TED2018
Benedetta Berti: Did the global response to 9/11 make us safer?
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If we want sustainable, long-term security to be the norm in the world, it's time to radically rethink how we can achieve it, says TED Fellow and conflict researcher Benedetta Berti. In an eye-opening talk, Berti explains how building a safer world has a lot less to do with crushing enemies on the battlefield and a lot more to do with protecting civilians -- no matter where they're from or where they live.
Benedetta Berti - Conflict and security researcher
Benedetta Berti studies how conflicts impact civilians. Full bio
Benedetta Berti studies how conflicts impact civilians. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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Almost 20 years have passed since 9/11.
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It is time to take stock of where we stand
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and stop and think.
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It is time to ask ourselves,
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have the assumptions and policies
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we developed in the wake
of those tragic events
of those tragic events
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truly made us more secure?
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Have they made our societies,
both in Europe and in the United States,
both in Europe and in the United States,
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more resilient?
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I've worked all my life
in the field of security and defense,
in the field of security and defense,
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and I am convinced
that now, more than ever,
that now, more than ever,
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we need to radically reframe
the way we think and act about security,
the way we think and act about security,
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and especially
about international security.
about international security.
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By international security,
I actually mean what we do,
I actually mean what we do,
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how we prepare our countries
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to better respond
and prevent external threats,
and prevent external threats,
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and how we protect our citizens.
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The key to both
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is to focus on protecting civilians,
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both in our own countries
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and in those where we are present
in the name of security.
in the name of security.
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Now, this idea goes
against the fixed narrative
against the fixed narrative
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that we developed over the past 20 years
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over what security is and how to get it,
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but that narrative is flawed,
and worse, it is counterproductive.
and worse, it is counterproductive.
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Over the past 20 years,
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both in the United States and in Europe,
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we've come to accept that we must
talk about security in zero sum terms,
talk about security in zero sum terms,
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as if the only way to gain more security
is by compromising on values and rights:
is by compromising on values and rights:
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security versus human rights,
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safety versus freedom and development.
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This is a false opposition.
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It just doesn't work like that.
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We need to recognize
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that security and human rights
are not opposite values,
are not opposite values,
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they are intrinsically related.
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After all, the most basic human right
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is the right to live
and to be free from violence,
and to be free from violence,
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and a state's most basic responsibility
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is to guarantee that right
for its citizens.
for its citizens.
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Conversely, if we think
about communities all over the world
about communities all over the world
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affected by war and conflict,
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it is insecurity and violence
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that stops them from achieving
their full freedom and development.
their full freedom and development.
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Now, they need basic security
just as much as we do
just as much as we do
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and they need it
so they can live a normal life
so they can live a normal life
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and so that they can
enjoy their human rights.
enjoy their human rights.
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This is why we need to shift.
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We need to acknowledge
that sustainable security
that sustainable security
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builds on a foundation of human rights,
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builds on promoting
and respecting human rights.
and respecting human rights.
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Also, over the past two decades,
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we have accepted that the best way
to guarantee our own security
to guarantee our own security
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is by defeating our enemies,
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and to do that, we need to rely
almost exclusively on the military.
almost exclusively on the military.
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Again, this clashes with my work,
with my research,
with my research,
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with what I see in the field.
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What I see is that building
sustainable security
sustainable security
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has a lot less to do
with crushing enemies,
with crushing enemies,
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has a lot less to do
with winning on the battlefield,
with winning on the battlefield,
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and has a lot more to do
with protecting victims
with protecting victims
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and building stability.
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And to do that, well, the military alone
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is simply insufficient.
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This is why I believe we need to shelve
the never-ending War on Terror,
the never-ending War on Terror,
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and we need to replace it
with a security agenda
with a security agenda
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that is driven by the principle
of protecting civilians,
of protecting civilians,
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no matter where they are from,
what passport they hold,
what passport they hold,
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or where they live:
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Vancouver, New York,
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Kabul, Mosul, Aleppo or Douma.
