France: A population of challenge and opportunity

Although it has traditionally been viewed as second only to Canada in terms of Western powers that don’t actually matter, France actually wields a good deal of international political clout. It sits as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, fifth largest GDP in the world, and currently is the world’s fourth largest military spender, behind the US, China, and Russia. They also have quite a few nuclear weapons. However, recent demographic trends have the potential to topple this long-standing bastion of Western free-thought, and change the very composition of its society.

Youth in Revolt

The French don’t quite have a perfect track record in terms of civil obedience, so no one was exactly surprised when in October of this year another wave of mass protests swept around the country like wildfire. Over a million protesters filled the streets, this time blocking many key fueling stations. The French finance minister estimated the cost to the French Republic to be 400 million Euros a day. These protests in the past have been more than a simple nuisance, they have been effective. In 2006, Jacques Chirac was forced to pull a law that would have made it easier to fire young workers due to the massive protests impeding the ability of the government to function.

So what have all these young people been protesting? Another law concerning young people? Increases in student tuition? Trendy cafe smoking bans?

The Young, the Old, and the Old-Old

To some, young people protesting pension age increases en masse might seem like an irony, but in France, it has become a reality. Students have taken to the streets to protest what they see as a direct threat to their job security. Nearly 1 in 4 French youth under the age of 25 is unemployed. By raising the age at which one can receive a pension from the government, the youth fear that those who want to retire will have to work longer to receive their pensions, and consequently there will be fewer jobs for those entering the workforce.

Sarkozy maintains that these pension reforms are needed to keep France’s economic situation stable, especially given the global economic downturn. Sarkozy’s fears are valid. France’s society is aging, and is destined to only get worse. After WWII, around 1950, France had a massive increase in the number of babies being born. In France, as in the US, these baby boomers are about to retire, creating a ‘geriatric boom’ and a massive economic strain to France’s pension and healthcare systems. Looking back at the list of military spenders, no other country in the top four has a social welfare system nearly as extensive as France’s. In fact, paying public pensions accounts for nearly 23% of France’s governmental expenditures.

As France’s largest generation retires, the strain on its economic systems will only get exponentially worse. If only there was an influx of young people willing to contribute to France’s economy, thus relieving the economic strain of the old….

Immigration Nation

Unfortunately, many problems that affect the youth, also affect immigrants. Young immigrants are dealt a double whammy. Unemployment in immigrant neighborhoods can be as high as 40%, and these neighborhoods are often breeding grounds for crime, causing some French to label those who dwell within them as “the riffraff.” Immigrants are also considerably stigmatized in France, especially Muslim immigrants. Far from showing solidarity with these new workers, France has attempted to force immigrants to assimilate, rather than let the process happen organically. A law that would ban the burka and hijab from being worn in public places, now being considered by the French parliament, has only served to alienate the Muslims, rather than help foster ties with the native French community. There is a growing divide between France and its Muslim population. A full 46% said they viewed themselves as Muslim first, French second. The economic downturn has only served to worsen tensions. During the recent elections, The National Front, the far-right, anti-immigration party, did unexpectedly well, garnering almost 12% of the vote.

All Things Considered

Demographic factors will determine the fate of France’s strained social welfare system, and could very well mire the French public in intermittent cycles of rioting and civil-governmental strife. France’s TFR is above replacement levels only due to the fertility levels of recent immigrants. Furthermore, the population of France, like most European societies, is aging. Younger immigrants could assuage the effects of this aging process, but loosening immigration restrictions has proved to be a point of contention among French citizens. As a point of policy, the French government needs to determine where its interests lie. If it chooses to focus its energy on traditional, particularly military security, it could economically ignore the concerns of its population, and France’s internal strife could erode its international political legitimacy.

Myanmar: A State Without a Nation

What is a nation? Is it a set of borders determined by international institutions? Is it big and diverse, or small and homogenous? How is it decided who deserves to have their own nation- state, and who deserves to be absorbed by others? Traditional security paradigms such as realism have long focused on inter-state security, and thought little about intra- state security of particular cultural and ethnic groups, and these groups are increasingly becoming the primary catalyst for insecurity. S. R. SarDesai defines nationalism as “a common kinship based on language, territory, religion, race, and heritage” (SarDesai 142). This definition hits a snag in many nations, whose senses of nationalism cannot be defined in these terms. This especially seems to be a problem in developing nations in Southeast Asia and Africa, who were left with borders defined by the former colonial powers, and bitter feelings towards one another within these borders as legacies of colonialism. Myanmar is a perfect example of one such nation, in that it lacks a uniting sense of nationalism, which necessarily means that defining national security is complicated.

