Why the financial crisis matters for security: a three minute guide

Few areas have been unaffected by the worst economic crisis in 80 years

Security is not immune

Even this song has a connection (more about that at the end)

The impacts? 53 million more people living on less than $2 a day

Many people will become more dependent on foreign aid and remittances from family abroad

But in the financial crisis, these two areas could well suffer

The G8 countries’ promise to double aid spending by 2010 is already behind schedule…

…and the World Bank predicts that remittances will fall by up to 8% in 2009

Some countries are extremely dependent on remittances

…for example they comprise 45% of Tajikistan’s GDP

Of those with jobs in developed countries, well over 50% are in vulnerable employment

Many unemployed young men are returning home to developing countries

The Malaysian government revoked 55,000 Bangladeshi men’s visas in March 2009

Lower incomes, higher unemployment and fragile states is an explosive mix

In Yemen, 70% of the country’s revenue comes from oil

But failing oil prices led to a 75% drop in its profits in the first quarter of 2009

At the same time, Yemeni militants announced the creation of al Qaeda of the Arabian peninsula

In January 2009, Saudi Arabia announced its 85 most wanted militants living around the world…

most of them were based in Yemen

The growth of extremism during the financial crisis is not limited to the developing world

In the EU elections, far right parties gained votes in a number of EU countries

The US Dept of Homeland Security has warned of two possible effects of the economic crisis…

First, the conditions are helping recruitment by right wing extremist groups

Second, the threat from small terrorist homegrown cells is the highest for 10 years

Some positives? Armed forces recruitment is at a high and deep defence cuts are unlikely

In terms of the kinds of deep cuts that followed the end of the Cold War, i would hope that we have gotten smarter than that

And finally, as promised, here’s the song’s link with the financial crisis…

it was Iceland’s Eurovision song contest entry – some Icelanders privately admitted…

…that though they liked the song, they were worried about it winning…

…because that would mean paying the estimated $30 million to host next year’s show

The song came second.