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Sustainable security tells us
that we're more likely
that we're more likely
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to have long-term security
at home for ourselves
at home for ourselves
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if we focus our engagements abroad
on protecting civilians
on protecting civilians
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and on ensuring their lives are lived
in dignity and free from violence.
in dignity and free from violence.
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For example, we all know
that defeating ISIS
that defeating ISIS
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is a security achievement.
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Absolutely.
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But rebuilding destroyed homes,
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restoring order,
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ensuring a representative
political system,
political system,
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these are just as, if not more important,
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and not just for the security
of civilians in Iraq and in Syria,
of civilians in Iraq and in Syria,
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but for our own security
and for global stability.
and for global stability.
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More fundamentally,
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ISIS's danger should not just be counted
in the number of weapons it holds
in the number of weapons it holds
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but also in the number of children
it has kept out of school
it has kept out of school
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or indoctrinated.
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This is from a security perspective.
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From a security perspective,
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the long-term generational impact
of having millions of children in Syria
of having millions of children in Syria
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growing up knowing only war
and out of school,
and out of school,
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this is a far more dangerous
threat to stability
threat to stability
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than all of ISIS's weapons combined,
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and we should spend just as much time
and just as much energy to counter this
and just as much energy to counter this
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as what we spend
when countering ISIS militarily.
when countering ISIS militarily.
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Over the past two decades,
our security policy has been short-term.
our security policy has been short-term.
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It has focused on the here and now.
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It has systematically downplayed
the link between what we do today
the link between what we do today
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in the name of security
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and the long-term impact of those choices.
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In the years after 9/11,
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some of the choices,
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some of the policies we've implemented
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have probably made us less,
not more secure in the long term.
not more secure in the long term.
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Sustainable, civilian-centered security
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needs to look at what happens
in the long term.
in the long term.
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Again, for example,
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relying on drones to target enemies
in faraway countries may be a tool.
in faraway countries may be a tool.
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It may be a tool to make sure
or to lessen the threat
or to lessen the threat
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of an imminent attack
on the United States.
on the United States.
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But what about the long-term impact?
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If civilians are killed,
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if communities are targeted,
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this will feed a vicious circle
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of war, conflict,
trauma and radicalization,
trauma and radicalization,
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and that vicious circle is at the center
of so many of the security challenges
of so many of the security challenges
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we face today.
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This will not make us safer
in the long term.
in the long term.
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We need civilian security,
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we need sustainable
civilian-centered security,
civilian-centered security,
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and we need it now.
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We need to encourage thinking
and research around this concept,
and research around this concept,
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and to implement it.
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We live in a dangerous world.
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We have many threats
to peace and conflict.
to peace and conflict.
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Much like in the days after 9/11,
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we simply cannot afford
not to think about international security.
not to think about international security.
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But we have to learn the lessons
of the past 20 years.
of the past 20 years.
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To get it right, to get security right,
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we need to focus on the long term.
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We need to focus on protecting civilians.
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And we need to respect
and acknowledge the fact
and acknowledge the fact
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that sustainable security
builds on a foundation of human rights.
builds on a foundation of human rights.
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Otherwise, in the name of security,
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we risk leaving the world
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a far more dangerous and unstable place
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than what we already found it in.
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Thank you.
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07:43
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Benedetta Berti - Conflict and security researcherBenedetta Berti studies how conflicts impact civilians.
Why you should listen
Benedetta Berti is an expert on the role of armed groups and the future of armed conflict, especially in the Middle East. She has spent over a decade researching non-state armed groups, from terrorists to insurgents to militias, and has worked with governments, international organizations and NGOs to offer new approaches to better understand and tackle modern conflict. As a security and humanitarian consultant, Berti has designed disarmament campaigns; conducted trainings of counter-insurgency and protection of civilians; worked on violence prevention; and assisted humanitarian organizations on issues related to gaining access to war-torn areas. She has conducted research and worked across the globe -- from Central and Latin America to the Middle East, and from the United States to Eastern Africa -- and has focused her work on some of the world's most complex conflicts, from Syria, to Iraq, to Gaza, to Burundi.
Berti has written four books, and her writing has appeared in Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs.
Benedetta Berti | Speaker | TED.com