Myanmar is very ethnically diverse, and the cleavages of these ethnic groups tend to be cumulative and reinforcing of the differences between the groups rather than cross- cutting and unifying. This leads to a cyclical pattern of conflict where the minority is marginalized by the government, which gives them a grievance to incite conflict, which causes the government to allocate its resources solely to protect against these dissident groups, which causes economic insecurity, and then circles back to provide more grievances to the minorities. This connection that exists between Myanmar’s diversity, economics, and conflict is important, because ordinarily the economic issues are talked about separated from the ethnically conflict. However, I propose that by improving the economy, ethnic and civil conflict would gradually cease to be a problem because the economic motivation for remaining in separate, tight- knit dissident groups would not exist.

Myanmar has 135 different ethnic groups, with the majority Burman making of 68% of the population (CIA World Factbook). The most influential ethnic subgroup impacting national security are the Karen, who make up 7% of the population. The Karen are historically resented by the rest of the population, due to the preferential treatment they received under British colonialism and their continued contact with the West (Buadaeng 74). The majority of the Karen practice Christianity as a part of this colonial legacy, which puts them immediately in conflict with the 89% (CIA World Factbook) of the population that practices Buddhism (Buadaeng 77-78). Furthermore, the government since independence has sought complete sovereignty and implemented xenophobic policies against immigration and even tourism, while the Karen have maintained close ties with both Thailand and Western Christian powers such as Britain and the United States (Steinberg 47). The government has long marginalized the Karen, as is shown by the fact that in 1949, just one year after independence, there was already civil conflict (Buadaeng 80). There is believed to be at least 100,000 Karen refugees in Thailand, as well as many more from other ethnic groups (Buadaeng 89). The government fears insecurity from both inside and outside its population, and is reluctant to accept assistance from the outside or to meet any of the demands of dissident groups from the inside. Fighting against one’s own population costs money and resources, which Myanmar does not have in abundance anyways. Myanmar concentrates an extraordinary portion of its gross domestic product (GDP) to the military, with little regard for the social, political and economic reasons for the conflict in the first place.

Myanmar has been under military control since 1962, when General Ne Win threw over the civilian government (Selth 3). The military, known in Myanmar as the “Tatmadow,” has a very mythic and respected place in society, partially b/c it has been the only relatively stable institution throughout Myanmar’s independent history (Steinberg 69). The government has always spent a high percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) on the military, but it has varied from a high of 49% of GDP in 1999 to a low of 19% in 1988, and is currently at 32% of GDP (Selth 13). As a comparison, the average world expenditure of GDP on the military is around 2% and even the United States, arguably the top military power in the World, tends to stay around 5% (CIA World Factbook). All of Myanmar’s Southeast Asian counterparts implemented economic stimulus plans in 2009 to deal with the global recession, while Myanmar did nothing and continued to pour its resources into the military (Economic Intelligence Unit). This dominating concentration of GDP is completely unnecessary when considering Myanmar’s lack of external threats, with its only significant military security problem being internal insecurity, and threats from refugee rebel groups in Thailand who wish to bring about change in the government. Myanmar is beginning to form a close economic relationship with China, and their superpower status could help protect Myanmar from any external threats that might arise.

The GDP should be redistributed to improve social welfare, infrastructure, and economic disparities, which would be a much better solution for the internal threats than the use of force. Myanmar’s government needs to get their priorities straight, and if they don’t, those priorities will most likely be straightened out for them.

A New Approach: Raising Population in Romania without Increasing TFR by Katie McCoid

Visiting the doctor’s office once a year is an unpleasant experience for many people. Being poked and prodded and asked personal questions is about as fun as waiting in line to get your driver’s license renewed. Imagine, then, being required by law to be medically examined by a doctor who would monitor your menstrual cycle and ask why you were not pregnant. This extreme pro-natalist policy was reality for women in Nicholae Ceausescu’s Romania.

Romania is facing a serious problem that has been going on for over the past 50 years: the problem of an aging and declining population. This decline as well as policies implemented in an attempt to reverse the trend have created National Security problems for the country, particularly in terms of a population bulge.

In the 1950s, Romania experienced a demographic change almost unheard of at the time: a decline in TFR. Between 1950 and 1965, the TFR decreased from 2.87 to 2.04, below replacement level. This drastic decline worried then leader Nicholae Ceausescu, who implemented pro-natalist policies in an attempt to “raise the birth rate while ensuring economic growth would not slow down due to an inadequate labor force.”

