Globalization on Human Security

¶ … Globalization on Human Security

The study is supposed to evaluate whether globalization is a force that contributes to or enhances human security or is it a force that has contributed to human insecurities. The study is important so that we can determine whether globalization is the key to future human security especially in the developing world. The study will explore security from a human perspective as opposed to the state perspective and to illustrate this perspective I will be drawing on case material from Papua New Guinea (PNG) with the objective to generate a debate on how globalization impact human security. This case study makes for an informative reading if human security is affected positively or negatively by globalization

To start off, it is important we ask ourselves; what is globalization? Is it inevitable or irreversible? Globalization has come to mean so many things to different people and so it is a term that cannot fit one standard definition. However in general terms, we can refer to globalization as the trend towards countries joining together economically, through education, society and politics, and not viewing themselves though their national identity but as part of the world as a whole. Globalization is here to stay. (2004) argues that globalization is an inevitable phenomenon in human history that is bringing the world closer through the exchange of goods and products, information, knowledge and culture.

Over the last few years, the pace of global integration has become more dramatic because of unprecedented advancements in technology, communications, science, transport, and industry.

However it is not progressing evenly. Some countries are becoming quickly globalised than others. People of all nations are integrated together, especially through a common medium like the economy or the internet. It is easier to go anywhere in the world within even a day and even to reach any part of the world though telephone or internet. As economies and societies integrate our world becomes small.

I would like to point out in this study that globalization has impacted human security especially in developing countries both in positive and negative ways. But what we are to find out in this study is whether the positive impacts outweigh the negative or are the negative impacts out to do the positive impacts?

Human security is concerned with security of individuals rather than the state. Just to get a vivid picture of what human security is and to make a clear distinction with national security, we will define the term human security. Kaldor (2007) says, in simple term we can say it is the freedom individuals have from violence which is caused by a combination of threats, associated with war, genocide, and the displacement of populations.

Human security has in the recent times received increased attention with debates and discussions moving away from national security and towards greater emphasis on human security. This notion recognizes the importance of placing human beings and not states at the center of security concerns (Crowley, 2007). In the past security has been defined primarily in terms of the security of the state. It is also worthy to notice that security is in two terms, that is physical security and security from fear and want, which is security from torture, arbitrary arrest and the right to a decent material existence.

Developing countries and for this study, we will be focusing on PNG we note that developing countries have greater human security concerns than the developed countries. Maybe it is because the developing countries are more predisposed to human insecurity than it is the case with the developed countries. Human security holds that a people -- centered view of security is necessary for national, regional and global stability.

And so the big question we ask ourselves is; how does globalization impact human security both in the positive and negative ways. Before we make an analytical commentary on this using Papua New Guinea (PNG), we will first explore the background of PNG for better understanding of the country's political, social and economic status.

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern part of the world's second largest island. This is a country that is among one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. As a matter of fact the country has over 850 indigenous languages, with a population leading to 7 million. The countries' annual population growth rate stands at 2.0% (2010)

Majority of its population live in the rural with only 18% of its people living in the urban centers that are characterized with few or no facilities of modern life. Papua New Guinea is one of the least explored, culturally and geographically. It is said that the country has many undiscovered species of plants and animals which exists in the interior of Papua New Guinea. The terrain is mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills.

In the mountain interior there are many tribes who are said to have little contact with one another, let alone with the outside world. These tribes depend on a non-monetarised economy dependent on subsistence agriculture. A very small portion of the land can sustain cash crops, including coffee and cocoa. Abundant rainforests provide the raw material for a logging industry, which is owned by Malaysian-owned companies. Conservation groups have criticized the social and environmental impact of the activity. The country's boast of mineral deposits such as gold, copper and nickel- but exploitation of these minerals is difficult and made slow due to the extensive and difficult terrain and poor infrastructure make exploitation slow. Its main export is gold, petroleum, copper, coffee, palm, oil, logs.

Papua New Guinea got its independence in 1975 from Australia. It remains a commonwealth realm of Her Majesty Elizabeth 1, Queen of Papua New Guinea. Many of its people live in abject poverty with about one third of the population living on less than U.S.$1.25 per day. The country has strong ties with its Southern neighbor, Australia, which administered the territory until independence in 1975. The country has adopted the use of technology, for instance the internet and by June 2009, there were 120,000 internet users. The study will start with looking at the negative effects before moving to the positive effects.

PNG is a county that is compounded by abject poverty just like other developing countries. When globalization started developing a decade ago there were hopes that it would help such at least reduce income inequalities among countries especially in the developing world. However this did not materialize and countries like PNG have continued ravaging in poverty as they are exploited by developed countries who continue to develop. It is therefore true to point out that globalization has negatively contributed to human insecurity by compounding inequities of power and resources.

Kay, (1997) argues that power is positioned in global social formations and expressed through global networks rather than through territorially-based states. PNG has not been in place to tap from the global power to and it is because of this that PNG had to deal with separatists forces of its own without the intervention of the international community for nine long years. In the event up to 20,000 people were killed as the rest of the world watched and the conflict only ended in1997. So, did globalization exert its power to divert a war that lasted nine years? No, it in fact contributed because it watched as the events unfolded.

