Human and Global Security

Facing Global Environmental Change

Contributors..1 Introduction: Why human security matters - Dennis Altman..2 Human security: From theory to practice - Joseph A Camilleri..3 In defence of breadth: The broad approach to human security - Stephen James..4 Human security and national security: The Australian context - Joseph A Camilleri..5 Australia's global security: A model national strategy for a more secure world - Anthony Burke..6 Human security and the politics of security - Matt McDonald..7 Australia's 'new engagement' with Africa: What role for human security? - David Mickler..8 Security from below: An alternative perspective on human security - Gerhard Hoffstaedter and Chris Roche..9 The prevention of mass atrocities: From principle to Australian foreign policy - Alex J Bellamy..10 Conclusion: The political virtues of human security - Robyn Eckersley..Index

The Politics of Global Legalism and Human Security

The progress of science and technology(S & T) is inducing tremendous changes in our perception to values. This is yielding new issues which may never been solved with conventional way of S & T. This fact should seriously be taken into account in educational and research institutes. This paper discusses the paradigm shift of S & T, and points out the necessity of the incorporation of uncertain factors like sense of values of people into the S & T paradigm. A new concept, ECO (Environment Conscious) TECHNOLOGY towards the global and human securities is suggested.

The last decade or so has seen the rise of the concept of human security in studies of world politics and development. The rise of this perspective, however, has not occurred in an intellectual or politico-economic vacuum. During this period, scholars in the fields of IR and IPE have been interrogating the concept of security in efforts to broaden it. Further, this period has seen growing resistance, to human insecurities generated by the neo-liberal project (Chapter 8) and other features of the current world order such as increasing securitizing practices by states in various parts of the world. On the political level, the end of Cold War geopolitics opened an opportunity for the rethinking of security in broader terms. These developments, then, have resulted in calls to broaden the notion of security to include issues such as economic, gender, development, environmental, political and global security. For instance, in IDS, human security has emerged as the new development discourse underpinning policies of institutions of global governance such as the UN and the World Bank, and other members of the TDHB. In this chapter, while we highlight some of the intellectual and political origins of the notion of human security, our objective is not to review the growing literature1 on the concept. Rather it is to interrogate this concept as it pertains to a core concern of this book: the emergence and evolution of hegemonic development ideas and their effects on politico-economic processes.KeywordsForeign Direct InvestmentGlobal GovernanceWorld OrderHuman SecurityRepresentational SystemThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

In this study we have analyzed the paradigm of Human Security and how it differs from the more known idea of global security in the context of war, terrorism and organizedcrime in the Western Balkans. To emphasize this, we have presented the main terrorist threats and attacks that have occurred in countries like: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and the Kosovo province, also presenting the complexity of factors that have contributed to the present geopolitical climate. Also, we have compared the number of organized crime groups in these countries and how they contribute to the state of corruption that leads to violence, poverty and inequality. In the end of this paper, we have proposed a series of potential solutions to merge both human and global security in order to create a safer Balkan community in the context of the European Union.Keywords: Human Security, terrorism, organized crime, Western Balkans, European Union.

When the United Nations Development Programme formally introduced the concept of human security in 1994, it was widely celebrated as a long-overdue humanist alternative to orthodox models of security. Today, human security is a buzzword for describing the complex challenges that individuals and communities face in achieving safety and wellbeing in an insecure world. This article directs attention away from the emancipatory and empowering qualities commonly ascribed to human security to explore, instead, the specific role of benchmarking within the wider human security agenda. The main focus here is on the ways in which human life has been operationalised, measured, and classified to create indicators that permit judgements about individual security and insecurity. The article argues that although a single global human security benchmark has yet to be established, the main indices used as performance metrics of human insecurity have produced a narrow understanding of what it means to live a ‘secure’ life and have reinforced the state as the main focal point of international security governance.

