Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of
national securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state. Human security holds that a people-centered view of security is necessary for national, regional and global stability.
The concept emerged from a post-Cold War, multi-disciplinary understanding of security involving a number of research fields, including
development studiesDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
,
international relationsInternational relations or International studies represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , non-governmental organizations , and multinational corporations...
, strategic studies, and
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
.
Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of
national securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state. Human security holds that a people-centered view of security is necessary for national, regional and global stability.
The concept emerged from a post-Cold War, multi-disciplinary understanding of security involving a number of research fields, including
development studiesDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
,
international relationsInternational relations or International studies represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , non-governmental organizations , and multinational corporations...
, strategic studies, and
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
. The
United Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. The UNDP is an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly...
's 1994
Human Development ReportThe Human Development Report is an annual milestone publication by the United Nations Development Programme .The report was first launched in 1990. Its goal was to place people at the centre of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy...
is considered a milestone publication in the field of human security, with its argument that insuring "freedom from want" and "freedom from fear" for all persons is the best path to tackle the problem of global insecurity. Frequently referred to in a wide variety of global policy discussions and scholarly journals , human security is often taught in universities as part of international relations, globalization, or human rights studies..
Critics of the concept argue that its vagueness undermines its effectiveness; that it has become little more than a vehicle for activists wishing to promote certain causes; and that it does not help the research community understand what security means or help decision makers to formulate good policies..
UNDP's 1994 definition
Dr.
Mahbub ul HaqMahbub ul Haq , born in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, was an influential and world renowned Pakistani economist. He is the pioneer of Human development theory and founder of the Human Development Report...
first drew global attention to the concept of human security in the
United Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. The UNDP is an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly...
's 1994
Human Development Report and sought to influence the UN's 1995 World Summit on Social Development in
CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
. The UNDP's 1994
Human Development ReportThe Human Development Report is an annual milestone publication by the United Nations Development Programme .The report was first launched in 1990. Its goal was to place people at the centre of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy...
's definition of human security argues that the scope of global security should be expanded to include
threats in seven areas:
- Economic security — Economic security requires an assured basic income for individuals, usually from productive and remunerative work or, as a last resort, from a publicly financed safety net. In this sense, only about a quarter of the world’s people are presently economically secure. While the economic security problem may be more serious in developing countries, concern also arises in developed countries as well. Unemployment problems constitute an important factor underlying political tensions and ethnic violence.
- Food security — Food security requires that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to basic food. According to the United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
, the overall availability of food is not a problem, rather the problem often is the poor distribution of food and a lack of purchasing powerPurchasing power is the number of goods/services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if you had taken one dollar to a store in the 1950s, you would have been able to buy a greater number of items than you would today, indicating that you would have had a greater purchasing...
. In the past, food security problems have been dealt with at both national and global levels. However, their impacts are limited. According to UN, the key is to tackle the problems relating to access to assets, work and assured income (related to economic security).
- Health security — Health Security aims to guarantee a minimum protection from diseases and unhealthy lifestyle
Lifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929. The current broader sense of the word dates from 1961.In sociology, a lifestyle is the way a person lives. A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time...
s. In developing countries, the major causes of death are infectious and parasitic diseaseA parasitic disease is an infectious disease caused or transmitted by a parasite. Many parasites do not cause disease per se. Parasitic diseases can affect practically all living organisms, from plants to mammals...
s, which kill 17 million people annually. In industrialized countries, the major killers are diseases of the circulatory system- [Headline text]--75.137.171.242 01:21, 21 October 2009 :bThe circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, nitrogen waste products, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pHb to maintain...
, killing 5.5 million every year. According to the United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
, in both developing and industrial countries, threats to health security are usually greater for poor people in rural areas, particularly children. This is mainly due to malnutritionMalnutrition is the insufficient, excessive or imbalanced consumption of nutrients.A number of different nutrition disorders may arise, depending on which nutrients are under or overabundant in the diet....
and insufficient supply of medicine, clean water or other necessity for healthcare.
- Environmental security — Environmental security aims to protect people from the short- and long-term ravages of nature, man-made threats in nature, and deterioration of the natural environment
The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
. In developing countries, lack of access to clean water resourcesWater resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities...
is one of the greatest environmental threats. In industrial countries, one of the major threats is air pollutionAir pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere....
