Press Release
New paper on conflicts
Want to safeguard vulnerable nations from outbursts of violence? Create a standing military force to intervene in hotspots at an annual cost of $850m and wipe out the risk of conflict …
Copenhagen, Denmark (April 30, 2008) – Despite unhappiness with the Iraqi experience, military intervention is a very cost-effective and efficient way to safeguard nations from violent relapses after a civil war, according to new research commissioned by Denmark’s Copenhagen Consensus Center. The first-ever cost-benefit analysis of United Nations peacekeeping forces finds that spending $850m on a peacekeeping intervention annually for ten years reduces the risk of violence in conflict-prone nations from nearly 40% to 7%. “Military intervention is a highly political and charged topic. But when you just look at the facts in this groundbreaking analysis, you realize that the international community would get particularly good value for money by creating a standing military force to come to the rescue of threatened democracies”, said Copenhagen Consensus Center director Bjørn Lomborg. The report argues that peacekeeping is even more cost-effective when provided in the form of an "over the horizon" security guarantee -- a commitment to send in foreign troops if needed, as Britain does in Sierra Leone. A guarantee could be supplied by the United Nations or the African Union to protect governments which have been properly elected. Providing a credible international security force would cost about $2 billion a year but the gains, in terms of lower conflict risk and higher economic growth, would be between 11 and 39 times higher. The number of civil wars has recently reduced, but the study says the risk of more violence is increasing, partly as a result of the commodity boom and partly because the spread of democracy increases the risk of coups. The study was commissioned as part of Copenhagen Consensus 2008, which brings together more than 50 international economists including 5 Nobel Laureates to examine the costs and benefits of solutions to ten of the world’s biggest challenges: Malnutrition and hunger, conflicts, air pollution, diseases, terrorism, subsidies and trade barriers, women and development, sanitation and water, education and global warming. The Copenhagen Consensus 2008 conference will be held in May, 2008. Note to editors: the authors of the paper, “The Security Challenge in Conflict-Prone Countries” and Bjørn Lomborg are available for interview.
COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS CENTER COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL • SOLBJERG PLADS 3 • 2000 FREDERIKSBERG • DENMARK +45 3815 2255 • INFO.CCC@CBS.DK • WWW.COPENHAGENCONSENSUS.COM
Press Release New paper on conflicts
Recent articles on Copenhagen Consensus research: Reuters: Security spending fails to curb terror toll - study (March 5, 2008), Micronutrients, education keys to end hunger - study (April 4, 2008), Study urges UN force to back coup-risk democracies (April 22, 2008) For interviews or comments or to enquire about media accreditation to Copenhagen Consensus 2008, contact Head of Communication Tommy Petersen, tp.ccc@cbs.dk, +4538152252. For the full paper and more details on Copenhagen Consensus 2008, visit www.copenhagenconsensus.com
COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS CENTER COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL • SOLBJERG PLADS 3 • 2000 FREDERIKSBERG • DENMARK +45 3815 2255 • INFO.CCC@CBS.DK • WWW.COPENHAGENCONSENSUS.COM