the changed business environment at the start of the
21stcenturyand a significantchallenge to peace and securityin countries
facingcrises.13
It is oftenargued that the end of the Cold War produced a vacuum in
the market of security,creating a 'security gap' that the private market
rushed to fill.14For instance, a private militaryfirmby the name Airscan
was contractedto replace the functionof the US militaryin the Balkans
when the US air reconnaissance was pulled out of the region to serve in
more active operations in South-West Asia.15 Most private militaryfirms
(PMFs) have influencedthe outcome of many conflicts,including those in
Angola, Sierra Leone and Iraq, but there is no clarity about the exact
relationship between governments and these firms primarily because
governments and military establishments often publicly distance
themselves fromsuch ambiguous private entities. Such ambiguity raises
concerns regarding their identity as combatants and problems of
enforcinginternational law in case ofhuman rights abuse, as was seen in
the case of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The Taguba Report on abuses at
10David Held and AnthonyMcGrew(eds.), The Global Transformations
Reader:
to the GlobalizationDebate (Cambridge:PolityPress, 2000),
An Introduction
p. 3.
11RobertO. Keohane and JosephS. Nye Jr.,'Globalization:Whas next?Whas
not?(Andso what?)/in David Held and Anthony
McGrew,ibid.,p. 76.
12JohnA. Hall and G. JohnIkenberry,
The State (New Delhi: WorldView,1997),
dp. 1-2.
13Peter W. Singer, 'Should humanitariansuse private militaryservices?/
HumanitarianAffairsReview (Brussels), Summer2004. The presentglobal
orderalso indicatesthat measuresundertakenby the United States and its
allies to curbterrorism
requiretheseprivatemilitaryfirmsto engagein regions
states.
ofgreaterstrategicrelevanceto theinterventionist
14Ibid.
16Ibid.

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29

Abu Ghraib stated that 'contractorsin civilian clothes roamed freelyin

the prison answering to no one because they were effectivelyoutside the
chain of command'.16 This not only raises doubts about safeguarding
internal security,but also puts human securityat grave risk.
When analyzing the linkage between globalization and security,the
part that is often misinterpreted is 'economic growth.' Globalization is
mostly equated with technological advancement, integration of global
financial markets, growth in international trade, and rapid
modernization. But this so-called economic growth heavily weighs down
on countries that lack adequate resources and are strugglingto survive
either an ethnic conflictor poverty or disease. It is estimated that in
many parts of Africa, cereal harvests in 2005 were an overall
improvement on previous years, but severe droughts have still left
millions on the brink of starvation.
On the one hand are the four African countries of Kenya, Somalia,
Ethiopia and Djibouti who are some of the worst affected where an
estimated eight to nine million people are severely famished,while on the
other, 'China's trade surplus in March 2006 amounted to 11.19 billion
dollars, up to 98.5 per cent on the previous month',which is attributable
to the country's internal economic condition.17While economic growth
encompasses development through trade and infrastructure,there are
serious welfare implications involving income inequalities, damage to
indigenous industries, inflation, market disruptions that need to be
treated. 'As developing countries take steps to open their economies and
expand their exports they find themselves confrontingsignificanttrade
barriers- leaving them, in effect,with neither aid nor trade'.18
The right to development is important, but durable growth without
compromising on human security that ensures adequate goods and
services fulfillingbasic human needs is far more important in fighting
economicinsecurity.
Environmental challenges
The ultimatepurposeofan environmental
regimeis to safeguardenvironmental
All
quality,howeverdefined,but no regimecan actuallycontrolthe environment.
16PeterW. Singer,'Outsourcingwar/ForeignAffairs(New York),vol. 84, no. 2,
March/April
2005,p. 5.
17People'sDaily Online, http://english.people.com.cn
18United Nations Economic and Social Council Report, The realization of
economic,social and culturalrights:Globalizationand its impacton the full
ofhumanrights',2000,p. 10,www.un.org/ecosoc
enjoyment

