The global and national inequality faultlines: the economic dimensions of (in)security

Abstract

Inequality between nations could be viewed as a major global faultline and although there is evidence that it is slowly being reduced, the gap between countries at the top and bottom remains enormous, with GDP per head of the top 25 high-income countries of the Global North being 52 times that of the bottom 25 countries. Inequality within countries is increasing, with evidence of a growing concentration of income and wealth in the hands of a small number of very rich individuals and senior corporate executives on astronomical salaries and bonuses. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be reinforcing inequality. These developments are widely considered to be a threat to national and international security. Studies that have sought to find a relationship between inequality and threats to security in the form of terrorism and violent and property crime have found it to be positive. There are, therefore, sound practical reasons why inequality should be reduced, if not moral ones to underpin genuine democracy and human rights.