Discuss the concept of conflict with respect preparedness of the country in terms of both internal and external security. Also, discuss various alternatives to prevent it effectively. (250 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· Conflict could be external or internal to the country. Internal conflicts can be further classified into two different categories.
· The first category of internal conflict is a conflict against the state. Examples of this are separatist movements, and suicide bombings. Suicide bombings are an extreme manifestation of conflict, carried out by a relatively organised group of non-state actors, and their goal is the destabilisation of the state. These incidents are referred to as terrorism.
· The second category of internal conflict is people-to-people conflict between different ethnic, religious and social groups. This could include religious riots, homicides, domestic violence, common violence, and other crimes. Ethnic and religious violence stand out in people-to-people conflict.
· External Conflict is driven by geopolitical interests, especially with other states.
· Internal conflict has replaced external conflict. While people-to-people internal conflict has declined, internal conflict against the state has increased.
Conflict and Poverty
· It is easier for terrorists and rebels to recruit people to their cause in poorer areas because their opportunity cost is low. This opportunity cost could be low for ethnically-based or separatist conflict, because recruitment can be made on the basis of ethnicity or regional affiliation.
· Poorer regions also have poorer state capacity, and hence the government is not able to deal with the rebels effectively. Geographic conditions, such as the presence of forest cover, can also be associated with the incidence of conflict.
· In addition, there is a strong spatial dimension to conflict. It is concentrated in areas that have higher poverty rates, weak institutions and are poorly integrated.
Alternative measures
· Reducing conflict through collaboration has been at the heart of development efforts from the ancient times, with the formation of village communities to improve collaboration.
· The most common approach is to use police forces to establish law and order in the affected areas.
· A different approach to dealing with conflict is to conduct negotiations and sign peace agreements with the insurgents. To be effective, this approach needs two requirements: the government must conduct coordinated negotiations, and the insurgent group must be genuinely interested in joining the mainstream economy.
· This approach has been tried in India. For instance, the Indian government has signed peace deals with several separatist groups in the north-eastern states
· Increased cross-border regional cooperation between countries should also be an integral part of any strategy to reduce conflict. Many internal conflicts in South Asia have cross-border dimensions.
· A key lesson on reducing conflict is that armed forces are generally not effective in combating terrorism. Regional cooperation initiatives are much more effective in countering terrorism. The challenge is to form Regional Partnership Forums, with support of donors and national policymakers, and given the flexibility to work with the local communities.