Reviewed by: China, International Organizations, and Global Security Lisa Fischler (bio) Ann Kent . China, International Organizations, and Global Security. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. xvi, 360 pp. Hardcover $65.00, ISBN 978-0-8047-5551-1. How China interacts with international organizations is significant, in terms of both compliance and cooperation, because "while state compliance with international norms, principles, and rules is an essential building block of harmonious interstate relations, a state's cooperation with them, in the sense of implementing and promoting their objective and purpose in a variety of ways, remains the most reliable predictor of long-term global security" (p. 248). In effect, China, International Organizations, and Global Security demonstrates not only variations in the depth and breadth of the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) commitment to the international system but also the necessity of engaging, as opposed to containing, this emerging regional and global player during the foreseeable future. A comprehensive introduction and thorough conclusion enhance the historical overview and the four case studies, each involving a different international regime, addressed in the remaining five chapters. The historical chapter shows China's steep learning curve, in terms of its active participation in the global community, especially over the last two centuries. The case studies clearly highlight the variation in the PRC's compliance and cooperation across diverse international organizations: the Conference on Disarmament (CD), the World Bank (IBRD/WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the UN Committee against Torture (CAT). This volume's skillful use of processed-based theories to better understand why authoritarian states, such as the PRC, engage the international system more than superficially makes a valuable contribution to furthering research on international relations and international organizations, on China studies and Chinese politics, and on comparative regimes. The worth of China as an empirically valuable and theoretically useful case study stems from the current debate over the effectiveness of international organizations, the rise of the PRC as an impressive global actor, and concerns over the international impact of perceived rogue states on the part of developed countries. As the introductory section indicates, evidence of China's capacity to learn and effectively engage internationally over the last three decades lends empirical credibility to the vital role of international regimes in global security and to engagement, rather than containment, of authoritarian governments as a preferred policy. The variation of China's compliance and cooperation across international organizations highlights the more comprehensive explanatory power of process-based theories in comparison to compliance theories alone. For [End Page 250] the future, however, China's "further international integration and socialization are critical to the maintenance of international standards of human security and sustainable development" (p. 251). China has progressed dramatically in terms of engaging internationally, but without its continuing cooperation the global economy and environment will be in dire straits. Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, China's attitude toward, perception by, and relationship with the international system fluctuated tremendously, but was shaped consistently by both global and domestic forces. "History," according to the author, "provide[s] a benchmark of the power of international institutions to help socialize and transform states" (p. 34). Ann Kent divides the extended, gradual, and excruciating process by which China reached its current degree of engagement with the global community into four broad epochs: imperial and Republican times, 1949–1971, 1971–1978, and 1978 to the present. The unequal treaties of the mid-1800s shocked Qing emperors into moving from an exceptional, culturally superior view of the Middle Kingdom to a defensive, instrumentalist employment of international law against Western imperialism. Republican era leaders' initial participation in and support of international regimes, such as the League of Nations, crumbled beneath the weight of China's betrayal by other global powers at the 1919 Paris Peace Accords and during Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria. Active overtures to the UN by the PRC in the early communist years to engage internationally fell victim to U.S. policies, China-Taiwan issues, Korean War politics, and Cold War tensions. Isolation describes China's relationship with the international system...

Every time we hear the expression ‘peace in our world’, it naturally conjures the absence of warfare and internal disorder, and the end of military or other hostilities. Throughout history, innumerable human beings have suffered from the scourge of conflict. Quite naturally they tried, often at significant costs, to protect themselves with assorted resources against all major threats to their (human) security. The human security concept continues to loom large in global policy and peace discourse notwithstanding growing doubts about the ‘effectiveness’ of its promise in a highly vulnerable modern society overloaded with weapons of mass-destruction amid other threats to peace. The bottom-line is the imperative of replacing the dominant thoughts about securing peace. This paper accentuates the theory of peace and its relationship to the concept of human security. It takes its point of departure from the theoretical framework of critical security studies (CSS) and argues that there is a specific sense in which CSS needs to comprehend peace, and that this understanding is closely affiliated with human security. The paper is arguably a theoretical exploration of the concepts of peace and security. It is not, therefore, an empirical examination of where or when there is peace or how to obtain it. It is important to emphasize that this is not a paper that answers the question ‘what is peace?’ Although a proposal of how CSS theorists should contemplate peace is made, the main aim is the theoretical relationship between peace and human security and the theoretical and possible practical gains achieved by a clarification of this relationship.