. Global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
, caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, is another environmental security issue.
- Personal security — Personal security aims to protect people from physical violence
Violence is the expression of physical or verbal force against self or other, compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt. Variant uses of the term refer to the destruction of non-living objects . Worldwide, violence is used as a tool of manipulation and also is an area of concern...
, whether from the state or external states, from violent individuals and sub-state actors, from domestic abuse, or from predatory adults. For many people, the greatest source of anxiety is crimeCrime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, particularly violent crime.
- Community security — Community security aims to protect people from the loss of traditional relationships
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love and liking, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment...
and values and from sectarian and ethnic violence. Traditional communities, particularly minority ethnic groupAn ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the researcher Seng Yang in the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common cultural,...
s are often threatened. About half of the world’s states have experienced some inter-ethnic strife. The United Nations declared 1993 the Year of Indigenous People to highlight the continuing vulnerability of the 300 million aboriginal people in 70 countries as they face a widening spiral of violence.
- Political security — Political security is concerned with whether people live in a society that honors their basic human rights. According to a survey conducted by Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, political repressionPolitical repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take part in the political life of society....
, systematic torture, ill treatment or disappearanceA forced disappearance occurs when force is used to cause a person to vanish from public view, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty , thereby placing the victim outside the protection of law.According to the Rome Statute of the International...
was still practised in 110 countries. Human rights violations are most frequent during periods of political unrest. Along with repressing individuals and groups, governments may try to exercise control over ideas and information.
Since then, human security has been receiving more attention from the key global development institutions, such as the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
. Tadjbakhsh, among others, traces the evolution of human security in international organizations, concluding that the concept has been manipulated and transformed considerably since 1994 to fit organizational interests.
http://www.peacecenter.sciences-po.fr/journal/issue4pdf/issue4_guestEditorial_Tadjbakhsh.pdf
Freedom from Fear vs Freedom from Want and beyond
In an ideal world, each of the UNDP's seven categories of threats would receive adequate global attention and resources. Yet attempts to implement this human security agenda have led to the emergence of two major schools of thought on how to best practice human security —
'"Freedom from Fear"' and
'"Freedom from Want"'. While the UNDP 1994 report originally argued that human security requires attention to both
freedom from fear and
freedom from want, divisions have gradually emerged over the proper
scopeScope or Scopes may refer to:* SCOPE , a technique of creating gene libraries* Scope , the range in which a variable can be referenced* Scope , a mouthwash brand by Procter & Gamble* SCOPE...
of that protection (e.g. over what threats individuals should be protected from) and over the appropriate mechanisms for responding to these threats.
- Freedom from Fear — This school seeks to limit the practice of Human Security to protecting individuals from violent conflicts while recognizing that these violent threats are strongly associated with poverty, lack of state capacity and other forms of inequities. This approach argues that limiting the focus to violence is a realistic and manageable approach towards Human Security. Emergency assistance, conflict prevention and resolution, peace-building are the main concerns of this approach. Canada, for example, was a critical player in the efforts to ban landmines and has incorporated the "Freedom from Fear" agenda as a primary component in its own foreign policy. However, whether such “narrow” approach can truly serve its purpose in guaranteeing more fruitful results remains to be an issue. For instance, the conflicts in Darfur are often used in questioning the effectiveness of the "Responsibility to Protect”, a key component of the Freedom from Fear agenda.
- Freedom from Want — The school advocates a holistic approach in achieving human security and argues that the threat agenda should be broadened to include hunger, disease and natural disasters because they are inseparable concepts in addressing the root of human insecurity and they kill far more people than war, genocide and terrorism combined. Different from "Freedom from Fear", it expands the focus beyond violence with emphasis on development and security goals.
Despite their differences, these two approaches to human security can be considered complementary rather than contradictory. Expressions to this effect include:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's famous Four FreedomsThe Four Freedoms are goals famously articulated by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urged by wife Eleanor Roosevelt and friend Jon Run, on January 6, 1941...
speech of 1941, in which "Freedom from Want" is characterized as the third and "Freedom from Fear" is the fourth such fundamental, universal, freedom.