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30

PAKISTAN
HORIZON

humanbehaviourin waysthat,it is hoped,willresult

it can do is workto modify
in moresatisfactory
environmental
conditions/
KonradvonMoltke,2001
Damage to the environmentposes another significantchallenge to global
security.The question ofhow secure is the world if global warming,ozone
depletion, deforestation and acid rain continue to weaken the global
environment, has begun to feature as a cause of concern among
policymakers across the world. Challenges to environmental security
have increased in leaps and bounds and Cynthia E. Rosenzweig, an
expert on climate and agricultureat NASA opines, 'As you march through
the decades, at some point negative effectsof climate change dominate
everywhere'.19 'Accidents like the meltdown of the Chernobyl reactor,
which irradiated much of Europe, caused billions of dollars of property
damage, and ultimately could result in thousands of premature cancer
cases'.20 Such events not only serve as warnings, but also highlight the
impact ofreckless human activityon the environment.
T. K. Oommen stresses that human beings are the only ones who have
'agency, autonomy and reflexivity' capable of being responsible for
damage and/orrestoration to the environment.Therefore,it is vital for
states to focus on the problem of overpopulation because at current
growth rates the earth's population will double by the year 2100,
aggregatingto almost 12 billion, adding new challenges to environmental
security.21The other problem is that of limited resources, especially in
the developing countries. It is estimated that 'deforestation,primarilythe
conversionofforeststo agricultural land, continues at an alarminglyhigh
rate- about 13 million hectares per year' and most environmentalists
believe that 'exploding populations will put unsustainable stresses on
regional ecosystems, thus bringing about a collapse of the security
systems'.22Damage to the ecosystem has had effectson humanity in the
past and it can bring unimaginable destruction on this planet if the
environmentis leftunprotected.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 estimated that, in
2003, the total number of people affected by chronic hunger in the
19AndrewC. Revkin,Toor nationsto bear thebruntas worldwarms/The Times
ofIndia (New Delhi),2 April2007.
20MichaelH. Shuman and Hal Harvey,SecurityWithoutWar: A Post-ColdWar
ForeignPolicy(Boulder:WestviewPress,1993).
21The United Nations,The MillenniumDevelopmentGoals Report2006 (New
York,2006),http://mdgs.un.org
22MichaelShumanand Hal Harvey,op. cit.,p.17.

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CHALLENGES
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31

developing world was around 824 million.23This estimation arrived after

five years of the publication of the Global Report 2000 which had
predicted that the turn of the century,overpopulation would lead to
widespread starvation and to the catastrophic over consumption of
firewood, forests, grasslands, croplands, ocean fisheries, and fresh
water'.24Not surprisingly,these predictionsare now comingtrue. Climate
change is affectingphysical and biological systems everywhereand most
global warming has been caused by carbon dioxide emissions and other
greenhouse gases. 'Most scientists believe that there will be enough manmade emissions to warm the Earth three to eight degrees Fahrenheit'.25
Rising temperatures will not only cause polar ice caps to melt, but will
also affect the river deltas of southern Asia and Egypt for instance,
renderingsmall island nations at high risk.26Locally generated disasters,
caused by overuse of natural resources, will unmistakably affect the
global environmentand securityin some ofthe ways listed below:

Resource exhaustion will perpetuate and even worsen global

poverty, reducing demand for high value products, further
upsetting the international trade balance.

The terrible costs of this poverty such as disease, hunger,

homelessness, unemployment, illiteracy will leave the underprivileged angry and eager for radical, perhaps even
revolutionarychange.

Environmental exhaustion will mean greater interstate competetion forscarce resources.27

Conflicts over river systems, where the world's most important 155
river systems are shared by two countries, could pose major security
problems for the world.28 Environmental scientist Norman Myers
remarked,'So critical are assured water supplies to Israel that one reason
it went to war in 1967 was that Syria and Jordan were tryingto divert
the flows of the Jordan River.' Similarly, Iraq almost went to war against
23TheMillenniumDevelopment
Goals Report2006, op. cit.
24MichaelShumanand Hal Harvey,op. cit.
25Ibid.,p. 169.
26AndrewC. Revkin,op. cit.
27NormanMyers,'Environment
and security,'
ForeignPolicy(WashingtonD.C.),
no. 74, Spring1989,pp. 28-29.Althoughthis classification
ofproblemsis done
froman Americanpoint of view, it is not out of contextto suggest that
environmentalproblems are also global problemsand they do not limit
themselvesto a particularregionor state.
28Ibid.,p. 29.

