Inequality is greatest threat to security

LONDON, June 21 (UPI) -- The greatest threat to global security is the rapid increase in inequality, according to a report by the British think tank Royal United Services Institute.

The report says concerns about inequality have been blunted in recent years by tremendous levels of global economic growth.

However, report author Professor Malcolm Chalmers, an expert on international politics and security at RUSI, says the inattention to escalating inequalities between and within countries around the world poses the greatest security threat for an increasingly interconnected world, RUSI reported.

The recently released report from the British independent think tank for defense and security calls for a greater attention to addressing poverty and political stability, citing extreme inequality in developing countries as linked to violent criminality and armed conflict.

"The greatest security challenges of our time are essentially transnational in character," Chalmers said in a statement. "Global inequality is one of those challenges. Without action to address the phenomenon of growing inequality directly, protective policies can have only partial success."