- The Government of Japan considers Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want to be equal in developing Japan’s foreign policy. Moreover, the UNDP 1994 called for the world’s attention to both agendas.
- Surin Pitsuwan
Surin Pitsuwan is a longtime Thai politician. He was born in Nakhon Si Thammarat, into an assimilated Thai family of Malay descent....
, current Secretary-General of ASEAN cites theorists such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Houme to conclude that "human security is the primary purpose of organizing a state in the beginning.". He goes on to observe that the 1994 Human Development Report states that it is "reviving this concept" and suggests that the authors of the 1994 HDR may be alluding to Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech without literally citing that presentation.
Although "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want" are the most commonly referred to categories of human security practice, an increasing number of alternative ideas continue to emerge on how to best practice human security. Among them:
- G. King and C. Murray. King and Murray try to narrow down the human security definition to one's "expectation of years of life without experiencing the state of generalized poverty". In their definition, the "generalized poverty" means "falling below critical thresholds in any domain of well-being"; and it is in the same article, they give brief review and categories of "Domains of Well-being". This set of defition is similar with "freedom from want" but more concretely focused on some value system.
- Caroline Thomas. She regards human security as describing "a condition of existence" which entails basic material needs, human dignity, including meaningful participation in the life of the community, and an active and substantive notion of democracy from the local to the global.
- Roland Paris. He argues that many ways to define "human security" are related with certain set of value and lose the neutral position. So he suggests to take human security as a category of research. As such, he gives a 2*2 matrix to illustrate the security studies field.
| Security for Whom? |
What is the Source of the Security Threat? |
|
Military |
Military, Non-military, or Both |
| States |
National security
(conventional realist approach to security studies) |
Redefined security
(e.g., environmental and economic [cooperative or comprehensive] security) |
| Societies, Groups, and Individuals |
Intrastate security
(e.g., civil war, ethnic conflict, and democide) |
Human security
(e.g., environmental and economic threats to the survival of societies, groups, and individuals) |
- Sabina Alkire.Different with those approaches seek to narrow down and specify the objective of human security, Sabina Alkire pushes the idea a step further as "to safeguard the vital core of all human lives from critical pervasive threats, without impeding long-term human fulfilment". In a concept as such, she suggests the "vital core" cover a minimal or basic or fundamental set of functions related to survival, livelihood and dignity; and all institutions should at least and necessarily protect the core from any intervention.
Relationship with traditional security
Human security emerged as a challenge to ideas of traditional security, but human and traditional or national securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
are not mutually exclusiveIn layman's terms, two events are mutually exclusive if they cannot occur at the same time .- Logic :In logic, two mutually exclusive propositions are propositions that logically cannot both be true...
concepts. Without human security, traditional state security cannot be attained and vice-versa.
Traditional security is about a state's ability to defend itself against external threats. Traditional security (often referred to as national securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
or state securityState Security can refer to:* general concepts of security agency or national security* Committee for State Security * State Security * State Security...
) describes the philosophy of international security predominance since the Peace of WestphaliaThe term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24, 1648, respectively, and written in French, that ended both the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Republic of the Seven...
in 1648 and the rise of the nation-states. While international relations theoryInternational relations theory attempts to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories act as a pair of coloured sunglasses, allowing the wearer to see only the salient events relevant to the theory...
includes many variants of traditional security, from realismRealism, also known as political realism , is a school of international relations that prioritizes national interest and security, rather than ideals, social reconstructions, or ethics...
to idealismIdealism is the philosophical theory that maintains that the ultimate nature of reality is based on mind or ideas. It holds that the so-called external or "real world" is inseparable from mind, consciousness, or perception...
, the fundamental trait that these schools share is their focus on the primacy of the nation-stateThe nation-state is a certain form of state that derives its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
.
The following table contrasts four differences between the two perspectives:
|
Traditional Security |
Human Security |
| Referent |
Traditional security policies are designed to promote demands ascribed to the state. Other interests are subordinated to those of the state. Traditional security protects a state's boundaries, people, institutions and values. |
Human security is people-centered. Its focus shifts to protecting individuals. The important dimensions are to entail the well-being of individuals and respond to ordinary people's needs in dealing with sources of threats. |
| Scope |
Traditional security seeks to defend states from external aggressionIn psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Predatory or defensive behavior between members of different species is not normally considered "aggression." Aggression takes a...
