National security in the third world

Book · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5408776

Al-Mashat, A M.M.

For nations of the Third World, national security poses serious dilemmas. Unlike Western nations, less-developed countries must balance the complex and often contradictory requirements of socio-economic and political development with problems of internal stability and the requirements of national defense. For these countries, a concept of national security that focuses primarily on the international threat system and its overt manifestations of wars and violence, ignoring domestic well-being, is inadequate on theoretical and pragmatic grounds. This book addresses the security problems of Third World states, arguing for new ways to define and measure national security so that the concept may be appropriately applied to the needs of developing countries. In addition, the author argues that the tranquility of a state, a concept traditionally linked with national security, cannot necessarily be associated with quality of life as measured by conventional means. Dr. Al-Mashat constructs a tranquility index for 95 developing nations and tests its relationship with the physical quality-of-life index to demonstrate this point. Attempts to improve quality of life, he suggests, may in many countries lead to a reduction in security unless simultaneous attempts are made to democratize the regime.

• OSTI ID: 5408776
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990100* -- Management
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NATIONAL SECURITY
POLITICAL ASPECTS
QUALITY OF LIFE
SECURITY
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS