Developing countries

 Prosperity and stability remain a critical factor in all states. The stability and prosperity defines the economic status of citizens. Thus, a country leadership needs to focus on establishing measures that propel prosperity and stability of the economy and politics, among other factors. In modern times, nations have experienced economic uncertainties globally, such as the 2008 depression. Developing countries are extremely affected by economic uncertainties and dynamism witnessed in contemporary times.   Prosperity and stability play a critical role in the realization of the major goals set by people in a country (Second Committee, 2016). For prosperity to be witnessed by every citizen, the economy needs to be stable in terms of growth. With a stable economy, it brings opportunities that need exploitation, leading to prosperity that enhances continuous growth in the economy. With the growth of a country presenting a significant issue in the contemporary world, it requires exploration of the major threats that halt prosperity and stability in developing countries.

Developing countries are characterized by high rates of unemployment, dependence on the primary sector, export of primary products, and high population growth rate. The developing countries are, therefore, yet to experience industrialization effectively. Industrialization enables the country to sell end products by adding value, making more profit. It assists the producer and also the country since it increases the demand for the product overseas. In the current situation, developing countries tend to re-import the end product after primary export products. It has greatly affected the situation of these nations with the unequal balance of payment (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2008). With developing countries having a high birth rate and the inability to propel industrialization steadily, they are facing a significant problem of unemployment. The unemployment level in developing countries is very high to the extent of threatening social stability. The high unemployment witnessed today in developing countries has significantly been caused by slow and sluggish economic growth. Moreover, the states have huge debts from IMF, World Bank, and other countries that have financed infrastructure projects such as roads, among others. The loans, in some instances, are not directed to projects that can trigger opportunities for the youth or create employment opportunities (The World Bank Group, 2020 ). In other cases, the level of corruption is very high, leading to continuous embezzlement of funds that are aimed to create opportunities that can positively impact economic growth. With continuous economic growth, the country can provide adequate employment for the youths and other well-educated citizens. Social stability is threatened, considering the level of unemployment in developing countries is critical in any society. Social stability enhances the observance of government-formal, regulated, and enforced laws, rules, and norms for societal relations (kituyi, ZhenMin, & Bárcena, 2019). Thus, unemployment threatens social stability that enhances adequate socialization, social integration, and stable society that upholds laid down norms. For social stability to be lost, the social institutions are halted to perform their critical functions. It is important to note that three sectors, public, private, and social, need to remain strong for stability to have a great foundation. The government collects taxes and provides public goods, and thus it needs to outline rules of interaction to enhance equal competition and social justice while acting impartially. The second sector is business and enterprise that pays taxes and creates wealth while the social sector is the third sector and is represented by civil society, NGOs, NPOs, among other organizations. The role of the social sector focuses on promoting social progress and stability by identifying social issues and providing customized services to meet people’s needs of a target group. However, social instability arises when people opt to uphold social injustices such as corruption for them to get employment or favour in a specific department. People also indulge in unethical acts as they try to cope with the different situations caused by a high level of unemployment. Crime rates in these countries continue to increase due to many people failing to meet their basic needs ethically..

State conflict is also a major threat that has halted the prosperity and stability of developing countries in the contemporary world. Developing countries are experiencing instability from political issues that have hindered prosperity in investments. Investors who highly influence growth in various sector that enables the government to increase revenue collection and also provide job opportunities find it challenging to operate in an unstable country. Power conflict has resulted in demonstrations specifically in major towns leading to loss of resources through destruction and, to some extent, through theft. Investors opt to invest in a stable country where the safety and growth of a business is guaranteed. People are driven by their goals and a country facing uncertainties due to conflicts hinder the level of investment greatly. Power struggles have seen many politicians create tension in countries destabilizing the much-needed peace for growth. The level of democracy in these countries is questionable and has led to power struggles that have resulted in state conflict that destabilizes the peace ( Department for International Development, 2017). The confidence needed for people to make long-term decisions that define the level of investment depends on political stability. Some countries have failed in a situation they need intervention from other global countries. For instance, some countries had to separate, such as Yugoslavia and Kosovo.

Terror groups have heavily interfered with the stability and prosperity of developing countries. For instance, countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, among other Middle East countries, have heavily been affected by these groups. A lot of attention is directed to war between these terror groups as the government tries to retain the sovereignty of a nation. It is important to note that a country cannot prosper when much effort is directed to war. These countries face the destruction of infrastructures and increased deaths, leading to the collapse of nations. A country like Somalia has continuously faced these challenges with the existence of Al-Shabaab, which affects even the neighboring states with attacks. The number of piracy instances along the coast is huge, affecting the trade and also the tourism in neighbouring countries.  In this consideration, the issue of security remains an issue to developing countries resulting in low confidence among investors.

Food security is a factor that has threatened the stability and prosperity of developing countries. It is worth noting that hunger, diseases, and poverty are intertwined. Hunger reduces the natural defences against most of the diseases and serves as the major risk factor for illness globally. People living in poverty cannot produce maximally or buy adequate food to feed their families, making them vulnerable to diseases. The UN Standing Committee on Nutrition emphasizes that nutrition remains a critical factor for poverty alleviation. Food security that is lacking in developing nations is seen as a pre-requisite for economic development. Inadequate labor, as a result of hunger, can lead to a reduction of 6-10%in per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Malnourishment among children is associated with poor cognitive development leading to lower productivity and also a lifetime earning potential (Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 2017). UNICEF argues/estimates that a third of the global population fails to reach their physical and intellectual potential due to deficiencies in micronutrient experienced due to food insecurity. The failure of developing nations to guarantee food security to citizens increases the number of those experiencing micronutrient deficiencies and thus fails to reach their maximum productivity intellectually in the future. In this consideration, a large number of human capital cannot guarantee the country investors the intended productivity to influence continuous positive growth. Countries like Indonesia in Asia have been facing economic and political instability undermining food security. Although in Pacific East Asia, food insecurity is seen to be manageable, some countries need to work on its stability in economic growth and politics (United Nations Development Programme, 2016). The stability enables agriculture to thrive due toaffordable products such as seeds. Most countries in Africa are developing countries and have a food crisis looming.Food security is associated with influencing economic growth and new markets.  Farmer’s purposeto export when people are adequately fed, leading to the stability of economies and increasing demand for the products. Economic growth is witnessed due to an increase in exports and entry in emerging markets across the globe. It is important to note that food security results in national security promotion. When people are facing hunger, they respond with demonstrations and other kinds of unrest that can have an immense impact on the stability of the country. In other cases, when a country experiences food shortage, prices rise, leading to both nonviolent and armed conflict (WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT, 2019). Very few developing countries can guarantee their citizens food security needed to propel growth that results in prosperity and stability in the long-run.

Conclusion

Stability and prosperity of a country depends on a myriad of factors. The leadership has a huge task to undertake measures that guarantee its realization in the long-run. For instance, national security is critical for peace to prevail in a country for it to attract investment from local and international investors. Issues of food security enable the human capital to maximally produce, enabling the growth of organizations that creates opportunities to deal with unemployment. Unemployment is another factor that threatens the stability and prosperity of a developing country when its people are not indulging in activities that positively contribute to the growth of the economy. Terror groups have led to the collapse of many developing countries, particularly in the Middle East, where they engage the government in the war.  War leads to the destruction of key infrastructure and lack of basic needs such as food and health, which are vital for stability and prosperity.

Bibliography

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