While these policies worked, they did so for only a short time. Despite the baby boom of 1967, 1968, and 1969, TFR began to drop again in the 1970s and has continued to do so until the present day. In short, not even a dictator can force women to have babies if they don’t want them.

Romania’s TFR has taken an even steeper dive since the 1989 fall of Ceausescu’s Communist regime. After the fall of the regime, pro-natalist policies were repealed, birth control became available, abortion was legalized, and education levels of women increased. Women gained control over their reproductive lives, and they chose not to reproduce.

This upswing in fertility in the late 1960s followed by drastic decline in TFR has created problems for Romanian national security. Although the baby boomers are still of working age and contributing to the economy, they are quickly approaching retirement. This will place an extra-heavy burden on the state and on subsequent generations because the state will have to care for these retirees and the working population will have to support an elder generation that is exponentially larger then themselves. The state is not prepared to support these people into their elder years. In fact, the state was never prepared to support these people at all. Ceausescu concentrated on increasing the number of babies that were born, but he neglected to plan what he was going to do with these babies as they grew. The baby boom generation grew up with too little money, too little food, and too little educational opportunities. Not surprisingly, the baby boomers at the belligerent age of twenty when Ceausescu’s regime collapsed. In effect, Ceausescu’s attempt, unjust as it was, to secure Romania through population growth may have contributed to his demise.

What can be learned from Ceausescu’s attempt at reversing his country’s population trend? Just as sandbagging only keeps an ocean at bay for a short time, pro-natalist policies, even extreme ones like requiring women to have monthly doctor visits, only work for a limited number of years before the declining fertility trend continues on its natural course. Other methods of increasing population size must be found.

If the Romanian government ceases to take action, the population will continue to decrease and by 2050 the population will have shrunk to 16,269,000 from its current standing at 21,190,000. For Romania, increasing immigration is seemingly the most effective means of slowing population aging and increasing the work force, and foreign investment in Romania is the best way to entice immigration. If foreign companies invest, immigrants from neighboring countries will move to Romania, increasing Romania’s workforce and furthering foreign investment in the state. This will greatly benefit Romania economically, and a growing economy also means the government can provide better healthcare, which is currently lacking in Romania. More money means Romanian doctors, who flock to higher paying jobs in Western Europe, would receive more compensation for their services and would be more likely to remain in Romania. More money also means that more medical supplies will be available and citizens will experience an overall better quality of healthcare, which leads to more economic productivity and more healthy soldiers fit for military service.

Although increasing TFR may seem to be the most effective way to pull an aging state from population decline, it does not always benefit the country. Indeed, increasing population through economic stimulation is less morally grey than peer pressuring a nation’s women to bear unwanted children.

Environmental Security in Namibia

The relationship between Namibia’s economy and environment has developed into a catch-22 in the past decade, as environmental degradation cannot improve without funding from the economy, yet economic growth is a direct cause of this degradation. Without a strong economy, Namibia’s government has little funding to create and implement environmental policies that may in turn help boost the economy.

Namibia’s three primary commodities of agriculture, fishing, and mining encompass 80% of the country’s exports, and over 20% of the gross domestic product. A majority of Namibians are employed in one of the three primary commodities, and are reliant on them for both economic opportunity and individual sustenance. Because only 48.8% of the population is currently employed, families without incomes must be able to provide their own food or else face starvation. The safety and continuation of citizen’s access to resources is paramount, as the livelihood of an entire population is at stake.

Agricultural production utilizes 70% of Namibia’s water sources, due to extreme water scarcity in the region. At least 92% of the land is considered semi to hyper-arid, as the country is composed of mostly deserts receiving only 285 millimeters of rainfall annually. Legislation to protect and improve irrigation practices as well as water security has been in draft form since 1993, with little to no progress made in putting such legislation into practice. The government lacks both the capacity and funding to update irrigation systems to modern standards, which leaves many farmers with inconsistent access to water sources. Currently, Namibia’s Water Act 54, which regulates the control, use, and conservation of water, has not been revised since 1956. These are only two examples of the outdated and exclusive water policies throughout Namibia that effectively deny individual non-landowners the rights to secure water access. Combined with governmentally controlled common lands imposed since the colonial era, most citizens have no claim to the land and no incentive to invest in long-term development. Namibia’s sparse population density of only 2.2 persons per kilometer means the government must pay exorbitant amounts of time and money to reach and enforce all governmentally owned lands. Wealthy citizens have taken advantage of the lack of governmental implementation by breaking up communal lands into private farms, leaving as little as 33% of the original land for nearby farmers.

