Security

The security component of the CDI compares rich countries on military actions that affect developing countries. Rewarded are contributions to international peacekeeping and forcible humanitarian interventions that have an international mandate—unlike the 2003 invasion of Iraq but like the NATO intervention in Kosovo. Countries also get points for protecting sea lanes for global trade, but lose them for exporting weapons to authoritarian regimes with heavy military spending.





2007

Norway: 8.3 New Zealand: 7.7 Australia: 7.5 Denmark: 6.7 Finland: 6.2 Portugal: 6.2 Netherlands: 6.1 United Kingdom: 6.0 Ireland: 5.9 Greece: 5.7 Canada: 5.4 Italy: 4.9 Sweden: 4.3 Austria: 4.2 Germany: 4.0 Belgium: 3.7 Switzerland: 3.6 United States: 3.5 Spain: 3.3 France: 2.9 Japan: 2.0 South Korea: 0.0 Security 2007

CDI site with animation

 

Details

Rich nations engage daily in activities that enhance or degrade the security of developing countries. They make or keep the peace in countries recently torn by conflict and keep open sea lanes vital to international trade. But rich countries also supply developing country armed forces with tanks and jets.


The CDI looks at three aspects of the security-development nexus. It tallies the financial and personnel contributions to peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, although it counts only operations approved by an international body such as the U.N. Security Council or NATO. It also rewards countries that base naval fleets where they can secure sea lanes.


Finally, the Index penalizes some arms exports to undemocratic nations that spend heavily on the military. Putting weapons in the hands of despots can increase repression at home and the temptation to launch military adventures abroad. When weapons are sold instead of being given to developing nations, this diverts money that might be better spent on teachers or transit systems. Still, because countries need guns as well as butter—arming a police force can strengthen the rule of law—the Index does not penalize all arms exports.

The United States takes the top spot on security for its significant financial and personnel contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions, namely the current operation in Afghanistan endorsed by the U.N. Security Council in 2001, as well as its large number of military ships stationed in sea lanes. New Zealand and Australia also rank at the top for their U.N.-approved action in 1999 to stop Indonesian oppression of East Timor. However, the United States is also penalized for exporting a large amount of arms to poor and undemocratic countries, as are the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. South Korea and Japan earn perfect scores on arms exports to developing countries (they have none) but lag otherwise because of their low international military profiles.


For more on security, explore the fragile states topic, related publications, and experts.