Bordering on Development

January 19, 2012

You would be hard-pressed today to find someone that rejects Kofi Annan's axiom that "you cannot have development without security and you cannot have security without development." However, practical implementation of this powerful logic is still largely unfulfilled. Insufficient cooperation and coordination of resources-financial, technical, and human-between military, security, and development communities worldwide remains a significant obstacle to change.

It is with this background that the Managing Across Boundaries program (MAB) at the Stimson Center and the Africa Peace Forum, a Nairobi-based peace and conflict research institute, have partnered to challenge conventional wisdom. Through research, analysis, and outreach on the ground, in 2012, we will develop a Kenyan border security action plan detailing requirements in terms of high technology, communications equipment, training, and human capacity. It is our intention that this document will be a helpful tool for the Government of Kenya to solicit international assistance for building capacity at borders.

Development and security specialists agree that the cornerstone of any successful development strategy in East Africa must include a commitment to shoring up capacities at the borders. Porous and weak infrastructure and institutions at national boundaries are the common denominator for an array of security challenges that directly impact the prospects of economic and social progress on the African continent: proliferation and small arms trafficking, growth in organized crime, and terrorist activity.

Ultimately, it is our hope that the private sector, including manufacturers and trainers of many of the required technologies and services, will be a part of conversations with governments, and perhaps even tailor capacity-building programs that will effectively respond to the issues that Kenya and the East African region face. The global market for improving border security is worth $17 billion per year, which should serve as a market incentive for progressive high tech and communications corporations to cooperate with governments, development and infrastructure banks, and civil society.

For the local population, security problems, such as the unchecked flow of small arms across the continent, challenge sustainable development by fuelling conflict, spoiling a healthy business climate, threatening a functioning labor market and educational system, decreasing revenues from tourism, and endangering foreign direct investments. Indeed, it is estimated that armed violence and civil wars alone, made possible by illicit flows of arms, account for a 15-percent reduction in the gross domestic product annually in Africa. Our initiative seeks to create conditions that will enable poor and vulnerable people to improve their lives. This is sustainable development through security.

It is time to rethink the role of governments, civil society, and industry to create innovative new partnerships that benefit the greater good. In our interconnected world, it is in the interest of both governments and the private sector for corporations to become a greater force for good while making profits. We must therefore do a better job enlisting tech and communications companies' support in building stronger societies.

We hope that this "whole of society" pilot program in Kenya will trigger a chain reaction across the region, and we stand ready to communicate the lessons learned and facilitate similar projects throughout the African continent. Ultimately, our joint efforts are our attempt at turning Kofi Annan's persuasive rhetoric into equally powerful action.

Photo credit: Courtesy of International Security Assistance Force, http://www.flickr.com/photos/isafmedia/5966113214/