Background Papers

These IISD papers outline the impact of the developed world's trade and aid policies on security in the developing world.

Boom or Bust: Developing countries' rough ride on the commodity price rollercoaster (PDF - 432 kb) » Oli Brown, Jason Gibson, 2006 Commodity prices, at historic highs by mid-2006, are becoming increasingly volatile. Volatile prices complicate fiscal and environmental planning and undermine the livelihoods of millions of producers in the developing world. Are commodity-dependent countries prepared should the price bubble burst? This paper describes the impacts of commodity price volatility and argues for new measures to stabilize commodity revenues for countries as well as producers.
Trade, Aid and Security: Elements of a Positive Paradigm (PDF - 460 kb) » Mark Halle, Jason Switzer, Sebastian Winkler, 2004 An overview of the links between trade in natural resources, aid and conflict. Unstable aid flows, illicit trade of natural resources in exchange for arms, and unacknowledged costs of adapting to the international trade regime are together fuelling instability and insecurity. Achieving sustainable development requires refocusing these regimes to support human security.
Trade, Aid and Security: Introduction, Background and Conceptual Framework (PDF - 187 kb) » Duncan Brack, 2004 Trade policy and aid policy can be designed to reduce such natural resource-related conflict and improve post-conflict recovery. Conversely, if misused, trade and aid policy can undermine security and contribute to violence.
Trade, Aid and Security: A Sustainable Development Perspective (PDF - 77 kb) » Adil Najam, 2002 At a unique moment in time when the regimes governing natural resource management, trade, aid and international security are in flux, this paper calls for a new dialogue between these distinct spheres, evaluating the application of trade and aid instruments against the goal of sustainable development.
Trade, Aid and Security: A Trade Perspective (PDF - 168 kb) » Christian Friis Bach, 2002 Reviewing evidence of the links between unstable trade or aid flows and conflict, and focusing on the potential for commodity price stabilization and aid transfers to balance out the extremes, this paper uses the example of the European Union to argue that trade liberalization and international aid need to be integrated if we are to achieve widespread peace and prosperity.

Key Publication

Trade, Aid and Security: An agenda for peace and development

» Oli Brown, Mark Halle, Sonia Peña Moreno, Sebastian Winkler, Earthscan, 2006.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur. All resonate loudly on the international stage, exposing and illustrating the intractable links among global security, war and conflict, the control over natural resources—be they oil, water, timber or "conflict diamonds"—and the deployment of aid money and the manipulation of international trade policies. This volume, written by leading authorities from across the globe, introduces the linkages among trade, aid and security, and exposes how inappropriate or misused trade and aid policies can and do undermine security and contribute to violence and the disintegration of nation states. On a practical level, they demonstrate how six key areas of trade and aid policy can be used to help forge stability and security, reduce the likelihood of armed conflict and assist economic and political recovery in our war-torn world. Foreword by Lloyd Axworthy. More...

» Themes

» Initiatives

» Trade, Aid and Security (TAS)

» Business and Conflict

» Environment and Security (E&S)