Development & Security
“In an increasingly interconnected world, progress in the areas of development, security and human rights must go hand in hand. There will be no development without security and no security without development.”
These words by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2005 underscore the reality that issues affecting the well-being and security of our world—from HIV/AIDS and terrorism to climate change and poverty—require a bold mix of interventions and partnerships. From government to academia, there is an increasing desire to understand what makes a state “healthy”—healthy in the sense of more peaceful, more democratic, and better able to provide for the needs of its citizens. Additionally, there is a growing sense that steps must be taken toward achieving poverty alleviation in a more concerted fashion.Research has shown that demographics can have a significant impact on countries’ stability, governance, economic development and the well-being of its people. Eighty percent of all outbreaks of civil conflict between 1970 and 1999 occurred in countries in which at least 60 percent of the population was under the age of 30. These countries have also been overwhelmingly faced with autocratic or weakly democratic governments. As countries advance along the demographic transition (to lower birth and death rates), their vulnerability to civil conflict and undemocratic governance decreases and they stand to experience significant economic benefits. As the share of working-age adults in the population increases, reduced dependency ratios allow greater personal savings and government spending.
Many factors are involved in the relationship between demographics and development, and they interact with each other in ways that can’t fully be disentangled. While there is not a direct causal relationship between age structure and conflict, poverty, or bad governance, countries with very young and youthful populations have historically faced the greatest challenges to their development.
This means that programs that promote the demographic transition—family planning, girls’ education, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment—must be an integral part of development assistance. Extreme poverty, disease, inadequate health care, and lack of educational and economic opportunities all post risks, both in terms of human well-being and in state security.
Special attention must be placed on the vulnerabilities faced by women and young people. Countries in which most girls attend secondary school and most women are employed in the formal labor sector have better maternal and child health indicators and lower fertility rates. Girls who are educated are more likely to delay marriage and childbearing, and ultimately, to have healthier children. Governments and donors benefit through greater per capita spending on health and education, and through increased savings and investment in the economy. Improving women’s status can influence social environments and ultimately speed the demographic transition. In addition to complete access to education and employment, women should be protected from gender-based violence and have a full and equal role in the political process.
Young people are a tremendous asset for any society, especially if they are educated, healthy, and living in a safe and equitable world. In order to take advantage of this resource, governments must ensure that they have access to higher education and facilitate their entry into the labor market, both in developing and industrialized nations. High-quality health care, including a full range of voluntary family planning and sexual and reproductive health services, must also be available to youth.
Identifying linkages between demographics and security can illuminate more effective strategies for governments and global institutions to work together to combat poverty, address national and regional development and work to create a more stable world. Government capacity, policies and political commitment always make the greatest impact.
