Evidently, the world is not at peace with itself. Violence and conflict -military or otherwise - have their spill-over impacts beyond the boundary of a nation or nations. The refugee crisis facing Europe, the most peaceful region in the Global Peace Index (GPI), is a stark example. Add to this the terrorist attack on civilians in French capital Paris, no nation is immune to the potential threat.
Yet countries in the world face different levels of perceived and real threat and put in place mechanisms of their own to maintain order and peace in their respective societies. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a non-profit organisation painstakingly makes an assessment of how peaceful a country is. The ninth edition of the GPI, published this year claims to have covered 99.6 per cent of the global population of 162 independent states in order to indicate the comparative peacefulness existing in the world.
Iceland has come on top of the list while Syria the worst performer in term of peacefulness in society. Bangladesh ranks 84th in the GPI. Composed of 23 indicators from highly respected sources, the index relies on three broad themes -the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization -to take a measure of peace in each country.
What is significant is that the 2015 Global Peace Index score has not changed from the previous year's but four out of nine geographical regions has experienced improved peace while in the rest five it has deteriorated. The most substantial changes were recorded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This is the area that has been plagued by sectarian violence, civil conflicts, rise in terrorist acts resorted to by religious extremist groups. No wonder, the MENA has overtaken South Asia where the negative contribution by Pakistan and Afghanistan had placed it in the forefront the previous year. Another disquieting development is the worsening of overall political terror. This has been prompted by deterioration of political atmosphere in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, South Asia and the MENA in particular.
According to the IEP, Bangladesh falls in the medium category with its 84th position on the GPI. Clearly, the recent attacks on foreign nationals, the police and publishers and writers along with the death threats issued to a few eminent teachers and writers are likely to send the country several notches down the ranking. Its position is likely to be worse still on account of the spate of homicides including the barbaric torture and killing of a number of children in different parts of the country. If societal safety and security are subjected to so gross violations, the indicator alone is enough to push the country quite a few slots down the order.
Political divide in the country seems to be irreconcilable over the issue of trial and punishment of the war criminals. The fact that a few of these criminals have been put to the gallows and still more are to follow them has been keeping the rift open. External forces' involvement with this issue of crime against humanity gives it an additional implication so much so that clandestine attacks by terrorist organisations cannot be ruled out. On this count, too, Bangladesh's position shift is quite likely.
Now to go by the economic impact of violence, as assessed by the IEP, it is a mind-boggling figure. In the year it was measured at US$ 14.3 trillion, 13.4 per cent of the world GDP. Since 2008, the economic impact on the global GDP has increased by 15.3 per cent from US$ 12.4 per cent to $ 14.3 trillion. How has this impacted the economy of Bangladesh? There is no way to get an accurate figure but if the political turmoil of 2013 can be taken as a bench-mark of disincentive to growth, it is likely to be in the billions of Taka.
Apart from the various security and law enforcement agencies, the cost on their gears and technological devices need to be counted in the changed circumstances. The latest step involves the setting up of close-circuit cameras on strategic locations of the city and city streets. These cameras have been helpful in identifying a number of criminals involved in ghastly crimes. Other sophisticated security gadgets including drones need to be procured in order to beef up the capacity for counter terrorism.
The 9/11 destruction of the Twin Tower in the United States of America, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack and the latest attacks on Paris point to the fact that there is no alternative to keeping the security system on constant alert. If society aspires to live in peace, it has to successfully counter threat. If a government can ensure a foolproof security measure for its citizens, its rating is sure to go up.
However, no government with its legitimacy questioned can be very successful in providing enough security for its people. If governance is highly acceptable to its citizens and above everything else the nation is one in fighting external or terrorist threat, it becomes easier for a government to ensure social progress and economic development.
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