Abigail Watson, Alasdair Mckay and Oliver Scanlan

May 31 2020

Read the Report

The Sustainable Security Index is the first global ranking to measure the true drivers of instability. The Index highlights why states need to move beyond a narrow understanding of security to an integrated approach that addresses the key drivers of instability:

  • Unsustainable environmental policies
  • Poor governance and inequality
  • Over reliance on military force

It ranks 155 countries based on their contributions to global security and seeks to instigate a conversation around how to measure and change policies which exacerbate, rather than alleviate, the drivers of conflict. The Index report explores three key stories based on the data findings:

  1. Global insecurity often impacts poorer countries disproportionately – despite the fact they often contribute the least to its creation. Richer countries, with the power to drive change towards more sustainable global security, should take greater responsibility to do so.

  2. Examining the bottom 15 in the Index reveals the continued failures of international intervention and highlights the need for a new approach to tackling global insecurity.

  3. While the international community may be increasingly recognising the need to address climate change, national spending patterns reveal it also needs to significantly offset its wider contribution to global insecurity.

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About the Authors

Abigail Watson is the Research Manager at Oxford Research Group.

 Alasdair McKay is the Senior Editor at Oxford Research Group.

 Oliver Scanlan is a Fellow at Oxford Research Group.