PNG experiences with wars and unrest within its borders, has placed it in a disposing situation for insecurity. The Separatist struggle in the neighboring Indonesian province of Papua prompted the flight of thousands of Papuans into PNG from mid 1980s onward to which up to today many of them remain living in the region. Globalization has created easy immigration into other countries territories a situation that has created refuges and also asylums that are a security threat to the individuals of the country. This is what happened with PNG which had to tolerate influx of Papuans from Indonesian to settle in their land which is a human security concern.

Globalization is supposed to bring hopes of growth and the alleviation of poverty. (Battersby & Siracusa, 2009) At least countries are interdependent on one another, and there is easy movement of goods and trade and investment. However even after a decade of its existence and of a rapidly growing globalization, alleviation of poverty especially in developing countries has remained a dream. PNG is in extreme poverty, with no facilities of modern life despite the fact it produces oil, cocoa, steel, etc.

Foreign direct investment in PNG has not increased significantly with globalization. PNG integration into the global market has not led to growth and has led to greater exposure to volatile international markets. Free trade in PNG have a comparative advantage, remains a future hope impeded by the tremendous agricultural subsidies awarded by developed countries like U.S. And EU.

And so what happens in such a case? Such a country is likely to feel cheated by the developed countries; instead of globalization helping reduce the income inequality gap it has done the reverse, not withstanding the fact that globalization seen to exploit the developing countries like PNG, through their exports which mainly deal with agricultural products. The discontent of this exploitation, coupled with abject poverty as they watch their counter parts (U.S. And EU) make progressive steps, creates a feeling of hopelessness, frustrations which if not checked is what leads to results to intra-state wars hence causing human insecurity.

With the ease movement of good and even people, all nations of the world are at a greater risk of terrorism attack. The number of asylum seekers in the world and even migrants in the world is growing in leaps and bounds. This is because of the growing realities of networking possibilities in a rapidly globalizing world. Those that have felt marginalized deprived or angered by what they perceive as injustices caused by poverty and inequity, have now found new ways of grouping themselves together.

Globalization has not been in position to prevent the nature of wars; instead they have changed mostly from inter-state to intra-state. The source of insecurity on humans has become largely internal, with ethnic, religious and political groups fighting over contested rights and resources with vengeance. The international community on the other hand has been short of effective tools to deal with myriads of these problems and claims.

While creating wealth, opportunities for work, and a better life for many, it has impacted adversely on the strata of society. The extraordinary growth in the diffusion of information technology, the advancement in transportation and communication and the free flow of financial capital, have accelerated the movement of people an contacts among them. The distinction between desirable, lawful and safe movement of people and dangerous, illegal and criminal movement has become unfathomable.

Globalization has created uneven societies, uneven nature, the control of the important means of production by a few advanced countries, and the resistance to it from many of the recipient countries has diminished human security, or at least made things worse. For instance, the benefits like foreign direct investment are not spread evenly among the countries. PNG has missed out on this and at the same time, capital flow is not necessarily smooth process.

The dependence of many developing countries on international trade as a means of growth has made them vulnerable to protectionist measures in the developed countries where they find most of their market outlets.

Increased incidents of intra-state conflict should not exist when countries are integrated. (Shahbanou, 2007) Why do I say so? Internal conflicts within a country are mainly fuelled by factors such as lack of basic services like health and education, high prevalence of corruption, poverty, high crime rate, lack of democracy among others. This paints a clear picture of what PNG looks likes and it is no wonder that analysts are worried. However, globalization was meant to solve such problems especially in the developing countries, and if they still exist is because some countries benefitted from globalization and other yet to get its gain. So what happens is that these countries resort to wars without for loss of any other alternative method, and human security is compromised.

Even with the above negative effects to the human security, globalization has also been helpful in helping to maintain human security in various ways. Globalization has helped develop democracy through the development of civil society, both international and domestic. In fact before the development of globalization, many countries especially in the developing world did not operate on the concept of democracy. Many of these nations were dictatorial in nature which saw a lot of killing and torturing of individuals but today nations cannot just do what they feel like because there will be an intervention by other countries to bring order and democracy.

It has been reported by analysts that Papua New Guinea is in critical condition of political and economic collapse. There is political instability, with a high crime rate and corruption being rampant. Not withstanding this is that the country faces a lack of health care and education services with a poverty level of 70%. However, despite these grave conditions and due to globalization, other countries like Australia are standing by to avert any wars and thus have peacekeeping forces at the ready. Human security is thus reinforced when globalization allows for countries to intervene in other countries situations such as wars and help restore peace. (Firth, 2007).Indeed, there have been many peace keeping missions conducted by countries in order to restore pace in a country ravaged by war and this is instrumental in helping preserve human security.

Globalization has provided for greater availability of small arms in PNG. Since its independence in 1975, small arms have been the main tool for political violence. International intervention both in providing peace keeping missions and aid in form of food, and other resources has been as a result of globalization something that has been instrumental in helping human security prevalence.

PNG has an active media industry, that consist of press, radio and television and even though it is not well developed, the media has been instrumental in voicing their plight not only nationally but even internationally. By June 2009, there were 120,000 internet users, who used the platform to voice their problems. Due to globalization, information is now widely available and the whole world can get to hear about anything anytime in a limited time. It is for this reason that the information revolution as a result of globalization and the spread of democracy have made it difficult for governments to hide from the world any massacre or torture they might indulge in, even if in some cases they still occur and the international community does little about them. This has helped maintain human security for fear of the whole world knowing and acting to the accusations.