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Sicherheit über alles? Die schleichende Versicherheitlichung deutscher Entwicklungspolitik
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Abstract
Abstract
Security above all else? The gradual securitization of German development policy. In current development debates it has become a staple for policymakers to see development policy through a security lens. Whether or not official German development efforts confi rm this assessment, however, is debatable. In this article, recent dynamics and trends in German development cooperation are analyzed from the perspective of such an alleged „securitization“. The focus is on five dimensions of securitization and its effects: 1. shifts in developmental discourse; 2. local patterns of the allocation of development funds; 3. sectoral patterns of resource allocation; 4. eventual security-related implications of institutional reforms in the development sector; and, 5. authority shifts among agencies and bureaucracies. That is, the concept of securitization has been broadened to encompass changes in political action and, at the structural level, shifts in thinking. In the German case, the results indicate that securitization taking the form of „militarization“ has, so far, been sporadic at most. This is likely because of the long-term and incremental nature of shifts in perception, which have preceded (and enabled) forms of civil-military cooperation in the development sector, however, future developments will have to be watched closely. The current experiences in Afghanistan will help decide the contours of future official development policy in this regard.
Security above all else? The gradual securitization of German development policy. In current development debates it has become a staple for policymakers to see development policy through a security lens. Whether or not official German development efforts confi rm this assessment, however, is debatable. In this article, recent dynamics and trends in German development cooperation are analyzed from the perspective of such an alleged „securitization“. The focus is on five dimensions of securitization and its effects: 1. shifts in developmental discourse; 2. local patterns of the allocation of development funds; 3. sectoral patterns of resource allocation; 4. eventual security-related implications of institutional reforms in the development sector; and, 5. authority shifts among agencies and bureaucracies. That is, the concept of securitization has been broadened to encompass changes in political action and, at the structural level, shifts in thinking. In the German case, the results indicate that securitization taking the form of „militarization“ has, so far, been sporadic at most. This is likely because of the long-term and incremental nature of shifts in perception, which have preceded (and enabled) forms of civil-military cooperation in the development sector, however, future developments will have to be watched closely. The current experiences in Afghanistan will help decide the contours of future official development policy in this regard.