Threats to Global

Security:What
Should We
Change to
Prevent Those
Threats?

Elnara Balakishiyeva
 Global insecurity is a concept that describes a set of serious problems which threaten
human civilizations not only at the national level but also at the international level. However, all
cultures need global security to last their existence; thereby, naming the factors that threaten their
safety is essential. Major global problems include terrorism, health insecurity, climate change,
pollution, overpopulation, artificial technology, and so forth. This paper aims to discuss two threats
to global security, namely overpopulation and pollution, and their possible solutions from a
cultural and civilizational perspective.
To begin with, one of the most hazardous problems to global security is overpopulation,
which is also highly related to other global problems. Overpopulation is a term used to describe
the increasing number of people on Earth, negatively affecting the planetary boundaries. To put it
simpler, the more people live in the world, the more resources are consumed, and the more harm
is caused. The obvious reason is that the size of the world and the number of its resources are
limited; however, there is no such a limit for the number of people living in the world – but there
should be. Overpopulation damages the economy because the more people live in a country, the
fewer job opportunities and goods and services exist for a person. Consequently, politics in turn
suffers firstly because the population accuses the government of these issues, and secondly because
the problem is complex for politicians to solve. One of the reasons for overpopulation is poverty.
In developing countries, families are afraid that their children will die; thus, they have more babies
hoping that at least some will survive. Meanwhile, for low-income families, having more children
means more breadwinners. I think this somehow becomes part of their culture as well, as time
passes by. More precisely, some cultures push people to have more children; families with a few
children are not welcome. This attitude also exists in some regions of Azerbaijan, especially among
older generations. They say having one or two children is not enough; families should have much
more babies. Likewise, I know a considerable number of older people who had approximately ten
children following that attitude. Moreover, education and overpopulation are interrelated because
uneducated people are more likely to become poor than educated ones. Also, uneducated females
get married at earlier ages, which also triggers overpopulation. Besides, uneducated people do not
have enough information about the possible threats of overpopulation. At this point, I think less
civilized societies generally have more difficulties with overpopulation than more civilized
societies do. In terms of solutions to overpopulation, education is one of them. Governments
should make education more affordable so that poor people can study as well. They also have to
raise awareness about the effects of overpopulation and the importance of female education. Next,
access to health care has to be feasible for most women to have more control over their
reproduction processes. Finally, as a last resort, governments may limit the number of children a
family can have.
To move forward, another significant danger to global security is pollution. Pollution has
various kinds; air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution are the most common ones among
them. Pollution mainly appears in two ways: natural and human-made. From my observations, I
can say that most people blame other people while discussing pollution. On the other hand, human
beings are not the only reason for the issue; natural disasters – floods, earthquakes, soil depletion,
and storms – pollute the environment considerably. Nevertheless, human beings are the primary
reason for all kinds of pollution, meaning that they pollute the world more than natural processes
do. I believe the capitalist system plays a significant role in pollution because it pushes
governments to sacrifice the environment for the sake of economic growth. Conversely, even
though the economy is boosted in the short run, it gets damaged in the long run due to
environmental degradation. Speaking of the reasons of pollution, primary pollution sources come
from industry, agriculture, households, and vehicles. Industrial factories and vehicles produce
toxic gasses – carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides – due to the use of coals, natural
gas, and oil, which pollute air and soil to an extreme extent. Likewise, agricultural wastes, such as
pesticides and contaminated water, flow into lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans in the end, causing
water pollution. Additionally, people throw their household wastes into water and soil by causing
severe pollution. All these kinds of pollution lead to heart, skin, lung diseases, and even deaths,
putting human civilizations in danger. I think pollution primarily exists in collectivistic cultures,
namely in Eastern societies. The reason is that people that live in collectivistic countries are
interdependent from one another. To elaborate, since responsibility is shared among a collectivistic
society, people are less likely to feel guilty for any ecological issue. Instead, people cause even
more environmental problems because they think everyone is responsible, and no one person can
prevent the issue. Coming to the solutions of pollution, one way is to educate people about its
causes and effects. In that sense, governments play an exclusive role; they should encourage
schools to teach students about the environment theoretically and practically and arrange seminars
for older inhabitants. Furthermore, all developed countries should use clean energy sources, such
as solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources, as soon as possible. Those countries should also
invest in less developed or developing countries to contribute to utilizing the same energy sources
in their territories – partnership. Last but not least, all countries have to adopt the Sustainable
Development Goals and encourage their populations to adjust their lifestyles accordingly.
To conclude, overpopulation and pollution are significant threats that hinder global security
and hence human civilizations. They both damage society, culture, economy, and politics at a
global scale. These problems have to be solved as soon as possible; otherwise, overpopulation may
lead to extreme hunger because of overconsumption as one effect. Also, pollution may threaten
the lives of a considerable number of humans beings. It is also worth mentioning that since these
problems are global, they need global solutions. Thus, states should make partnerships to fight
together against these global threats.