Human security is a concept that challenges the traditional notion of national security by placing the ‘human’ as the central referent of security instead of the 'state.’ It is a concept that encompasses health and well-being of people and prioritizes their fundamental freedoms and basic livelihoods by shielding them from acute socioeconomic threats, vulnerabilities and stress. The epicenter of “health security” is located at the intersection of several academic fields or disciplines which do not necessarily share a common theoretical approach. Diverse players in the “health security” domain include practitioners in such fields as security studies, foreign policy, international relations, development theory, environmental politics and the practices of the United Nations system and other multilateral bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Improvements in health are not only dependent on continued commitments to enhance the availability of healthcare and to strengthen disease prevention systems; they are very much enhanced by that intersection between global security and global health. What is emerging is global health diplomacy paradigm that calls for strengthening of core capacities in the public health and foreign policy arenas aimed at advancing human security through the strengthening of global health diplomacy practices. Human security in its broadest sense embraces far more than the absence of violence and conflict. It encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care, and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and devices to fulfill his or her potential. Every step in this direction is a step towards reducing poverty, achieving growth and preventing conflict. Freedom from want, freedom from fear and the freedom of future generations to inherit a natural environment – these are the interrelated building blocks of human- and therefore national security.

Issues of human rights violations, poverty, unemployment, low HDI, low access to education, and poor health are the most important parts of the concept of human security introduced by the UNDP report 1994. These issues have not been adequately addressed in Papua. The purpose of this study was to review the special autonomy arrangements in responding to security issues in Papua. This review was interesting to study because special autonomy has been considered irrelevant to address the human security issues in the province. Human security and special autonomy should be linearly related to each other. As such, the issues of human security should be addressed before the welfare of Papua can be improved. This study used a qualitative approach with a literature study method. The authors collected data through various works of literature in online media, official publications, and others. Meanwhile, the authors followed the Creswell concept to conduct the stages of the study, which consisted of identification of the problem, literature study, determination of study purposes and objectives, collection of data, analysis and interpretation of data, and reporting of the result. The results of the study showed that the implementation of special autonomy and the disbursement of special autonomy funds have been unable to respond to human security issues in Papua. Efforts to improve the welfare of Papua were marred by a conventional security approach. Therefore, these efforts failed to improve the welfare of Papua, triggering ongoing conflicts. Various human security issues in Papua were not addressed properly, such as issues on human rights, public services, health, HDI, economic inequality, and education, which affect its welfare.

To the Editor: Global health security is the protection of the health of persons and societies worldwide. It includes access to medicines, vaccines, and health care, as well as reductions in collective vulnerabilities to global public health events that have the potential to spread across borders. For example, transboundary zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza (H5N1) infections affect animals and humans, thereby threatening health security worldwide because of their high death rates (≈60% in humans) (1). During the past 15 years, fairly standardized responses to threats have been implemented around the globe. Some of these responses have been against severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian influenza (H5N1), which have been overseen by a well-resourced international health system (2). These global health threats have raised the highest levels of political and social concern. This concern has provoked governments and international agencies to address health threats through a security rationale, which emphasizes the themes of national security, biosecurity, and human security. This amalgamation of health issues and security concerns has produced a notion of health security, which is dominated by technical medical approaches and pharmaceutical interventions. These approaches and interventions have already begun to shape the way international health policy is formulated (3). A global vision of health security is very much part of contemporary rhetoric. However, this vision lacks the drive and speed needed to make proposals materialize and operationalize ideas in the geographic areas where they are most desperately needed. Small benefits accrue to members of vulnerable populations who in fact are those most likely to be affected by epidemic diseases. A public health security design that impinges on a global approach runs the risk of neglecting cultural, economic, ecologic, and social conditions on the ground. Regional approaches that address hazards and threats may be more inclusive of context-specific conditions (4). Global public health threats related to infectious pathogens of animal origin are expected to rise. To address these threats, several experts and strategists suggest the initiation of a worldwide early-alerting and -reporting mechanism. Aggregation of disease threats through an event-focused Web-based platform could enable this mechanism. This timely gathering of disease intelligence can inform policymakers about the nature of risks. Disease maps can display details needed to design tailored policies and control measures to tackle diseases according to their specifics (5). Leading scientists and researchers continue to try to understand the global temporal and spatial patterns of animal diseases. This understanding is gained through an array of instruments, ranging from the use of satellite images to cutting-edge molecular technologies. The momentum so far has created an open forum for decisionmakers to collaborate with the leading international agencies to advocate for surveillance, identification, and control of zoonotic diseases to uphold global public health security (6). However, global initiatives suffer from the free-rider problem and from moral hazards. Some low-income countries with weak governance have alerted the international community about their fragile health care systems to capture a nontrivial portion of funds that seldom reach their intended destinations. These resource allocations to developing countries foster aid dependence (7). The international technical agencies tasked with upholding animal and human health should remain at the forefront of identifying and addressing evolving threats. This process will demand continuous flexibility, agility, and a coordinated international effort. Attaining goals of mitigating threats and reducing risks posed by the emergence of zoonoses requires close collaborations with national health authorities and local governments. The large investments planned to improve foresight and prevention might or might not work. If they do not work, apportioning blame to countries or regions for disease flare-ups can result in social, political, cultural, and economic consequences that in the past have turned out to be unjustified, unfair, and ultimately detrimental (8). Clearly, global health threats can be reduced only by the concerted actions of national and international actors. In the years ahead, the international community will almost certainly be expected to bring its formidable technical knowledge, skills, and analytic capabilities to confront this expanded global health threat environment (9). It would be wrong, however, to forget the many insights that current advances in epidemiology and surveillance have delivered. In fact, should the impetus to finance a global health agenda encounter opposition or obstacles, it would seem easier and logical to strengthen already functional activities. Lastly, the realities and the prevalent policymaking environment have created a trap between a desire to prioritize global health by portraying aspects of it as an existential security issue and the fact that security ultimately might not be the most useful language for describing and institutionalizing the health threats and hazards confronted by societies around the world (10). Regardless of whether a trap has been created, action is urgently needed.