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PAKISTAN
HORIZON

Syria in 1975 when the latter built the Thawrah Dam on the Euphrates
and endangered the economic survival of three million Iraqi farmers
living downstream.29
The most significantenvironmentalthreats facing us are truly global
in nature. 'Every year, deforestationin the tropics denudes an area the
size of Austria and wipes out species of plants and animals at a rate one
thousand to ten thousand times faster than natural extinction'30Other
environmental threats to human beings are now posed by the
development and spread of 'new chemicals that can permanently impair
the human gene pool, the development of ever more resistant varieties of
agricultural pests, and the ecological deterioration of the world's
oceans'.31All together,'global environmental disasters caused by human
mismanagement have created more than 10 million refugees- more than
those uprooted by wars or persecution- who themselves are producing a
varietyofmilitary,political, and economicinstabilities worldwide'.32
Therefore, an effectiveglobal environment needs to enable, support
and encourage policymaking leading to an effective response to
environmental management needs which require action at the global
level. Konrad von Moltke opines, 'Good environmental governance at all
levels has been characterized by reliance on sciences; the use of the
precautionary approach; the ability to accommodate actions at different
levels of governance; the use of economic incentives and the avoidance of
physical coercion as an implementation strategy; and high degree of
transparencyand participation.' Only an interlinked,holistic approach to
governance, which puts the environment and people's needs first,will
sufficeforthe years to come.
Political challenges
Provision of safety and security to every human life is one of the most
fundamental duties of a state or government.Protection of lives and a
pledge to uphold human rights is central to good governance, and
'cooperation of the political, administrative, scientific and industrial
communitiesforthe formulationof a vision, integrated missions, policies,
plans and programmes' can help achieve a comprehensive security
frameworkfor a prosperous future for everyone.33However, certain key
29Ibid.
30Ibid.
31MichaelShumanand Hal Harvey,op. cit., p. 18.
32Ibid.,p.19.
33Remarksby PresidentA. P. J. Abul Kalam, The Hindu (Chennai),15 August
2006.

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33

factors such as resistance to devolution and decentralization of power to

the people, disintegrationof political parties and democratic institutions,
indifferenceof the ruling elite to social needs, corruption,and lack of
accountabilitytend to impinge upon governance and lead to state failure
in some cases.
Domestic governance, therefore,has to strive forgreater transparency
and regulation because it has been widely accepted as a 'welfare need',
which encompasses non-traditionalcomponents of security and development alike. Instances like Darfur stand out as a sore example of
governmentinaction in the Africancontinent.South Asian states are also
not freefrommisgovernance. It is believed that inefficientand ineffective
governance, coupled with corruptionand lack of adequate funding,have
contributedto policy incoherence, duplication and operational hazards in
times of crises. 34
Human rights and development reports reveal that the conflict in
Darfur is causing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world,
yet little has been done about a tragedy that affects more than one
million people. The failure to carry out rapid political action in Darfur
has resulted in massive social, economic, political and environmental
costs fuelling poverty, deprivation, violence and gross insecurity. The
Human Security Report 2005 highlights failure on the part of the
government to act in a conflict-riddenstate as an act amounting to
'democide'.35 A ground-based survey by Practical Action, formerly
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), in Darfur showed
systematic destruction of people's possessions and food stocks with
around one million people getting displaced and roughly more than half
of the villages destroyed or abandoned. The failure of the Sudanese
government to maintain the ceasefire to re-establish security in the
region, and its inefficiencyto facilitate access forhumanitarian reliefhas
escalated the conflictfroma local concernto a global problem.
This brings us to the issue of political violence, which is yet another
challenge for global security and stability. Some scholars believe that
34P. R. Chari,'Securityand governancein SouthAsia: Theirlinkages/in Ramesh
Thakurand EdwardNewman(eds.),BroadeningAsia's SecurityDiscourseand
(New Delhi: Bookwell,
Perspectives
Agenda: Political,Social and Environmental
2005).
35Accordingto the Human SecurityReport2005, 'Democideincludes not only
genocide,politicideand other massacres, but also deaths that arise from
actions (or deliberatefailuresto act) that kill people indirectly.
government
forcedlabour camps would, for
Deaths fromstarvationin government-run
of
be
an
democide/
p. 41.
example,
unambiguousexample