.Walter LippmannWalter Lippmann was an influential American award-winning writer, journalist, and political commentator...
explained that state security is about a state's ability to deter or defeat an attack. It makes uses of deterrence strategies to maintain the integrity of the state and protect the territory from external threats. |
In addition to protecting the state from external aggression, human security would expand the scope of protection to include a broader range of threats, including environmental pollution, infectious diseases, and economic deprivation. |
| Actor(s) |
The state is the sole actor, to ensure its own survival. Decision making power is centralized in the government, and the execution of strategies rarely involves the public. Traditional security assumes that a sovereign state is operating in an anarchical international environment, in which there is no world governing body to enforce international rules of conduct. |
The realization of human security involves not only governments, but a broader participation of different actors, viz. regional and international organizations, non-governmental organizations and local communities. |
| Means |
Traditional security relies upon building up national power and military defense. The common forms it takes are armament races, alliances, strategic boundaries etc. |
Human security not only protects, but also empowers people and societies as a means of security. People contribute by identifying and implementing solutions to insecurity. |
Relationship with development
Human security also challenged and drew from the practice of international developmentDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
.
Traditionally, embracing liberal market economics was considered to be the universal path for economic growthEconomic growth is a term used to indicate the increase of total GDP. It is often measured as the rate of change of gross domestic product . Economic growth refers only to the quantity of goods and services produced; it says nothing about the way in which they are produced...
, and thus developmentDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
for all humanity. Yet, continuing conflict and human rights abuses following the end of the Cold War and the fact that two-thirds of the global population seemed to have gained little from the economic gains of globalizationGlobalization describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and exchange....
, led to fundamental questions about the way developmentDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
was practiced. Accordingly, human development has emerged in 1990s to challenge the dominant paradigm of liberal economy in the development community. Human development proponents argue that economic growth is insufficient to expand people’s choice or capabilities, areas such as health, education, technology, the environment, and employment should not be neglected.
Human security could be said to further enlarge the scope for examining the causes and consequences of underdevelopmentUnderdevelopment is the state of an organization that has not reached its maturity.It is often used to refer to economic underdevelopment, symptoms of which include lack of access to job opportunities, health care, drinkable water, food, education and housing.-Overview:Underdevelopment takes place...
, by seeking to bridge the divide between development and security. Too often, militaries didn’t address or factor in the underlying causes of violence and insecurity while development workers often underplayed the vulnerability of development models to violent conflict . Human security springs from a growing consensus these two fields need to be more fully integrated in order to enhance security for all.
The paper Development and Security by Frances Stewart argues that securitySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, loss, and criminals.Security has to be compared and contrasted with other related concepts: Safety, continuity, reliability...
and developmentDevelopment studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions...
are deeply interconnected.
- Human security forms an important part of people’s well-being, and is therefore an objective of development.
An objective of development is “the enlargement of human choices”. Insecurity cuts life short and thwarts the use of human potential, thereby affecting the reaching of this objective.
- Lack of human security has adverse consequences on economic growth, and therefore development.
Some development costs are obvious. For example, in wars, people who join the army or flee can no longer work productively. Also, destroying infrastructure reduces the productive capacity of the economy.
- Imbalanced development that involves horizontal inequalities is an important source of conflict.
Therefore, vicious cycles of lack of development which leads to conflict, then to lack of development, can readily emerge. Likewise, virtuous cycles are possible, with high levels of security leading to development, which further promotes security in return.
Further, it could also be said that the practice of human development and human security share three fundamental elements:
- First, human security and human development are both people-centered. They challenge the orthodox approach to security and development i.e. state security and liberal economic growth respectively. Both emphasize people are be the ultimate ends but not means. Both treat human as agents and should be empowered to participate in the course.
- Second, both perspectives are multidimensional. Both address people’s dignity as well as their material and physical concerns.
- Third, both schools of thought consider poverty
Poverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
and inequality as the root causes of individual vulnerability.
