This article is part of the series — Post-Pandemic Development Priorities.
In the discourse of development, one key institution is not so often spoken about, albeit it should — it is peace, Hobbesian peace if you will, foremost within a country but, of course, also between countries. However, in the UNDP Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, it is mentioned as the first of twelve areas to “significantly reduce all forms of violence and related deaths everywhere.” Let us here explore its significance.
If a sufficiently strong central government, with well-functioning institutions throughout the territory and social peace is on one end of a scale, civil war is on the other end. Although deaths as a consequence of war has declined dramatically since the end of World War II, civil conflicts such as the war within Syria and in the region of Congo has been responsible for a surge in violence-related deaths during the last decades.
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) argued that without government and its institutions, man easily falls victim to his inner sins in a civil war of all against all. “In such condition,” Hobbes wrote, ”there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Although deaths as a consequence of war has declined dramatically since the end of World War II, civil conflicts such as the war within Syria and in the region of Congo has been responsible for a surge in violence-related deaths during the last decades.
To sustain a Hobbesian peace, and to go further in the direction of development, it is important for key political institutions to find institutional designs that make central and local governments credible in the eyes of the citizens and private stakeholders. In the absence of such credible commitments, trust in government quickly erodes and so does the willingness to co-operate with it — “there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain,” in the words of Hobbes.
However not only the extreme of civil war is a hinderance to development — tragic enough with its fear and danger of violent death — but also the fact that in many countries the institutions of central government are not equally functional across the country. Here follow two cases: Gender equality and biodiversity protection via eco-tourism.
The first example is the right for women to inherit land. In a project some years back, I asked a lawyer in Kenya to investigate this right in that country. Complaints are often heard that women get overruled by male relatives in this respect, and several organisations fight for women’s property rights. She came up with a very interesting report. It was shown that since 1981, women do have equal rights to inherit property. She also showed five cases where women around the country had filed cases against male relatives on inheritance — and won. However, in rural areas, the traditional law upheld by the elders often says that only men can inherit land. Few women in rural areas in Kenya have the education to know about the formal court system, let alone how to file a case. Even fewer have the economic means to do so. Thus, the uneven distribution of government institutions, often focused around the capital and other major urban areas, can have a direct effect on inequality.
Not only the extreme of civil war is a hinderance to development — tragic enough with its fear and danger of violent death — but also the fact that in many countries the institutions of central government are not equally functional across the country.
In developing countries, the central government is sometimes weak and erratic when it comes to the protection of designated national parks — our second example. In some cases, biodiversity has been severely damaged by the lack of Hobbesian peace, such as in Uganda during the wars between 1978-1986, when wildlife was more or less eradicated in national parks. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern parts of Cameroon and Benin, rebel or terrorist groups have taken refuge in national parks.
A similarly troubled part of Africa, the “Mountains of the Moon” in the intersection of Uganda, the DRC and Rwanda, is a last hiding place for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. Here, an institutional design seems to have emerged, where government, conservation interests and internationally linked tourist operators are present. In this region different militias have created conflict with the respective central government forces during the last 40 years. However, at the same time and place, the critically endangered mountain gorilla has thrived and continued to increase its population from 300 to more than 1000 individuals. How can this be?
Research shows that this is a result of the combination of increased conservation initiatives, international eco-tourism and some government assistance. This has produced a frequent monitoring of these habitats, thus pacifying violent rebel activities and checking poaching.
All three countries have severe security problems — DRC directly, Uganda and Rwanda indirectly and potentially, mostly as they share border with the DRC — but nonetheless the mountain gorilla populations have increased steadily.
Hobbesian peace is a precious and delicate flower, of great importance for humankind, but also for biodiversity.
The Rwandan security forces are well represented in the Volcanoes National Park. For every gorilla walk — 96 persons are allowed each day in small groups — three armed guards follow. In Uganda, 112 persons are allowed to walk and visit habituated gorilla families in the two parks each day in groups of eight persons. With a fee of US$ 700 per person and walk, this gives a monetary inflow of more than US$ 25 million per year for the Ugandan government alone. In addition, the local hospitality industry flourishes and creates employment opportunities.
Around the parks in Rwanda and Uganda, private owners have erected lodges that cater for the tourists. Private tour operators in the two countries provide customers with the logistics of travel and accommodation, while their agents in foreign countries recruit the tourists. This past year, an important source of revenue for these mixed institutions was broken with the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign travel is more or less suspended and with that international tourism.
Institutions with credible commitments do not have to be created by the central government alone. They can also be developed in cooperation between idealistic forces, private operators and the government.
From this, we can conclude that Hobbesian peace is a precious and delicate flower, of great importance for humankind, but also for biodiversity. It needs to be nurtured, not taken for granted.
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