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PAKISTAN
HORIZON

'political violence is a term that embraces more than simplywar, genocide

and terrorism.It also encompasses state repression: torture,executions,
use of death squads, and incarceration without trial. All of these are as
much part of the human securityagenda as they are of the human rights
agenda'.36 State-based violence results from 'conflictsbetween states or
between a state and a non-state actor', which amounts to political
violence. One-sided violence, on the other hand, involves killing of noncombatants as opposed to armed men and women, and is differentfrom
armed conflicts. In either case, the death toll and violation of human
rightsindicate that governmentinaction can potentiallyescalate violence
and insecurity with possibilities of a spillover in neighbouring states,
givingrise to regional insecurity.
State-based or non-state based violence and deaths can pose serious
security threats and can spiral into political chaos, social and economic
disruption,and imbalance in the cultural and ecological set-up of a state
or region. Given that numbers speak for themselves, shown below is a
table that adequately reflects the degree of political violence in the
world's regions, and how both state-based and non-state based violence
amounts to maximum deaths.
NumberofReportedDeaths fromPoliticalViolence(2002-2003)
Total
One-sided
Non-state
State-baaed
Regions
2002 2003""~2002+2003
2003
2002
2003
2002
Africa
6,659
5,935 4,556 3,464 3,217 1,584 25,415
2671
115
188
129
595
487
Americas 1.157
149
Asia
14,710
5,979
4.854
1,778
1,138 812
0
34
59
0
480
753
1,326
Europe
Middle
248
306
200
181
8817
027
10,779
East
I
I
4883 2818
3923
54,901
Total
15,575 20,573 7129
2005P1
Source:
HumanSecurity
Report
Traditional securitymeasures have, to a large extent,failed to deliver
meaningful security to a significant number of Asians. The region has
witnessed periodic setbacks where 'class tensions, ethnic conflict and
confrontationsbetween the state and citizens are omnipresent'.38In
generic terms,the state is seen as a provider of security,but oftentimes,
it also poses a threat to human security. It is believed that creating
36Ibid.,p. 64.
37Ibid.,Figure2.4, p. 73. Onlyrelevantdata has been takento validatethe point
madein thissection.
38Rajesh M. Basrur,'Human security,the state and democracyin a globalizing
: PerspectivesfromIndia's Regions (New
Security
world/in Comprehensive
Delhi:Delhi PolicyGroup,2002),p. 149.

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35

TO GLOBALSECURITY
CHALLENGES

constituencies for peace by focusing on David Baldwin's components of

human security,39the state can successfullyoverridepolitical obstacles to
sustainable peace and stability.
A comprehensivesecuritypolicy
'Human securityprivilegespeople over states, reconciliationover revenge,
diplomacy over deterrence, and multilateral engagement over coercive
unilateralism/
DesmondTutu,2005
Archbishop
The world's least secure countries are those ravaged by domestic violence
or terrorism,and the World Bank has predicted 'the possibility that a
governmentwill be destabilized or overthrownby unconstitutionaland/or
violent means', if countries fail to address the issue of comprehensive
security.40Among the list of least secure countries, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Liberia, Afghanistan, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan, Somalia,
Colombia, the Palestinian territory,and Iraq occupy the top ten places
showing 0-4.9 on a scale of 100 in terms of political stability and peace (0
representingthe 'worst' and 100 representingthe 'best').41
With such an alarming figure representing the state of human
conditions, it is critical that countries address the notion of human
security more conclusively. David Baldwin categorically talks about the
meaning of security and its guiding principles: security for whom,
securityforwhich values, how much security,securityfromwhat threats,
security by what means.42 As mentioned above, an incompetent state
which threatens individual rights and security will possibly be forcedto
dissolve in order to make way for a better state. Given that ^historically,
states have come to be regarded as the most effectiveway of ensuring the
safety and freedoms of individuals', it is important that they consider
every aspect of human security frombodily safety and freedom to wellbeing and sustainability.43The role of the state is critical in fightingthe
challenges posed by polity, environmentand economics. Regulation and
control of legislative and executive initiatives, pertaining to the
39David Baldwin, 'The conceptof security',Review of InternationalStudies,
(Cambridge),vol.23, issue 1,January1997,pp. 12-18.
40See the World Bank's 'Political Stabilityand Absence of Violence Index,'
www.govindicator
s.org
41Ibid.
42David Baldwin,op. cit.
43KantiBajpai, 'Beyondcomprehensive
in
security:Human security',
:
India's
Comprehensive
SecurityPerspectives
from
Regions, op. cit.,p. 6.

