The securitisation of aid and the associated risks to human security and development

Abstract

Since 9/11 there has been an increasing movement toward the securitisation of development aid. That is, the tendency for donor governments to view security and development as interconnected within a 'security-development nexus'. It reflects the growing concern toward so-called 'failed' or 'fragile' states where underdevelopment has come to be seen as dangerous, especially in light of new wars, refugee crises, migration and terrorism. This paper is concerned with how the securitisation of aid poses risks for development work, specifically within the human development and human security agenda that emerged in the 1990s as an alternative framework to the traditional models of economic development. This paper finds that both in terms of where aid is located and the way in which it is delivered on the ground, the securitisation of aid poses significant risk to the human security and human agenda insofar as it fails to address the underlying causes of insecurity and underdevelopment. It concludes that the associated risks to the human security agenda can be seen by questioning whose security interests are being served through the securitisation of aid. International aid is one of the most powerful weapons in the war against poverty. Today, that weapon is underused and badly targeted … and much of what is provided is weakly linked to human development. 1

Securitización humanitaria: usos y abusos de la ayuda internacional al servicio del control y las prácticas securitarias

“…Estos objetivos no estarían motivados por una preocupación genuina por las necesidades humanitarias de las poblaciones asistidas, sino por los propios intereses de seguridad de los gobiernos donantes o de los receptores de la ayuda. En particular desde el 11 de septiembre de 2001, se ha enfatizado la securitización de la cooperación al desarrollo (Pahlman, 2014) y promovido el nexo que asume una dependencia entre esta y la seguridad. 2 Esa fagocitación también incluye a la acción humanitaria, en la que centrará este artículo.…”