Globalization and Violence: Emerging Trends

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Globalization and Violence Emerging Trends
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Information in this slide show is from Living in
a More Violent World by Mayra Buvinic and Andrew
Morrison, published in Foreign Affairs, Spring
2000.
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• if it bleeds, it leads
• mass media suggests worsening violence worldwide
• what are the facts?
• homicide rates in period 1980-84 were 5.82 for
  every 100,000
• increased 50 worldwide from 1985-1995 averaging
  8.86 per 100,000 1990-94
• some places are much higher than average 9
  sub-Saharan Africa 40/100,000 Latin America
  23/100,000
• Johannesburg 115/100,000 Cali 91/100,000
• other violent crime data is not well kept but
  trends follow homicides

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• Why?
• Several individual, household and societal
  factors contribute
• nature, nurture, culture can explain some of
  this
• biological factors - eg., brain damage in womb
• physical abuse in early childhood or violent
  families perpetuating violence from parents to
  children
• social customs machismo in Latin America
  Buddhist in Asia

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• But
• there has been, however, a sharp upswing in
  violent acts over the last two decades
• what accounts for this?
• there are several interrelated factors

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• Age Characteristics
• violent crime tends to peak at an early age
• young people between the ages of roughly 18 and
  24 commit a significant portion of violent crimes
  and comprise the largest share of the victims of
  violence
• does not vary significantly across cultures
• demographic trends have boosted the numbers of
  young people
• in some regions this has already peaked and begun
  to decline
• sadly, this does not always mean a decline in
  violence indicating that it is a learned behaviour

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• Another factor is population density
• Many cities have grown exponentially over the
  last two decades the share of the population
  living in urban areas has risen significantly.
• Just over a third of the worlds population lived
  in urban areas in 1975 this will have doubled by
  2025.
• Crime rates in Latin America are strongly
  correlated with city size.
• Crowding intensifies antisocial behavior and
  facilitates anonymity and imitation of violent
  acts.
• Large cities, especially those with transient
  populations, can also foster the loss of social
  cohesion - the sense of community - that tends to
  keep violence at bay

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• Unwanted children
• Also related is the growing number of children in
  developing regions (especially in some countries
  in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America borne out
  of wedlock
• An unwanted child can initiate a cycle of
  deprivation or abuse, contributing to early
  childhood neglect, school failure, and
  dysfunctional behavior, possibly leading to
  violence.

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• Globalization has also contributed through three
  factors
• aggravated income inequalities throughout the
  world
• spread a culture of violence through increased
  communications and media
• expanded trade in death industries such as
  firearms and drugs.

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• Income Gaps Widening
• the positive effects of globalization have not
  been uniformly distributed across the planet
• as people perceive that they are worse off than
  others, the ensuing strain and frustration become
  powerful instigators of violence
• gaps in income between poor and rich countries
  have widened more sharply than ever before over
  the last two decades
• the last 20 years have witnessed sharpening
  disparities in income inequality within countries
  as well

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• World Bank study of more than 50 countries found
  a clear relationship Increased income inequality
  leads to higher homicide rates.
• United Nations 1999 Global Report on Crime and
  Justice concludes that socioeconomic strain
  (measured by unemployment, inequality, and
  dissatisfaction with income) is a major factor in
  explaining the variation in violent crimes among
  countries in the world
• analysts also believe that the prolonged economic
  slump in Japan (early to mid 1990s) has led to
  increased violence
• the violent crime there rate rose by 11 percent
  in 1999, reaching a 23-year high

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• Global Media
• global media has made widening income disparities
  highly visible
• the have-nots can see the huge gap between
  themselves and the haves
• Hollywood images are transported to remote
  confines of the globe, providing violent models
  to children
• the number of television sets per 1,000 people
  almost doubled worldwide between 1980 and 1995,
  from 121 to 235

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• lots of research supports the role of violent
  media in the learning of aggression
• a study of U.S. schoolchildren suggests that
  repeated exposure to violent television programs
  increases the likelihood that children will
  behave more aggressively.

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• Drug and Arms Trade
• expanding global traffic in drugs and guns has
  led to an increase in the violence that
  accompanies such activities
• U.N 1999 Global Report on Crime and Justice links
  globalization with the expansion of the illegal
  drug industry and the rise in drug-related crimes
• illegal drug trade was estimated at 400 billion
  (about 8 percent of world trade) in 1995
• this amount of money leads to a calculated and
  rational use of violence
• 200 million drug users in the world, many suffer
  from neurological dysfunctions that make
  violent behavior more likely

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• What are the costs?
• Indirect include
• violence curtails economic growth by destroying
  physical capital and reducing investor and
  consumer confidence.
• a study from Columbia suggests that for every
  additional 10 homicides per 100,000 residents,
  the level of investment falls by 4 percent
• over time, violence and its costs can become
  nearly self-fulfilling, with violence leading to
  lower investment and a deteriorating economy,
  leading to more violence, etc., etc.
• violence undermines peoples ability to lead
  normal lives, like go out at night - this in turn
  hurts the economy

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• Direct costs include
• medical costs, the resources expended on violence
  prevention, and capture and punishment of
  perpetrators
• the medical costs incurred in treating fatal and
  nonfatal gunshot wounds in the United States in
  1992 reached 126 billion, or approximately 2
  percent of the countrys gdp that year
• in New Zealand, the annual direct costs of
  domestic violence are at least 1.2 billion, more
  than the 1 billion earned from wool exports
  (1993-94) and nearly as much as the 1.4 billion
  spent on unemployment benefits

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• Other costs
• difficult to quantify, but nonetheless important.
• include the transmission of violence from one
  generation to the next as children learn
  aggressive behavior from their parents
• the erosion of social cohesion in communities
  wracked by violence
• reduced participation in democratic practices by
  residents of violent communities and women who
  suffer domestic abuse

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• The Future?
• declining numbers of young people (except Africa)
  may reduce violence
• off set by increased urbanization, drug and
  weapons trade, and spread of the culture of
  violence through the media
• government programs may help but they tend not to
  buy votes

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• Solutions?
• the most effective outcomes may result from the
  programs tailored to local conditions
• such programs may include community-policing
  initiatives, early childhood development
  initiatives, violence prevention curricula in
  schools, urban regeneration, restrictions on the
  sale of alcohol, handgun control, and domestic
  violence prevention campaigns.
• municipalities are particularly well placed to
  coordinate the efforts of central governments,
  businesses, nongovernmental organizations, the
  medical and educational communities in the fight
  against violence.

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• experience in some cities suggests that localized
  strategies may be the best at countering violence
• this may seem odd given that several key factors
  behind the worldwide trend of increased violence
  - including demographics and income inequality -
  are on a national or international scale
• Indeed, it is both surprising and comforting to
  realize that the most promising solutions for
  globalizations discontents are sometimes found
  at the local and community levels.