Only When a Country Is Free from Conflict It Is Ready to Develop

“Only when a Country is free from conflict is it ready to develop”- Critically evaluate this point of view

In order to develop, countries need security. Security is the degree of resistance to, or protection from, harm. It applies to any vulnerable and valuable asset, such as a person, dwelling, community, nation, or organization. There are many different forms of security that can help protect or free a country from conflict. Firstly economic security can help provide a strong core background to a country in its quest to develop. It involves a country’s economy being stable and sustainable as well as individuals having a reliable basic income. An example of a country that has a strong economy which has enabled it to develop drastically in recent year is China. China's rapid expansion shows no sign of abating over the next decade. Although it is expected to remain in second spot over the medium term, the CEBR said that by 2022, the Chinese economy, currently 53pc the size of the US economy, will swell to 83pc of the size. A country’s security can also be measured in terms of food and health security. Firstly food security involves having access to a reliable source of sufficient food. Having good food security can help a country develop as it reduces the numbers of people living in poverty within a country which has held them back from development. Health security involves having a reliable source of protection from diseases and access to health care for all. An example of a country that has struggled to develop due to the strains of resources diseases having brought to the country is Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has the highest death rate from Malaria in the world, with the figure standing at 132.5 per 100,000.  This has meant the country is always having to spend the little economic funds it has on healthcare and cannot use this money to help the country develop, meaning Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world. Conflict can also come in many different forms, ranging from war killing thousands of people to non-violent protests about healthcare provision. Conflict occurs in countries all over the world in both LEDC’s and MEDC’s. Both being having a strong national security system and development within a country are important for the future of a nation and in this essay I will look at what is more beneficial for the country’s needs.

Firstly if a country is in war and has no secure network it is unlike it will be able to develop. The country of Zimbabwe in Africa is a clear example of how a country cannot develop without security. The fortunes of Zimbabwe have for almost three decades been tied to President Robert Mugabe, the pro-independence campaigner who wrested control from a small white community and became the country's first black leader. Once called Rhodesia, Zimbabwe was ruled by a white minority until 1980. But after a fierce war of independence, Robert Mugabe rose to power. A freedom fighter-turned-dictator, Mugabe has transformed Zimbabwe from the prize of Africa into a state of fear. Mr Mugabe continues to preside over a nation whose economy is in deep crisis, where poverty and unemployment are endemic and political strife and repression commonplace. Zimbabwe is home to the Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, the stone enclosures of Great Zimbabwe - remnants of a past empire - and to herds of elephant and other game roaming vast stretches of wilderness.