Despite these similarities, the relationship with development is one of the most contested areas of human security . "Freedom from fear" advocates, such as Andrew Mack,argue that human security should focus on the achievable goals of decreasing individual vulnerability to violent conflict, rather than broadly defined goals of economic and social development. Others, such as Tadjbakhsh and Chenoy, argue that human development and human security are inextricably linked since progress in one enhances the chances of progress in another while failure in one increases risk of failure of another.
The following table is adopted from Tadjbakhsh to help clarify the relationship between these two concepts.
| Variables |
Human Development |
Human Security |
| Values |
Well-being. |
Security, stability, sustainability of development gains |
| Orientation |
Moves forward, is progressive and aggregate: “Together we rise” |
Looks at who was left behind at the individual level: “Divided we fall” |
| Time Frame |
Long term |
Combines short-term measures to deal with risks with long term prevention efforts. |
| General objectives |
Growth with equity. Expanding the choices and opportunities of people to lead lives they value. |
“Insuring” downturns with security. Identification of risks, prevention to avoid them through dealing with root causes, preparation to mitigate them, and cushioning when disaster strikes. |
| Policy goals |
Empowerment, sustainability, equity and productivity. |
Protection and promotion of human survival (freedom from fear), daily life (freedom from want), and the avoidance of indignities(life of dignity). |
Relationship with human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
Human security is indebted to the human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
tradition (the ideas of natural lawNatural law or the law of nature is a theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. The phrase natural law is opposed to the positive law of a given political community, society, or nation-state, and thus can function as a...
and natural rightsSome philosophers and political scientists make a distinction between natural and legal rights.Legal rights are rights conveyed by a particular polity, codified into legal statutes by some form of legislature , and as such are contingent upon local laws, customs,...
). The development of the human security model can be seen to have drawn upon ideas and concepts fundamental to the human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
tradition. Both approaches use the individual as the main referent and both argue that a wide range of issues (i.e. civil rights, cultural identity, access to education and healthcare) are fundamental to human dignity. A major difference between the two models is in their approach to addressing threats to human dignity and survival. Whilst the human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
framework takes a legalistic approach, the human security framework, by utilizing a diverse range of actors, adopts flexible and issue-specific approaches, which can operate at local, national or international levels.
The nature of the relationship between human security and human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
is contested among human security advocates. Some human security advocates argue that the goal of human security should be to build upon and strengthen the existing global human rights legal framework . However, other advocates view the human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
legal framework as part of the global insecurity problem and believe that a human security approach should propel us to move above and beyond this legalistic approach to get at the underlying sources of inequality and violence which are the root causes of insecurity in today's world.
Gender and human security
Human security focuses on the serious neglect of genderGender commonly refers to the set of characteristics that humans perceive as distinguishing between male and female entities, extending from one's biological sex to, in humans, one's social role or gender identity. As a term, "gender" has more than one valid definition...
concerns under the traditional security model. Traditional security’s focus on external military threats to the state has meant that the majority of threats women face have been overlooked. By focusing on the individual, the human security model aims to address the security concerns of both women and men equally. Women are often the worst victims of violence and conflict: they form the majority of civilian deaths; the majority of refugees; and, are often the victims of cruel and degrading practices, such as rape. Women's security is also threatened by unequal access to resources, services and opportunities. Human security seeks to empower women, through education, participation and access, as gender equality is seen as a necessary precondition for peace, security and a prosperous society.
Prevent, react, and rebuild
Human security seeks to address underlying causes and long-term implications of conflicts instead of simply reacting to problems, as the traditional security approach is often accused of doing. "The basic point of preventive efforts is, of course, to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the need for intervention altogether," while an investment in rehabilitation or rebuilding seeks to ensure that former conflicts do not breed future violence. The concepts of prevention and rebuilding are clearly embraced as the “responsibility to prevent” and well elaborated in "The Responsibility to protectResponsibility to Protect is a recently developed concept in international relations which relates to a state's responsibilities towards its population and to the international community's responsibility in case a state fails to fulfill its responsibilities...
report of the International Commission on Intervention and State SovereigntyThe International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty was an ad hoc commission of participants which in 2001 worked to popularize the concept of humanitarian intervention and democracy-restoring intervention under the name of "Responsibility to protect."The Commission was founded by...