Namibia’s oceans are equally unregulated and over-consumed, due largely in part to its volatile history. Until independence in 1990, no legislation existed limiting who could fish off of the coast. Fish populations were severely depleted by other countries, with Namibia seeing little to none of the profit. Now, half of Namibia’s population lives along the coast, with 90% of this population deriving some sort of income from the sale of fish. Fishing employs over 14,000 citizens, thanks to constitutional amendments that ensure Namibia’s marine resources belong to the state, and the state is the one to reap the benefits. Pollution on the other hand, remains a viable and destructive issue in fishing regions. The fishing sector itself is one of its greatest enemies, as the coast does not have measures to treat discharge and sewage dumped by the boats. Toxic chemicals from Namibia’s other primary commodities have also depleted ocean biodiversity, as pesticides and mining chemicals find their way into the oceans. Combined with organic materials from nearby towns such as sewage and soil run-off, coastal waters often undergo sulfur blooms that deplete oxygen in the water and kill all species of sea animals. Policies against pollution and dumping do exist, with the government in charge of punishment and implementation. Many argue these policies are not enough, as three government ministries have already been charged with ignoring these policies. If the government itself is unable to uphold environmental standards, it is likely the public will do the same.

Lastly, one of the highest income grossing commodities in Namibia is mining. Over thirty different stones and minerals are harvested from Namibia’s soil in forty different formal mining operations. In 2002, diamond production alone contributed to $500 million in exports earnings, all of which is desperately needed by the government to fulfill policy obligations to the people. However, digging giant holes in the ground for resources comes at a price. Heavy construction degrades landscapes, destroys biodiversity and habitats, and consumes large amounts of resources and funding. The Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine in the Namib-Naukluft Park consumes as much water annually as the entire city of Windhoek consumes in a month. Times this factor by all of the other mines in Namibia, and you have a staggering amount of water consumption. Radioactive dust from Uranium sites have also been linked to lung cancer, which has the potential to poison local humans and wildlife. Radioactive materials and chemical waste are easily transmitted into the soil, water and air. Even if the environment is not a dominant policy concern, Namibia must take extreme precautions against poisoning its own people for a profit.

Environmental policy in Namibia has to do with much more than protecting grasslands and ensuring the future populations of sardines. Environmental policy encompasses both human and economic security. The state of the environment today is imperative to the state of nation tomorrow. Without more inclusive legislation and more funding for policy implementation, Namibia may not have excess resources to export, let alone provide for its own population.

Is Increased Education Harming Iran?

When I first thought of Iran the only thing that came to mind was their nuclear program, but there is so much more to this country concerning national security. Iran’s population trends affect how this country addresses national security; it is of the same importance as nuclear weapons. Sixty-nine percent of the population is considered urban, officially moving Iran into the “developed country status”. The increased flow of people emigrating from Iran in conjunction with a multitude of refugees pouring into the country has played a part in driving national security and the country’s operation. Iran has done much to improve the quality of its peoples’ lives. However, because Iran developed a more accessible education system, there are not enough jobs to employ the well-educated populace. This creates a brain drain, or emigration of its educated and trained population. This significant amount of emigration from the country creates a lack of highly skilled citizens that could improve the infrastructure of the country. Additionally, those people are able to go work for other countries’ governments, which hurts the national security of Iran and benefits others instead.

Even though the country’s population has shrunk since the baby boom of the 1980s, those children are now of working age and require jobs. The youth bulge will continue to be a problem as they get older and their issues will progress into concerns of financial stability and the availability of people to support the elderly and their country. This is already a problem due to the decrease in population after the 1980s, since there are not enough people to provide for the aging population by 2050.

Another issue is that too many people are left idle, which creates the perfect atmosphere for protests and rebellion, especially in young people, because they are often bored, frustrated with unemployment, and want someone to blame. A convenient and common place to point this blame is on the government, resulting in increased revolts against it and leading to a weakened unstable system. As seen in the student protests of 1999, these youthful protests “were not organized well and had no leadership,” it was motivated purely by the agitation and sentiment that the government was not acting on the best interest of the people and was not compromising at all; the “Islamic establishment” was not going to reform anything and imposed an environment of fear. If the nation does not take care of its people and take advantage of having a young working age population, the results could be dire.