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36

PAKISTAN
HORIZON

environment,forinstance, should be balanced out with economic stability

and political security. 'Externally, the state has to engage in interstate
negotiations to preserve the environmentand at the same time combat
protectionistpressures emanating fromdeveloped countries in the garb of
'environmental standards', an area in which there is much scope for
collaboration among South Asian countries'.44
In facing up to the challenges of their times, world leaders, 60 years
ago created new multilateral institutions- the United Nations, IMF, and
the World Bank - in the convictionthat international cooperation was the
best way to solve the challenges of the post-war world. It is about time
that the present world, unprecedented in the challenges it faces, works
towards a better future by making human security its top priority.
Although economic issues seem to have gathered more attention than
matters related to the global environmentor human development,efforts
are underway to focus on the shared responsibility to protect the
environment. Considerable progress has been made in terms of
humanitarian action and peacekeeping operations, where there is an
attemptto look at securitymore comprehensively.
However, some commentators complain that defining security in
military,environmental,economic and political terms 'muddles thinking
and confuses policymaking*.45
For example, University of Pennsylvania
political scientist, Daniel Deudney, questions the 'value of lumping
environmentalthreats with militarythreats, because each poses different
kinds of harm, because the perpetratorsof the two kinds of threats have
differentintentions,and because protectionfromeach requires different
institutions'.46All threats emanating from the environment, society,
polity or the militaryultimately harm life and its values of freedomand
security and 'threats originate, at least in part, from outside the
territorialboundaries of each countryand thereforemust be met through
foreign policies- that is, through policies that influence others to act
differently.And all these threats can only be ameliorated through the
widening of securitypolicies and global action'.47
Ultimately, the real world of interlocked economic and ecological
systems will not change; the policies and institutionsconcerned must. To
think of security purely in terms of military is regarded as an outdated
and non-functionalapproach. Barry Buzan pointed out that the 'sources
44Rajesh M. Basrur,op. cit.,p. 148.
45MichaelShumanand Hal Harvey,op. cit.
46Ibid.
47Ibid.

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TO GLOBALSECURITY
CHALLENGES

