Economic Growth and Peace – The Chicken or the Egg?

Hosted by Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflicts

Does a country’s economic growth ensure development and progress for its people? Or do improvements to peace lead to economic progress? With the rise of new economies, such as Brazil, India, and South Africa, these relationships are now in question. Will the emergence of new economies ensure greater human security for the world? Or does newly gained economic influence bring with it international political aspirations that go against the human security interests of local populations?
During this workshop, the just-released 2013 Global Peace Index will be used as a lens to look at the peacefulness of Brazil, India and South Africa - countries that are often hailed as success stories in breaking through the economic hegemony of the West. Were increases in GDP accompanied by increased peacefulness? And do these numbers and statistics paint a good picture of the reality on the ground?
These and other questions will be discussed in this workshop organized by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). GPPAC members from Brazil, India and South Africa will provide a view from the street of the relationship between their country's peacefulness and its economic development, telling the story behind the numbers and discussing the priorities for policy makers to ensure that human security matches economic progress.

The IEP is responsible for the development of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), a ground-breaking milestone in the study of peace. GPPAC is a global network of civil society organizations that work on conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Moderation:

Hellema, Marte
Programme Manager Public Outreach, Global Secretariat of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, The Hague, The Netherlands

Panelists:

Gounden, Vasu
Founder and Executive Director, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Durban, South Africa

Joseph, Mallika
Ph.D., Executive Director, Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Killelea, Steve
Founder and Chairman, Institute for Economics and Peace, Melbourne, Australia

Rodrigues, Gilberto Marcos Antonio
Professor of International Relations, Federal University of ABC, São Paolo, Brazil

Complete workshop on soundcloud:
WS04 - Economic Growth and Peace - The Chicken or the Egg?