The youth bulge creates increased competition for jobs, land and housing, and education. An increase in competition can cause many economic side effects, which can either be positive or negative depending on which side of the fence you are on. This correlates negatively to the emigration of highly educated individuals. Because there is a higher percentage of the population that is educated, there are fewer jobs to accommodate this increase in the workforce, which can force workers to leave the country in order to support themselves and their families. If there are so few remaining in Iran who are cultivated, educated, or scientific then there are insufficient resources to develop and support strategies for natural disasters, family planning programs, or other stabilizing programs. It is important that Iran realizes that they must put the needs of their people before their goals of maximizing production and power. This means more jobs need to be created, and “the sharing of employment rather than efficiency in performance” should be their priority. The government needs people on their side and in favor of their policies, and this can only be done if the populace is content with the decisions being made by their officials.

Iran has undoubtedly created a monster. By trying to increase the standard of living through education and not addressing the lack of jobs and unemployment, Iran started a vicious cycle of emigration and a less educated populace. Despite seeming counter intuitive, they did not create a balance. The individuals who take advantage of the improved education system cannot find jobs in Iran so they are forced to leave and find employment elsewhere. This allows for refugees to immigrate, completely altering the political and socioeconomic landscape of Iran. Due to the growing number of refugees in Iran it is important that the government remain cognizant of them when creating policy. Refugees can create disruptive political situations as well as issues with national security during wars or conflicts.

While many realists believe that an increase of population can be beneficial to improving their military manpower and economic strength, a fast growing population can actually be a detriment to a country in terms of national security. Iran will have to focus on keeping their educated population in Iran. With that comes figuring out ways to make the refugees return to their home countries in order to establish a more stable country. If Iran figures out a way to do this then their citizens will have an education, place of employment, and a more satisfied populace. As the children of the baby boomers age and need social security, the country will need to organize a plan to maintain the supply of social security for such a large group of dependents. The infrastructure of the state is in jeopardy if these problems are not resolved. While its nuclear program is on other countries’ radars, Iran needs to be concentrating on its internal social and economic issues before they should worry about competing in the nuclear weapons race.

Harnessing its power in numbers: Turkey’s Population as New Priority

The Republic of Turkey may just have a new agenda for its national security--and this kind does not necessarily involve the military.

For decades, Turkey has seen unprecedented economic growth. From the time of the regime of the highly revered Mustafa Kemal Attatürk until today, Turkey has undergone several political and economic reforms that have launched its success as a country able to both adopt a fully-functional secular government and still maintain an Islamic tradition. In the eyes of most Westerners, this has been its crowning achievement, and has virtually defined the country’s position in world politics.

In order to secure this type of regime, the state had made Kemalism one of its prime objectives of national security. While Turkey does have cause to be praised for its dedication to a secular government, that is not its only treasure. In fact, it has a hidden gem that may enable it to move from a position of relative importance to one that puts it on par with other developed and highly influential countries in the international community. This “hidden gem” that I refer to is its population.

Turkey’s population, and what it will look like in the next 30 to 40 years, is central to its success and the heart of what will be its future national security. How Turkey understands and uses its population could mean the difference between viewing Turkey as an important regional power and regarding it as a crucial global power; one that might not be on the same level as, say, the United States or China, but one that these two will surely want on their side in the decades to come. That is, if Turkey can take advantage of its unexpected and under-utilized resource.

People unfamiliar with demographics and population might be skeptical of this claim, but anyone who interprets population trees and can infer the significance of a country’s TFR would relish the juicy population statistics that Turkey has to offer.

First, Turkey has a total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.13. It has dramatically decreased from 6.93 between 1950 and 1955, and is projected, using a medium fertility variant, to drop to 1.85 between 2025 and 2030. (A medium fertility variant is used for countries, like Turkey, “where fertility has been declining but whose level was still above 2.1 children per woman in 2005-2010.)” The difference between these two numbers is crucial; it is the difference between the current TFR for a rapidly growing African country and one for certain European countries. To put in perspective Turkey’s drastic TFR change, even Finland, a European country that is known to be fairly fertile, had a TFR of only 3.0 between 1950 and 1955.

Second, Turkey has a large population of working age. Currently, over half of its population is between the ages of 15 and 59. It has been this way since the 1950s, and is expected to even increase to over 60% by the year 2030. This is a large pool with which Turkey can access potential workers, thereby boosting its economic productivity, and also providing a safety cushion for the country when it eventually deals with its more aged population.

