Rapid economic globalization and urbanization have created an international security environment that has radically altered the calculus of the national security of the U.S. Economic globalization has changed the lives of virtually every resident of the planet, through rapid access to information, goods, services, resources, and, perhaps most importantly, expectations. As a direct result of economic globalization, urbanization has simultaneously increased demand on the world’s natural resources and exacerbated an imbalance in the distribution of the world’s natural resources. Combined, economic globalization and urbanization have significantly increased the risk of future conflict.
When demand for natural resources outstrips the supply of natural resources, the risk of conflict increases. On a global scale, rapid urbanization is causing just such an imbalance in supply and demand. Such resources as water, food, energy, and even immunizations against disease are essential to urbanizing regions. And yet, these resources are simply not available in the amounts required in the most rapidly urbanizing areas of the world. The result is extreme poverty, malnutrition, competition for limited resources, and potential conflict.
In turn, globalization has accelerated urbanization, thereby propelling developing nations toward potential conflict. The economies of the world’s developed nations require the raw materials, inexpensive labor, and lax regulation of undeveloped nations. Globalization in the form of information technology and economic transparency facilitates the ability of wealthier nations to access the resources of poorer nations. In the process, the populations of the poorer nations urbanize to concentrate resources (especially labor) where those resources will be most efficiently utilized in economic terms.
If conflict over limited resources is more likely in an era of rapid globalization and urbanization, what are the implications for U.S. national security policy? If history is an accurate guide, the implications are clear. The U.S. will need to develop a comprehensive strategy to address numerous small-scale international conflicts. Whether the U.S. elects to participate directly or indirectly in them, these regional conflicts will affect U.S. interests, and thus will require a response. Historically, the U.S. has either acted as a direct participant (e.g., Somalia) or through partners (e.g., Mali). As a nation, its role has typically been significant and very costly.
U.S. policy options are not limited to responding to such regional crises with military power after the crisis has occurred. Another option is conflict prevention through development, a new instrument of national power. U.S. security policy would be well served if the U.S. was able to invest a fraction of the cost of conflict response in efforts toward conflict prevention. Such a policy would help avoid the costly repercussions of outright conflict, in both lives lost and financial resources. Such notable defense policy experts as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have been proponents of conflict prevention as a less expensive approach than conflict resolution. Conflict prevention in the context of globalization and urbanization suggests the use of development as an instrument of the nation’s overall national security strategy.
Most practitioners consider the four instruments of national power to be diplomatic, informational, military, and economic—sometimes referred to as DIME. The U.S. has wielded each of these instruments in various proportions over decades of foreign policy and during multiple conflicts. The results to date have been arguably quite good, as the U.S. has generally enjoyed sustained prosperity, growth, and influence over its more than two centuries of existence. Globalization and urbanization in the twenty-first century require that the U.S. consider adding to the traditional four instruments to create a fifth element—development.
Since the implementation of the Marshall Plan, development has been a component of the diplomatic instrument of national power, left to the State Department (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). However, modern history shows us that development activities are not the exclusive domain of State or USAID. Due to the nature of conflicts and areas which are not readily accessible to civilians, the Department of Defense (DoD) has assumed a much greater role in the planning and implementation of development projects, executing as much as 22 percent of U.S. official development assistance. As a result of these trends, the U.S. development enterprise is undergoing a fundamental change on a scale not seen since the Marshall Plan.
Global trends and whole-of-government approaches to development activities suggest that the time has come for development to be elevated to the status of an instrument of American power in its own right. As a properly synchronized and integrated instrument of American power, development will promote conflict prevention by reducing competition for natural resources, reducing the likelihood of humanitarian crises caused by poverty, and integrating developing nations into the world economy, while simultaneously promoting democratic values and global economic prosperity.
In addition to the four traditional instruments of national power, the President articulated a vision of eight tools of American power in his 2010 National Security Strategy (NSS): defense, diplomacy, economic, development, homeland security, intelligence, strategic communications, and the American people and the private sector.8 His inclusion of development clearly shows that it has the potential to be an instrument of national power, as it is sufficiently distinguished from the other instruments.
USAID describes "U.S. foreign assistance" as having a "twofold purpose of furthering America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world." According to USAID, its mission is to: promote economic prosperity; strengthen democracy; improve global health; advance food security and agriculture; improve environmental sustainability; promote education; help governments prevent and recover from conflicts; and provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters.9 Succinctly USAID’s mission is to prevent conflicts by assisting emerging nations develop resources, institutions, and democratic systems that contribute to stability and security. Successfully implemented, development can prevent conflict.