Marginalisation of the majority world

A complex interplay of discrimination, global poverty, inequality and deepening socio-economic divisions, together make for key elements of global insecurity. While overall global wealth has increased, the benefits of this economic growth have not been equally shared. The rich-poor divide is actually growing, with a very heavy concentration of growth in relatively few parts of the world, and poverty getting much worse in many other regions. The ‘majority world’ of Asia, Africa and Latin America feel the strongest effects of marginalisation as a result of global elites, concentrated in North America and Europe, striving to maintain political, cultural, economic and military global dominance.

Why Here, Not There? Investigating emerging nonviolent movements

John Hopkins University | International Peace and Security Institute | August 2011

Issue:Marginalisation

The International Peace & Security Institute (IPSI), in collaboration with The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Conflict Management Program, hosted a high-level panel discussion and networking reception on Wednesday, August 17.  The event, “Why Here, Not There? Investigating emerging nonviolent movements,” examined the dynamics that enable nonviolent movements to occur in some regions and not others at specific moments in time.  The event was broadcast live nationwide and on the internet by C-SPAN.

Watch the video here: IPSI

Image source: Al Jazeera English

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Posted on 23/08/11

Beyond ‘Controlling’ Global Refugee Flows: A Sustainable Security Approach

Ben Zala | World Policy Blog | July 2011

Issue:Marginalisation

Writing for the World Policy blog, Ben Zala analyses the recent announcement of Australia and Malaysia’s agreement to “swap” asylum seekers. He argues that until legitimate attempts are made to address the factors driving refugee flows - such as on-going military conflicts, economic insecurity, and increasing environmental and resource constraints - the problem will only continue to get worse.

 

Image source: United Nations. 

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Posted on 28/07/11

Conflict, Poverty and Marginalisation: The case of Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó (Urabá, Colombia)

Amira Armenta | Exclusively written for sustainablesecurity.org | July 2011

Issue:Marginalisation

In Colombia there are many regions where poverty and the absence, or weak presence, of the state has facilitated the emergence of violence by armed groups. Among these are the Afro-Colombian communities of the Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó in the Urabá region

Image source: Yuliam Gutierrez

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Posted on 21/07/11

The Geopolitics of Climate Change

Chris Huhne | Department of Energy and Climate Change | July 2011

Issues:Climate change, Marginalisation

In a speech to Future Maritime Operations Conference at the Royal United Service Institute, London, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change examines the security implications of climate change:

“We cannot be 100% sure that our enemies will attack our country; but we do not hesitate to prepare for the eventuality. The same principle applies to climate change, which a report published by the Ministry of Defence has identified as one of the four critical issues that will affect everyone on the planet over the next 30 years.

Around the world, a military consensus is emerging. Climate change is a ‘threat multiplier’. It will make unstable states more unstable, poor nations poorer, inequality more pronounced, and conflict more likely. And the areas of most geopolitical risk are also most at risk of climate change.”

Article source: DECC

Image source: DECCgovuk

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Posted on 20/07/11

Drought in east Africa the result of climate change and conflict

Felicity Lawrence | The Guardian | July 2011

Issues:Climate change, Competition over resources, Marginalisation

Aid agencies say that weather in the region has become more erratic and years of war leave populations especially vulnerable

Prolonged drought in the Horn of Africa is the immediate cause of the severe food crisis already affecting around 10 million people in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Rains have failed over two seasons, with a strong La Niña event having a dramatic impact across the east coast of Africa. Now this year's wet season has officially ended, there is little prospect of rain or relief before September.

Article source: The Guardian

Image source: Oxfam International

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Posted on 14/07/11

Selling Nature to Save Nature, and Ourselves

Stephen Leahy | Terraviva | July 2011

Issues:Climate change, Competition over resources, Marginalisation

Avoiding the coming catastrophic nexus of climate change, food, water and energy shortages, along with worsening poverty, requires a global technological overhaul involving investments of 1.9 trillion dollars each year for the next 40 years, said experts from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) in Geneva Tuesday.

"The need for a technological revolution is both a development and existential imperative for civilisation," said Rob Vos, lead author of a new report, "The Great Green Technological Transformation". 

Article source: Terraviva

Image source: Paul Keller

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Posted on 6/07/11