Does the term, transitional age structure ring a bell? For those of us who do not immerse ourselves in the world of demography and its political implications, it may escape us, (and rightly so), but it has immense significance to Turkey’s political and economic trajectory. In essence, Turkey has what demographers call a transitional age structure, meaning its population is transitioning from young and steadily growing to more aged and slowly growing. This transitional structure puts it in a prime position for being a potential rising economic power. It also means, unfortunately, that Turkey has no guarantee of staying that way, as it has a “window of opportunity” that must be seized in order for it to secure its chance for a higher status in the international community.

While population is key, it must be used as a resource in conjunction with its economy, which is ranked 16^th in the world! This fact should not be overlooked. From this stepping-stone, Turkey can begin to focus on enacting sound, economic and social policies that look towards its future. Also, Turkey can use its current economic situation to promote better education and a higher standard of public health. Most importantly, through trade and promotion of international business, Turkey’s economy can attract countries to invest in it, promoting stronger ties to states all across the world.

No longer will Turkey only be known for bridging two continents or being home to fine coffee, desserts, and flavored tobacco. No longer will it stand for simply the model of a secular oasis in the midst of an ever-increasingly hostile Middle East. (Not that these lack importance) Turkey will now have its moment to shine for something it has accomplished all on its own, from the ground-up, almost undetected; something that will be just as relevant a force in the future as any other—for its economically beneficial population.

Undoubtedly, the manner in which Turkey frames and addresses its national security agenda in relation to its population in the next few decades will determine its future success. Its ability to translate numbers into policy will determine whether Turkey becomes a new and powerful actor in the international community, or whether it misses its chance and falls to the way-side, forever wandering, “what could have been?”

South Korea

Amanda Smith, senior at Rhodes College, International Studies and Political Science major, French and Environmental Studies minors.



Given the recent military attacks on South Korea from North Korea, the military security of South Korea and of the region is of the upmost importance to the international community. Considering North Korea’s unknown and speculated nuclear capabilities, this attack could be an ominous foreshadowing of serious changes to come for the international security system, and the South Korean people.
As if imminent nuclear attack were not enough to worry about, South Korea has its own potential demographic implosion problems. With one of the lowest total fertility rates in the world, and a rapidly aging and declining population, South Korean society and culture face future elimination. If it’s not population decline that does it, it will be one of South Korea’s hostile neighbors that finally does the country in. Historic grievances to the east with Japan, economic competition to the west with China, and military threats to the north with North Korea could all contribute to a devastating future for the South Korean people.
To help combat these looming threats to national security, I would recommend a few policy prescriptions for South Korea. First of all, technology as a resource needs to be emphasized for military and social purposes. According to Sciubba's third chapter entitled "Population Aging", currently South Korea boasts the second highest number of military personnel per capita in the world, but given the nature of modern warfare and the erratic behavior of the North, perhaps pure manpower is not enough. Although this recommendation goes against the international community’s preferences, South Korea should consider developing its own nuclear capabilities. While South Korea does have military agreements with the United States, who is a nuclear power, it cannot rely solely on another state for its ultimate military security. Bearing in mind China’s affinity for North Korea, South Korea should take every precaution necessary in case of a dangerous alliance.
In terms of its aging population, technology may also be part of the solution. The government has recently implemented elderly care training in many schools, but training alone will not be enough. South Korea can no longer rely on manpower to care for its elderly population, nor its military security. Technology must be incorporated in their response to internal and external threats. Health monitoring systems for the elderly, and an expansive healthcare system are needed to address this demographic problem. Given that the labor force is sharply declining as well, technology should also be a tool for sustaining the economy. Labor-intensive markets can no longer serve as the backbone of the economy; instead technology should serve as a replacement. This improvement to this sector of the economy will also help with regional economic competition.
Bolstering the economy, healthcare system, and military security are the major tenets to future South Korean overall security and longevity. If all of these are given the attention they deserve, perhaps South Korea will achieve the regional stability it needs to overcome its internal and external risks. And even if it does achieve this high level of security, the unpredictability of its volatile neighbors, all these efforts could be in vain. Nuclear attack from North Korea, Chinese aided invasion from the North, or a traditional war with its Northern neighbor are all reasonable assumptions for military planners. Additionally, the yearly famines in the North are nothing short of a humanitarian crisis, which also puts extra pressure on the South. The complications are endless, as are the future possibilities for insecurity. Even with the US on its side, in a war of China and North Korea against the United States and South Korea, the fight’s pretty fair. Frankly, South Korea’s future looks very insecure.