Peace and security: doomsday scenario or optimistic mood?

Across the globe, 71 million people are displaced and 500 million people are threatened by climate change. The number of floods has quadrupled since 1980. Given these figures, you could easily get the impression that people’s security and existence are under threat. News reports at the beginning of the year frequently talked about 2020 being a decisive year for the planet.
 
In international cooperation, too, actors are having to cope with situations that are becoming more and more complicated, and sometimes dangerous. It is not only armed conflict that jeopardises security. Security is at risk wherever livelihoods or resources are dwindling. Many states today are considered fragile. To ensure that work in the field is effective, state, private, non-profit and military organisations need to unite and work together. This is a complex challenge that requires perseverance.

So, is working for sustainable peace a hopeless endeavour? Not at all, writes Martin Jäger, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In a guest article in GIZ’s akzente magazine, Jäger describes how, in this age of constant, instant information, it can feel like problems and conflicts are always increasing. However, there are enough ways to find evidence to the contrary. Click here to read about why Martin Jäger believes that Afghanistan is an example of hope despite all the obstacles, and what role development policy can play in the issues of the future.