Globalisation and security in the developing world: Towards a framework for analysis

Abstract

In a world where rapid and voluminous change conjures up a sense of being boxed in by external developments, there is often the tendency to ignore the challenges that complexity pose by opting for simplistic explanations. One such reductionism is to depend on hierarchical explanations which place security in a subordinate position to globalisation. It has become a platitude to argue that weak states of the developing world have become powerless in the face of globalisation, not only in the familiar areas of economics and politics, but also in their ability to provide the most rudimentary of all services, namely security. Yet, the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 have proven that global hegemons too cannot escape the insecurity generated by transnational forces.