."
Practice
While there are numerous examples of the human security approach in action, two notable global political events with direct ties to the human security agenda include the development of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principles guiding humanitarian intervention and the passage of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.
Humanitarian intervention
The application of human security is highly relevant within the area of humanitarian interventionHumanitarian intervention refers to armed interference in one state by another state with the objective of ending or reducing the suffering of the population within the first state....
, as it focuses on addressing the deep rooted and multi-factorial problems inherent in humanitarian crises, and offers more long term resolutions. In general, the term humanitarian intervention generally applies to when a state uses force against another state in order to alleviate suffering in the latter state (See, humanitarian interventionHumanitarian intervention refers to armed interference in one state by another state with the objective of ending or reducing the suffering of the population within the first state....
).
Under the traditional security paradigm humanitarian intervention is contentious. As discussed above, the traditional security paradigm places emphasis on the notion of states. Hence, the principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention that are paramount in the traditional security paradigm make it difficult to justify the intervention of other states in internal disputes. Through the development of clear principles based on the human security concept, there has been a step forward in the development of clear rules of when humanitarian intervention can occur and the obligations of states that intervene in the internal disputes of a state.
These principles on humanitarian intervention are the product of a debate pushed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan, Honorary GCMG is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 1 January 2007. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.-Early years and family:Kofi Annan was born in the...
. He posed a challenge to the international community to find a new approach to humanitarian interventionHumanitarian intervention refers to armed interference in one state by another state with the objective of ending or reducing the suffering of the population within the first state....
that responded to its inherent problems. In 2001, the International Commission on Intervention and State SovereigntyThe International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty was an ad hoc commission of participants which in 2001 worked to popularize the concept of humanitarian intervention and democracy-restoring intervention under the name of "Responsibility to protect."The Commission was founded by...
(ICISS) produced the "The Responsibility to protectResponsibility to Protect is a recently developed concept in international relations which relates to a state's responsibilities towards its population and to the international community's responsibility in case a state fails to fulfill its responsibilities...
", a comprehensive report detailing how the “right of humanitarian intervention” could be exercised. It was considered a triumph for the human security approach as it emphasized and gathered much needed attention to some of its main principles:
- The protection of individual welfare is more important than the state. If the security of individuals is threatened internally by the state or externally by other states, state authority can be overridden.
- Addressing the root causes of humanitarian crises (e.g. economic, political or social instability) is a more effective way to solve problems and protect the long-term security of individuals.
- Prevention is the best solution. A collective understanding of the deeper social issues along with a desire to work together is necessary to prevent humanitarian crises, thereby preventing a widespread absence of human security within a population (which may mean investing more in development projects).
The report illustrates the usefulness of the human security approach, particularly its ability to examine the cause of conflicts that explain and justify humanitarian intervention. In addition, it could also act as a paradigm for identifying, prioritizing and resolving large transnational problems, one of the fundamental factors that act as a stimulus for humanitarian intervention in the first place. However, human security still faces difficulties concerning the scope of its applicability, as large problems requiring humanitarian intervention usually are built up from an array of socio-political, cultural and economic problems that may be beyond the limitations of humanitarian projects. On the other hand, successful examples of the use of human security principles within interventions can be found.
The success of humanitarian intervention in international affairs is varied. As discussed above, humanitarian intervention is a contentious issue. Examples of humanitarian intervention illustrate, that in some cases intervention can lead to disastrous results, as in SrebrenicaSrebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa...
and SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
. In other cases, a lack of clarity as to the rules of when intervention can occur has resulted in tragic inaction, as was witnessed during the Rwandan genocideThe Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by Hutus under the Hutu Power ideology. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana on 6 April through mid-July, at least 500,000...
.) One example is of a successful humanitarian intervention and also of humanitarian principles being applied is East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
which, prior to its independence, was plagued with massive human rights abuses by pro-Indonesian militias and an insurgency war led by indigenous East Timorese against Indonesian forces. A peacekeeping mission was deployed to safeguard the move to independence and the UN established the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). This not only dealt with traditional security priorities, but also helped in nation building projects, coordinated humanitarian aid and civil rehabilitation, illustrating not only a successful humanitarian intervention but also a effective application of human security principles.
