National Security versus National Development: Debating Asian Practices and Paradigms

Abstract

With continuous expansion of narratives in both security and development paradigms their increasing overlap has resulted in new experiments of their fusion and integration. While much of this integration debate has been triggered and led by western academicians and institutions, it is here that the mosaic of Asian practices and paradigms feels certain comfort in joining in these debates and decision-making processes. In this, Asian narratives remain premised primarily on highlighting continuity of their historical legacies of unity-in-diversity, their shared path-dependencies on western (mainly colonial) models and formulations as also their growing autonomy from these Western powers and resultant, though as yet gradual, cooption (read partnership) into the evolving global practices and paradigms on both security and development sectors. This change though remains too slow and uncertain as Asia still remains only a cluster of its widely varying sub-regions. Even in the sub-regions, their multilateral articulations continue to reflect their diverse political cultures, security challenges and levels of development. There is hardly any semblance of an agreed consensus on what constitutes their pan-Asian identities and interests, which will underwrite and ensure injection of Asian wisdom into evolving 21stcentury world order that seeks to merge security and development sectors as one.