Inequality, radicalisation, water conflicts and climate change have now become the main global security concerns unlike in the past, said Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Lt General Mahfuzur Rahman on Tuesday.

Mahfuzur Rahman came up with the remarks while delivering a lecture on ‘Global, Regional and National Security Environment’ at Shaheed Colonel Jamil Ahmed Memorial Lecture, 2016 organised by the Trust Management Committee for Social Sciences at the auditorium of Asiatic Society of Bangladesh in the city.

He said the critical structure problems or the ‘four horsemen of the Apocalypse’ are authoritarian rule, marginalisation of ethnic minorities, socio-economic deprivation combined with inequality and the inability of states to manage normal political and social conflict effectively.

Mentioning that inequality is becoming an urgent issue of world politics, Mahfuzur Rahman said globalisation is not only exacerbating the gap between the rich and the poor in the world, but it is also further dividing those states and people that have political power and influence from those without.

He said the impact of increasing religious radicalisation can be seen today in places such as Turkey, Myanmar and the Middle East. “The most worrisome, an old religious division is helping fuel a resurgence of conflicts in the Middle East.”

The PSO said the construction of dams on major rivers in the Asian region has serious implications for millions living downstream. “China’s grand plans to harness the waters of the Brahmaputra River have set off ripples anxiety in the two lower riparian states—India and Bangladesh.”

About climate change, he said this issue is increasingly seen as having major implications for international security. “Three main consequences of global warming are resource scarcity, sea-level raise and intensification of natural disasters.

When a country like Bangladesh will see its cereal production sharply reduced, the other regions such as Northern Europe, Russia and South East Asia will be benefited from increased average temperatures, he said.

Mahfuzur Rahman said threats of regional conflict, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and dangers posed by trans-national terrorism and insurgency not only endure, but also growing stronger in some cases.