Anti-personnel landmines
In contrast to the traditional security discourse which sees security as focused on protecting state interests, human security proponents believe that Anti-personnel mineAnti-personnel mines are a form of mines designed for use against humans as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles....
s could not be viable weapons of war due to the massive collateral damage they cause, their indiscriminate nature and persistence after conflict. In particular, they argue that Anti-personnel mines differ from most weapons, which have to be aimed and fired since they have the potential to kill and maim long after the warring parties have ceased fighting. The United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
has reckoned that landmines are at least ten times more likely to kill or injure a civilian after a conflict than a combatant during hostilities.http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList74/C2951729922B4364C1256B6600599BF2The effects are also long-lasting. The ICBL estimates that anti-personnel mines were the cause of 5,751 casualties in 2006. http://www.icbl.org/lm/2007/es/introduction.htmlWhereas traditionally, states would justify these negative impacts of mines due to the advantage they give on the battlefield, under the human security lens, this is untenable as the wide-ranging post-conflict impact on the day-to-day experience of individuals outweighs the military advantage.
The Ottawa ConventionThe Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty, formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, bans completely all anti-personnel landmines . , there were 156 States Parties to the treaty. Two states have...
, which led to the banning of anti-personnel landmines, is seen as a victory for the Human Security agenda. The Ottawa Convention has proved to be a huge step forward in the ‘Freedom from Fear’ approach. In Ottawa, the negotiations were moved outside traditional disarmament forums, thus avoiding the entrenched logic of traditional arms control measures.
According to Don Hubert,an advocate of Human Security from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, the main reason for its success was a multilateral focus. While INGOIngo is a first name in contemporary Scandinavia and Germany, and a historical name in France. It is the male version of the name Inga, used in the same region, and as a name for a tropical plant....
’s like the UN and the ICRC remain the key players along with middle powerMiddle power is a term used in the field of international relations to describe states that are not superpowers or great powers, but still have large or moderate influence and international recognition. There is no single specific definition of which countries are middle powers.-Definition:There is...
states like Norway and Canada, its actual power and push comes from the involvement of a host of civil societyCivil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state and commercial institutions of the market.-Definition:There are myriad definitions of civil...
actors (NGOs) and the general public.Human Security proponents believe that this treaty has set new standards in humanitarian advocacy and has acted as a landmark in international lawmaking for a more secure world.
Critics of the treaty, however, caution against complacency on its success. Many states, they point out, have neither signed nor ratified this convention. They include China, Russia and the United States who are major contributors to the global weapons trade. Second, even though there were a diverse group of civil society actors, the real influence on the treaty came from the ones in the ‘global north’. Third, cynics may argue that the success of this campaign stems from the fact that these weapons were outdated and of limited military value and this treaty just helped to accelerate a process that would have happened anyway.
Criticisms
Tadjbakhsh introduced seven challenging questions on the concept of human security on September 13, 2005 at the “Human Security: 60 minutes to Convince” discussion held at UNESCO:
1) Can there be an agreement on definitions?
Without a consensus on the definition of human security, it will be difficult to implement and decide on a common human security program. Today, there is an agreement that human security should be taken from a people-centered more than a state-centered approach, but as mentioned above, the definition or scope of human security is still vague.
2) Is the rise of “National Security” disrupting the process of expanding human security?
Since the September 11 attacks, the attention on security has become more on national security rather than human security. According to a study by Christian Aid, “the year 2004 saw $1 billion in aid was diverted to the war on terrorism at the expense of poverty and MDGs.” As the focus has shifted from a bottom-up approach to a top-down approach, this has also meant that the investments made are strategically long-term plans rather than short term, and this has been reflected in the amount of spending. Military expenditures as of 2004 were apparently “twenty times larger than aid outlays,” as stated by the SIRPI Yearbook 2004. The question now is, is it too late to revive the focus of state and national security to human security?
3) Who is responsible for implementation?
