By Allieu S. Tunkara
The Global Peace Index (GPI) report is out having examined the peace status of 163 countries. Iceland has been labelled the most peaceful country in the world and Afghanistan the least peaceful.
The latter replaces Syria which has been rated as the second least peaceful and Iceland is closely followed by New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark at the top of the peace index.
The global peace uses three thematic models in measuring world peace: the level of societal safety and security, the extent of the on-going domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization.
This is the first time the index has improved by 0.09 per cent with 86 countries and 76 recording deteriorations. The peace report presents a world in which conflicts and crises that emerged in the past decade have begun to abate, but tensions within and between nations have emerged.
The report is the handwork of Institute for Economics and Peace, the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. It presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis, its economic importance and how to develop peaceful societies. The report covers 99.7% of the world’s population using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from “highly” respected sources.
The executive summary which provides an insight into the content of the report captures the analysis of trends in positive peace and the relationship between actual peace of a country, as measured by the GPI, and ‘positive peace.’ The report conceptualizes ‘positive peace’ as the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. A deficit in ‘positive peace’ is often a precursor of future increases in violent conflicts in the world.
It further contends that ‘positive peace’ deficit countries are more likely to experience increased levels of violence in the future because they lack the necessary attitudes, institutions and structures to prevent violence from happening once the country receives a shock. The ‘positive peace’ deficit is synonymous with ‘negative peace’ which refers to a situation in which nations cannot offer their citizens the basics or essentials of life. It therefore goes without saying that though there is peace in such societies; the absence of amenities implies that they sit on a keg of dynamite ready to explode at any given time. The absence of such facilities that should be provided by the state also implies gathering combustibles waiting for the slightest spark to burst into uncontrollable flames.
The report further contends that contrary to public perception, the militarization domain has recorded 92.6% improvement since 2008. The number of armed services personnel per 100,000, according to report, has fallen in 117 countries and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP dropped in 98 countries with only 63 countries increasing their spending.
Although the report looks back at global activities that took place in 2019 being the year under review, the year still has a spill over effect to the current 2020. African and world countries continue to experience internal and external military tensions. The threat of home-grown terrorism in Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Mali among other nations represents one of the strongest cases in point.
Terrorist attacks, suicide bombings and piracies on the high seas especially Somalia are prevalent trends. Owing to such occurrences, Somalia for succeeding years has been tagged a “failed state.” Libya is yet to enjoy peace and security since the overthrow and death of Muammar Gaddafi. Tunisia and Egypt and other North African countries are still volatile owing to the struggle for democratisation.
But the most potent of all in contemporary times is the looming military threat between the United States and Iran. The latter, for several years, has been accused in the manufacture of chemical and atomic weapons. The Uranium enrichment in the country stands as the greatest testimonies in the move towards atomic armament.
North Korea is also one of those countries widely suspected of manufacturing chemical weapons for which she is at logger heads with the Super world Power. One of the great world powers, Russia has been backing Syria since the armed struggle against the Alhassad Government erupted. As such, the United States has raised large eye brows on the conduct of Russia.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is a body set up to monitor, regulate and report on the manufacture of atomic weapons in order to curb their proliferation. IAEA came into existence in the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki US military strikes in Japan, the deadliest in history.
But the atomic weapons regulator seems helpless in the face of atomic armament race and the growing threats of chemical warfare between the big nations. As the tension grows, a great many right thinkers have posited that the current military threats between powerful nations may spell the genesis of a third world war. Thus, a dangerous world is being created.
The Economic Impact of Violence
The GPI report claims that in 2018 the global economy was $4.1 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity. The figure, according to the report, is equivalent to 11.2% of the word’s economic activity (gross world product) or $1,855 for every person. However, the report says, the economic impact of violence improved by 3.3% during 2018. It can always be expressed without any fear of contradiction that economic investment is slowed down in conflict-stricken countries.
Today nations such as Libya, Syria, Somalia Sudan and other warring nations have permanently occupied the bottom rungs of the development index owing to endemic presence of conflicts in their countries. African economies, owing to such conflicts, are performing very badly in the international trade as the continent almost always continues to suffer permanent trade deficits for her exports.
Back home, Sierra Leone though a post- conflict state, was rated 3rd most peaceful in West Africa in 2017 and was also rated high in the world peace ranking. But, current trends reveal that the gains made have been reversed because the hitherto hailed trail blazer cannot blaze the trail. Sierra Leone is now in the eighth place in Sub-Saharan Africa and 52 out of 163 countries thanks to the current GPI report.
The state of Sierra Leone has been ushered into a dire state where bread-and butter issue still remains a looming challenge.
The dire state into which Sierra Leone has been plunged cannot be divorced from the seeds sown on the eve of the 2018 political transition. The 2018 transition was a period characterized by political tension, violence, killings, rapes, quarrels and Scuffles the nation has never seen.
Past government officials were chased by ‘youths of politics’ who immediately transformed themselves into vicious and ruthless thugs for what they refer to as recovery of government assets. Those who once served the nation in respectable capacities were tagged as “thieves and plunders” thereby justifying indiscriminate violence on them and their immediate family members. The daughter of the former President was not spared during the politically turbulent period.
Insults were added to injury when ambassadors, high commissioners and principal representatives abroad were disgracefully kicked out from their diplomatic offices. For some diplomats, returning home was not possible and they became stranded in a foreign land. The international community was alarmed at the political move of the current regime towards the main opposition. Locally, thousand of government workers perceived to enjoy affiliation with the then regime were set aside. A huge number of the public have described the political move in one word-unjustifiable.
The Bintumani 111 called by the government almost a year ago to build foundation for political tolerance was a complete farce as the government had already started with the wrong foot. The conference was meant to cure the wounds inflicted during the transition period but they remained incurable to date.
Today, the country’s economy is not only shambolic but messy evidenced by the appalling economic indicators. The country’s international standing has been derailed owing to violence. Sierra Leone lost aid money of about $600M under the US Millenium Challenge Corporation. Similarly, the country also lost another aid during the UK summit.
Thus, the huge economic and financial loss is tagged to the political violence.