37

of threat could be economic, political, social and militar/.48 Therefore,

military preparedness is not the only need of the hour. Mahathir
Mohammad rightlypointed out that 'national securityis inseparable from
political stability,economic success and social harmony.Without these all
the guns in the world cannot prevent a countryfrombeing overcome by
its enemies, whose ambitions can be fulfilledsomehow without firinga
shot.'
Conclusion
What are the major obstacles forthe adoption of a comprehensive security
policy and how could such obstacles be removed? There is more to
challenges to global peace and securitythan those mentioned in this paper.
T. K. Oommen, in his article, 'Environment and security: An overview',
opines that matters of national relevance should be placed in the realm of
'high polities' and should be handled by politicians, bureaucrats and
militarypersonnel because what ordinarypeople discuss are matters of 'low
polities' and critical issues must be given special attention.49To a large
extent,most securityissues are measured froma 'national interest' point of
view and those that fail to qualify as threats to national security are
pushed into the background. For instance, threats to human existence
posed by the growth and development of science and technology50are
frequently overlooked when it comes to assessing threats from terrorist
olitfits. Therefore,in order to assess threats to security,generated either
locally or globally, the states need to bring about a balance in their
approach. Some scholars opine that it is the mindset of the ruling elite,
which is responsible for pursuing a retrogressive and outdated security
approach. In the case of South Asia, the history of India and Pakistan is
punctuated with decades of suspicion and mistrust. The continuance of
hostilityhas succeeded in underminingthe real securityproblems faced by
their people. In such an environment of intolerance and paranoia, those
subscribing to the non-traditional approach of security find it extremely
difficultto assert their position because most policies are guided by
national securityparameters.
No one can deny the relevance and importance of economic, political,
religious, ethnic, and environmental security in South Asia, the Middle
48Barry Buzan, People, States and Fear: The National SecurityProblemsin
International
Relations(Sussex: Longman,1983),p. 203.
49. K. Oommen,'Environmentand security:An overview/in Comprehensive
: EnvironmentalDimensions(New Delhi: Delhi Policy Group,2004),
Security
p. 4.
50Ibid.

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38

PAKISTAN
HORIZON

East and Africa- the three most security challenged regions of the world.
These pockets of insecurityhave become hostages of a few securityissues,
mostly involving socio-economicand political threats, which have not been
addressed in the past decades. In view of the intransigent approach of the
ruling elite, one does not see the chances of the settlementof such issues in
the near future. As a result, one can see the prominence of security
threats,which are related to territorialand political conflicts,but not those
emanating fromenvironmentaldegradation or excessive commercialization
ofgoods and services. Social scientists are ofthe view that a non-traditional
security approach is not necessarily in opposition to state sovereigntyand
national security. Oommen suggests that a shift from the prevailing
'governmental ation of securityto governance of security^will bring about
the much needed change in the mindset and approach of those assigned to
deal with threats.
Although the state remains the central provider of security in ideal
circumstances, the desired comprehensive approach must take into
account the reality of security as traditionally defined- the defence of
territorial integrity by military means- and blend it with critical
dimensions of the security of its citizens. It has been observed that an
overemphasis on 'statist' securityhas been detrimentalto human security
needs. Therefore, while traditional conceptions of state security are a
necessary condition,they cannot be a sufficientmodel for accomplishing
human security.
The conventional definition of security is narrowly identified as
'defence', which also represents a falsified image of the policy process.
The military is only one of the several interest groups, alongside the
environmental and social groups, competing for a larger share of the
collective goods being allocated by the government. Rational
policymakers will allocate resources to security only so long as the
marginal rate of return is greater for'security'than forother uses of the
resources. Security of individuals, as understood in the abstract, and a
remote concept of traditional security can also mean insecurityin terms
of the threats to the lives of human beings as manifested by the lack of
food, education, health care, fresh water and clean surroundings. The
non-traditional security approach is undoubtedly a 'series of continua'
embedded in interdisciplinaryanalysis and approach to critical welfare
issues. It is believed that most issues of survival become security
concernswhen they reach a tipping point by threateningthe stabilityand
integrity of societies51 leading to the destabilization of the state.
Therefore,'security analysts should consider those elements which cause
51RameshThakurand EdwardNewman,op. cit.

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CHALLENGES
TO GLOBALSECURITY

39

insecurityeither because of human action or inaction',52and incorporate

that understanding in the broader approach to defend human lives and
civilizations. In sum, a comprehensive security solution does not merely
require a redefinitionof international or national security policies, but a
betterunderstanding ofthe nature of certain threats to security.53
Given that human security is viewed as an aggregate of military,
economic, environmental and political security issues, an approach that
encompasses all the above-mentioned factors to secure a sustainable
future for all is not just a solution to the problems of instability,but a
preconditionforglobal peace and security.

52T. K. Oommen, UnderstandingSecurity:A New Perspective(New Delhi:

MacmillanIndia Ltd.,2006),p. 8.
63PeterH. Gleick,'Environment
and security:The clear connections',
Bulletinof
theAtomicScientists(Chicago),vol.47, no. 3, April1991.

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