Chile
among world’s most peaceful, stable countries
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/world/chile-abroad/26308-chile-among-worlds-most-peaceful-stable-countries
A global peace index names Chile among most stable countries
in the world although experts point to continuing domestic struggles that still
need attention.
In a Global Peace Index (GPI) released on Tuesday, Chile ranked among the most stable countries of Latin America at 31st among 162 nations. But experts
point to a range of issues within the country, saying that Chile still has many improvements
to make.
The non-profit that released the report, the Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP), is based in Sydney
and New York.
The group says it focuses on measuring peace with quantitative metrics to
better understand the factors contribute to political stability and economic
development.
“It’s important for people to understand that peace is not
just an unachievable ideal; there’s a financial value to having peace, rather
than simply a moral value,” Michelle Breslauer, the IEP’s program director for
the Americas,
said in an interview with The Santiago Times.
Uruguay
and Chile were among the
most peaceful countries in South America,
globally ranked at 24th and 31st respectively due to their strong rule of law
and relatively low rates of homicides, as compared to others in the region.
Chile’s
relatively strong showing in the rankings may also help explain why it arguably
has one of the fastest growing economies in the region.
Each country’s value was compiled using 22 factors within
larger categories of domestic and international conflict, social safety and
militarization.
Breslauer says that the IEP hopes to make citizens and
policymakers aware of what she argues is the economic benefit of a peaceful
society through its annual peace index, as well as by quantifying the cost of
containing violence. In 2012, this figure was estimated to be $US 9.46 billion
or 11% of the combined gross national products of every nation in the world. To
put this in perspective, this is twice the value of the entire world’s
agriculture production.
This year’s report, its seventh, also reveals that peace
across the world has declined at a rate of about 5%, mainly due to increases in
military spending, rising homicide rates and greater civil unrest in many parts
of the world.
“Peace and economic development are interdependent,” says
Breslauer. While this is not necessarily a novel idea—a study at the World Bank
15 years ago found that decreases in military spending can increase peace—it is
one that deserves apt attention as many countries, including Chile, struggle
with how to contain domestic conflicts.
Syria
saw the largest drop in the history of the index, as it continues to
deteriorate in the bitter, civil war plaguing the country.
But some question the use of such an index and how much it
can really quantify when comparing vastly different countries and political
climates.
The differences are too qualitative in nature to really
compare countries, argued Anthony Pizzola, an assistant professor of political
science at Universidad Católica, to The Santiago Times. Even if two countries
have very close rankings, this doesn’t really explain any substantive
differences, he said.
But others pointed to significant domestic problems that
still call for attention.
“Chile is reasonably peaceful but we’re not at the top of
the list by any means,” We still have major issues in our country,” Andreas
Feldmann, a political science professor at Universidad Católica told The
Santiago Times.
Some of the issues he pointed to were ongoing student
protests in the country, violence in the Araucanía Region and the trend of
police violence against detainees.
“Everyone in Chile
loves all these rankings, because it makes our country look good, but to me the
question is, are we really such a peaceful place?” asked Professor Feldman.
“The answer is probably no.”
By Rosalind Adams (rosalind@santiagotimes.cl)