1. The Foundations of Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy

In a fundamental sense, security policy is a matter of ensuring national survival. The alpha and omega of security is the ensuring of national survival. Other national security issues may be raised only if national existence is ensured. Foreign affairs and security policy must be formulated first and foremost to ensure national security. Issues of prosperity, sustainable peace, and stability and other related concerns then follow. In order to formulate a foreign affairs and security policy that addresses these issues, it is important to identify and examine the sources and basis from which the policy springs.

1.1 Development and the building of a democratic system as a basis for policy

For the Ethiopian people, benefiting from rapid development, means living a life free from poverty, ignorance and backwardness. The primary interest of the people is to live free from poverty, disease and ignorance. Rapid development is not merely important in raising the standard of living of the people, but also a guarantee of national survival. Unless we can bring about rapid development that benefits the people, we will not be able to avoid chaos and disintegration. Therefore, assuring accelerated development and raising the living standard of our people is critical in preventing our country from disaster and dismemberment. This is a fundamental issue on which the interests and the survival of the people of Ethiopia depends.

Establishing a democratic order in Ethiopia is the way to respect peoples' and individual rights, affirm good governance, and assure stable working and living conditions. Democracy is an important instrument to mobilize around common goals and to involve the people in nation building. Democracy guarantees that the members of the various nations, nationalities and religions in Ethiopia live in an atmosphere of tolerance. In the absence of a democratic order, national and religious divisions will invariably intensify, the abuse of human rights would result in strife, and poverty would spread further - a recipe for disintegration and destruction. The realization of democracy will therefore not only help to attain development and good governance, but ensure national security. Without doubt, democratization is fundamental to safeguard the individual interests of every Ethiopian as well as to ensure the country's continued existence.

Foreign policy as well as national security policy should have the mission of protecting national interest and security. By national interest we can only be referring to the interest of the entire people - no more, no less. What is crucial to the interests of the entire people is rapid development that benefits the population. It is in the interest of the people as a whole that democracy and good governance take root. If we are to formulate a foreign policy to protect our national interest, we will have to elaborate a policy that facilitates rapid development and democratization. Our national interest is all about democracy and development. Likewise our foreign and national security policies need to be essentially based on, and cause the promotion of, development and democracy.

Obviously, the national security policy must first ensure national existence or survival. Ensuring national security means protecting the population from strife, war and disintegration. If we do not develop and establish a democratic order, there is no doubt that we will not survive as a nation. We must therefore promote democracy and development to ensure our survival. Our security policy cannot have a goal that does not proceed from this premise.

Because it is through rapid development and democratization that the nation can avert strife, it is this same development and democratization agenda that ensures peace. To the degree that development and democracy bring about peace, peace too, is crucial in the attainment and ensurance of democracy and development. So when we say that development and democracy are the basis for national security and for peace, we are also affirming in turn, that peace is a prerequisite for economic development and the establishment of democracy.

Bringing about people-centred rapid development and ensuring democracy and good governance are what our national interest is all about. All other issues are secondary to, and based on, these fundamentals. The goal of our foreign and security policies, formulated to ensure our national interest and well being, should also serve to promote democracy and development. A foreign and security policy that is worthy of the name is one that is capable of achieving such a goal. However sophisticated and relevant in other respects, a policy incapable of bringing about development and democracy is of no use. The fundamental goals of foreign and national security policy must be democracy and development.