Human security and universal health coverage: Japan's vision for the G7 Hiroshima Summit

Autorka analizuje związek między prawem międzynarodowym a koncepcją bez­pieczeństwa ludzkiego, które pojawiła się w latach 90-tych XX wieku. Artykuł jest podzielony na trzy części. Część 1 przedstawia pojęcie bezpieczeństwa ludzkiego, jego genezę i treść. Część 2 analizuje relacje między bezpieczeństwem ludzkim a pra­wem międzynarodowym i krótko rozważa najbardziej reprezentatywne aspekty prawa międzynarodowego, w tym międzynarodowego orzecznictwa, które w opinii autorki odzwierciedlają imperatywy bezpieczeństwa ludzkiego. Wreszcie wnioski końcowe dostarczają odpowiedzi na postawione pytania i wskazują na wartość dodaną koncep­cji bezpieczeństwa ludzkiego. Pytania brzmią następująco: W jaki sposób bezpieczeń­stwo ludzkie może wzmocnić działania międzynarodowe (działania oparte na prawie międzynarodowym)? Gdzie w prawie międzynarodowym odzwierciedlone jest bez­pieczeństwo ludzkie? Jaka jest rola prawa międzynarodowego dla bezpieczeństwa ludzkiego? Biorąc to wszystko pod uwagę, jaka jest wartość dodana przyjęcia kon­cepcji bezpieczeństwa ludzkiego? Artykuł ten jest nieuchronnie interdyscyplinarny, ponieważ łączy perspektywy prawa międzynarodowego i stosunków międzynarodo­wych.

Under the U.S. absolutist security agenda (ASA), the United States is held out as the singular means to obtain universal eudaemonia—that is, universal happiness, stability, purpose, and freedom—based on U.S. global security logic and precepts. Taken on its own terms, the ASA embodies a global security policy that is no longer overtly belligerent and imperialistic and that aggressively seeks to spread the benefits of freedom and democracy throughout the international system while concomitantly meeting the security needs of the United States. Security, however—domestic and foreign—is a profoundly complex state of affairs, tinctured with subjectivity and diversity and fragmented along sundry political, ideological, and sociocultural lines. Given this pervasive complexity, the U.S. ASA, as an “objective” and ubiquitous system of knowledge and truth, has profound negative consequences for the conduct of international affairs and notions of global security. This work has sought to identify and analyze the global security program articulated and pursued by the United States in a post-9/11 security context, particularly from 2001 to 2008. In a post-9/11 security context, global security has been articulated and promulgated by a single state that is primus inter pares in the international system. The United States, the world’s sole hyperpower, has for the past eight years actively and uncompromisingly implemented an ASA in order to procure an ideal zero-risk global security environment vis-à-vis elimination of polymorphous terror and its accoutrements.KeywordsSecurity CouncilSecurity PolicyInternational SystemInternational AffairHomeland SecurityThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.