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.

Climate Adaptation, Development, and Peacebuilding in Fragile States - Finding the Triple-Bottom Line

The New Security Beat | The New Security Beat | April 2011

Issues:Climate change, Marginalisation

“The climate agenda goes well beyond climate,” said Dan Smith, secretary general of International Alert at a recent Wilson Center event. “In the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all interstate conflicts have had a link to natural resources” and those that do are also twice as likely to relapse in the five years following a peace agreement, said Neil Levine, director of the Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation at USAID.

Article source: The New Security Beat

Image source: DfID

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Climate-related Displacement and Human Security in South Asia

Susan Chaplin | Institute for Human Security Working Paper | April 2011

Issues:Climate change, Marginalisation

Climate-related displacement is one of the key challenges facing South Asia in the coming decades. Although there is considerable debate about the salience of the term ‘climate refugees’ and extent to which climate change is a primary cause of forced displacement, there is no doubt that large numbers of people are already having to cope with the impact of environmental changes on their livelihoods and everyday life.

Mano Dura: Gang Suppression in El Salvador

Sonja Wolf | Exclusively written for sustainablesecurity.org | March 2011

Issues:Global militarisation, Marginalisation

Case study examining how  repressive policies against gangs in El Salvador drove gangs to further violence, heightening the cycle of militarisation.

“In 2003 – eight months before the 2004 presidential elections – President Francisco Flores of the conservative ARENA party launched Plan Mano Dura (“Strong Hand”), ostensibly to dismantle the gangs and curb the number of homicides, most of which had been attributed to these groups. Backed by considerable media publicity, the measure entailed not only area sweeps and joint police-military patrols, but was also accompanied by a temporary anti-gang law that permitted the arrest of suspected gang members on the basis of their physical appearance alone. Both the nature and the timing of the initiative suggested that it had been designed to improve the ruling party’s electoral position rather than to ensure effective gang control.”

Image source: VCK xD

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What's the Real Mission In Libya?

Chris Mathews | Huffington Post | March 2011

Issues:Global militarisation, Marginalisation

US TV News anchor Chris Mathews, writing for ther Huffington Post, asks what is the real mission in Libya? Not the no-fly zone - that's a method. So what is the mission? How do we end this thing?

Image source: Gumpingit. 

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Libya: Where Are the BRICs?

Ben Zala | Foreign Policy in Focus | March 2011

Issue:Marginalisation

Writing for Foreign Policy in Focus, Ben Zala from Oxford Research Group examines the wider implications of the UN Security Council vote on Libya for the quest to build a sustainable and peaceful world order that accommodates new centres of power.

Image source: LondonSummit. 

 

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How Food Could Determine Libya's Future

Christopher Albon | The Atlantic | March 2011

Issues:Global militarisation, Marginalisation

As Libya's protesters-turned-rebels fight a series of hard battles with forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi, the United States -- and the much of the world -- struggles to find a meaningful response to the conflict. U.S. lawmakers have proposed such aggressive options as enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya or arming anti-Qaddafi rebels, both of which the White House has kept on the table. Critics of these plans argue that they risk involving the U.S. in another military engagement. But there's another option that the U.S. could consider, one that might give anti-Qaddafi rebels crucial help while avoiding the messy complications of direct involvement: Send food.

Image source: B. R. Q.

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