ABSTRACT
The effects of globalization on national, regional and international security have, in fact, been a favourite subject of debate among academic and policy circles.1
One key question that forms the core of the debate has been whether globalization would produce security-enhancing or security-eroding effects on national, regional and international security. One view argues that globalization increases the level of economic interdependence, raises the costs of conflict or war, and therefore leads to more peaceful relations among states. Others, however, contend that “globalization can generate economic rivalry among states . . . over scarce natural resources, which again often threatens to spill over into military conflict.”2 A recent study even finds that there is “no conclusive evidence to prove that states are abstaining from wars due to globalization.”3 As globalization itself is an ongoing process, this debate will undoubtedly continue.
