Nicole Ball

Security and Economy in the Third World

Nicole Ball brings the effects of security expenditure to the center of that debate, examining in detail how the potential negative consequences on development outweigh the potential positive effects.Originally published in 1988.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Transforming security sectors: the IMF and World Bank approaches

Since the end of the Cold War, donors have come to realise that when security sectors operate autonomously, with scant regard for the rule of law, democratic principles, and sound management practices, sustainable, poverty-reducing development is extremely di?cult, if not impossible, to achieve. Because of the substantial ?nancial resources and technical expertise at their disposal, there is a growing expectation that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will play an important part in supporting improved security-sector governance. These organisations have, however, long taken the position that, because of restrictions on political activities in their Articles of Agreement, their involvement in issues pertaining to the security sector must be limited. This article suggests that a governance approach to the security sector is well within the mandate of both organisations. And it is necessary for the Bank and the Fund to address the quality of security-sector governance if they are to be e?ective in carrying out two of their core functions: reforming public institutions and strengthening governance.

Reforming security sector governance

What constitutes good governance in the security sector? ‘Good governance’ has increasingly been recognised as central to consolidating democracy and promoting development, but until the late 1990s, the governance of the security sector received very little attention. Such governance is crucial for the success of democratic consolidation, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic and social development. It is also essential for security itself—that is, for creating a safe and secure environment for the state and its entire population. Good governance in the security sector implies that the sector (1) is guided by the principles of democratic governance and (2) takes a peace building approach to security. Table 1 summarises the principles of democratic governance as applied to the security sector and the main objectives of a peace building approach to security. The remainder of this paper focuses on democratic governance of the security sector. Why be concerned about democratic security sector governance? During the Cold War, security-related assistance usually focused on enhancing the operational capacity of security services, with no concern for democratic governance or the rule of law. Donors of development assistance avoided interacting with the security sector; democratic governance and rule-of-law considerations were also largely absent from their assistance programmes. The result was tolerance of politicised security bodies, war as a means of resolving disputes, flagrant disregard by security bodies for the rule of law, serious human rights abuses by security bodies, and high defence budgets. During the 1990s, it became increasingly clear that neither people nor the states they

Governance in the Security Sector

This chapter begins from the premise that people and states must be secure from the fear of violence at the local, national, regional, and international levels if an enabling environment for sustainable political and economic development is to be created. This means both that states must be adequately protected against external aggression and internal subversion, and that the lives of ordinary citizens must not be crippled by state repression, violent conflict, or rampant criminality.