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

The report examines the shift from traditional state-centric security to 'human security,' noting that modern conflicts are increasingly linked to poverty and occur within poor states. It argues that while trade and aid can theoretically promote stability, in practice, unfair trade rules and misused aid often exacerbate instability. The author proposes six objectives for the international community and the Commonwealth to ensure these policies 'do no harm' and support enduring peace.

• The concept of security has evolved from a focus on military power and nation-states to 'human security,' which prioritizes the security of individuals and addresses threats such as terrorism, epidemic disease, organized crime, climate change, and environmental degradation.
• Since 1990, violent conflict has become more strongly associated with poverty, with low-income developing countries constituting more than half of all countries and territories experiencing such conflict between 1990 and 2003.
• Current international trade rules are described as fundamentally unfair and biased toward rich countries, often stunting economic growth in the developing world and leaving countries dependent on volatile commodity markets.
• Foreign aid has sometimes exacerbated conflict by supporting repressive regimes or being diverted by corruption and armed groups, as seen in examples from Sudan, Zaire, and the Philippines.
• The author proposes six key challenges to ensure trade and aid support security: designing conflict-sensitive trade and aid policies, promoting good governance in fragile states, stemming the trade in conflict resources, ensuring responsible business operations in extractive industries, and improving the management of external revenues.

APA

Brown, O. (2007). Trade, Aid and Security: an agenda for peace and development. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_peace_dev.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Oli. Trade, Aid and Security: an agenda for peace and development. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_peace_dev.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Oli |title=Trade, Aid and Security: an agenda for peace and development |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_peace_dev.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brown2007trade, author = {Brown, Oli}, title = {{Trade, Aid and Security: an agenda for peace and development}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2007}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tas_peace_dev.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }