Security 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 they occasionally make war. Their navies 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 (thus the invasion of Iraq does not count). It also rewards countries that base naval fleets where they can secure sea lanes vital to international trade. Only four countries get points for that: France, the Netherlands, Britain, and the U.S.

Finally, the Index penalizes some arms exports to undemocratic nations that spend heavily on weapons. 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 penalizes exports to some countries but not all.

Australia and Norway take the top spots on security—Australia for its U.N.-approved action in 1999 to stop Indonesian oppression of East Timor, and Norway for steady contributions to peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East. The U.S. scores above average overall, earning points for flexing its military muscle near sea lanes but making only average contributions to approved international interventions, while losing points for its record as a leading arms merchant to Middle Eastern dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia. Japan earns a perfect score on arms exports to developing countries (it has none) but lags otherwise because of its peace constitution and minimal international military profile.

For more, go Inside the Index.