Much discussion today has been in regards to the approach of human security, but with little emphasis on who is in charge of implementing it. Many states have “adopted it as a foreign policy tool” but it has mostly been disregarded “as a domestic policy on development and human rights.” Also, people seem to be absent in the process of human security; “people are not passive recipient of security,” or victims of its absence, but active subjects who should contribute directly to identifying and implementing solutions to security problems.” There also lies the lack of mandate for IGO's to act in times of need. The genocide in Rwanda and to a certain degree the acts which are currently occurring in Darfur seem to point to this direction. The lack of the strong political will to act in times of dire need has been cited by former UN-Secretary General Kofi Annan as a major speedbump to eliminating immediate security threats.
4) What are the priorities and trade-offs?
“Which of the many threats that exist deserves the most attention?” There is no prioritization or “hierarchy” today on which issues are more important than others. This can cause difficulties in establishing goals and directing resources on specific solutions to immediate problems. Specifically under the current context of the world, where there are so many growing problems, including increasing food prices, scarce fresh water sources and the ever-prevalent threat of regional instability in "hotzones" around the world; it seems necessary to have some sort of an agenda as to what threat must be contained first.
5) Can a “true inter-sectoral agenda” be implemented?
Are we ready or able to create “inter, or better yet, intra-sectoral interventions?” There needs to be more focus on “relationships,” how an intervention can positively or negatively affect other areas and how these effects can improve the human security intervention approach. However, as idealistic as this sounds, the question is how we will implement this when there is a "lack of interdisciplinary approaches among donors and governments”? Once again this also raises the issue of the scope of security. Under current status quo it is primarily states and IGO's that are the primary actors in any security crisis, whereas it is the individuals of the states that are actually at harm. While NGO's and other humanitarian organizations do raise efforts to focus on individuals, there is still a massive gap between the two.
6) How can we better understand conflicts?
It is important to understand conflicts in order to resolve and prevent them, and it is easiest to understand conflict during times of conflict, “both to address conflict prevention and for rebuilding and reconstruction in post conflict-stages.” Today, we question how well do we really understand conflict? How can we improve our understanding of it?
7) How can we best implement human security and not do harm?
In the past, when human intervention was taken in countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Somalia and Rwanda, some have argued that more harm was done than benefit. Interventions must be better “targeted, implemented, monitored, and coordinated” to decrease “dependency, power and patronage of certain groups.” Something must be done to ensure that future interventions do not cause harm, but the question now is how.
See also
- Human rights
Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
- National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
- Humanitarian intervention
Humanitarian intervention refers to armed interference in one state by another state with the objective of ending or reducing the suffering of the population within the first state....
- Water Crisis
Water crisis is a term that has been used by some to refer to the world’s water resources relative to human demand. The term has been applied to the worldwide water situation by the United Nations and other world organizations. Others, for example the Food and Agriculture Organization, claim there...
- Global Spread of H5N1
The global spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 in birds is considered a significant pandemic threat.While other H5N1 strains are known, they are significantly different from a current, highly pathogenic H5N1 strain on a genetic level, making the global spread of this new strain unprecedented...
- Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is the practice of people being tricked, lured or otherwise removed from their home or country, and then compelled to work with no or low payment or on terms which are highly exploitative. The practice is considered to be trade or commerce in people, which has many features of...
- Government
A government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
- International Relations
International relations or International studies represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , non-governmental organizations , and multinational corporations...
- Security Sector Reform
Security Sector Reform is a concept to reform or rebuild a state's security sector that emerged first in the 1990s in Eastern Europe. It starts where a dysfunctional security sector is unable to provide security to the state and its people effectively and under democratic principles. Even worse,...
- Sexual Slavery
Sexual slavery is the organized coercion of unwilling people into different sexual practices. Sexual slavery may include single-owner sexual slavery, ritual slavery sometimes associated with traditional religious practices, slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common, or forced...
- Human Security Report Project
The Human Security Report Project is a Peace and Conflict Studies research group. Based at Canada's Simon Fraser University's School for International Studies at Harbour Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Project is mandated to make accessible to a non-academic audience the causes and...
- Human Security Report 2005
The Human Security Report 2005 is a report outlining declining world trends of global violence from the early 1990s to 2003. The study reports major worldwide declines in the number of armed conflicts, genocides, human rights abuses, military coups and international crises, as well as in the...
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