Development Policy Forum (DPF) Roundtable

Tuesday 1 December 2009

development and Security:

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

Session I - Without security, development is fruitless; without development, security is pointless

Europe’s policymakers are increasingly aware that the greatest development assistance challenges they face are in unstable or failed states. And although Afghanistan is at present the prime example of EU countries’ inability to achieve effective civilian-military cooperation, the problem is just as daunting in some African states, notably in the Horn of Africa. How do civilian development experts – not least the NGOs with “frontline” responsibilities – see the difficulties of combining security and crisis management questions with longer-term development tasks? With climate change likely to exacerbate the twin problems of under-development and breakdown of law and order, what policy framework should the EU be fashioning to go beyond “civilian-military” cooperation? What lessons have been learned that could help the EU to improve its conflict prevention policies?

Introductory remarks by:

Session II - Prevention is better than cure, so security and development actors need a common approach

Improved interaction between development and security actors has great potential for crisis prevention as well as for post-conflict work. But to achieve that both sides have to agree on a coordinated long-term approach and on structures for tackling the root causes of insecurity. Is a new framework needed that could better concert sustainable economic development, good governance, effective policing and the primacy of the rule of law?

Introductory remarks by: