Contemporary Security Studies Alan Collins

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Contemporary Security StudiesAlan Collins

• Approaches to Security Studies
• Human Security

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Concepts and Tools

• Intellectual and Empirical Purpose

The human-centric tradition emphasises the
desirable human conditions for people to be
secure this now includes human security
Generally in state-centric arguments the state is
the referent object of security whereas in
human-centric arguments people are the referent
object
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Concepts and Tools

• Intellectual and Empirical Purpose

• Human Security Concepts
• Human development
• The nexus between development and conflict
• Growing normative humanitarian agenda
• Realpolitik interests
• The issues have serious local, regional and
  global effects

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Human Security

• Towards an Analytical and Policy Framework
• Tensions and Reconciliation

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Analytical and Policy Framework

• The Means to Human Security

• The Narrow School focuses on threats of violence,
  often called freedom from fear
• The Broad School focuses on threats arising from
  underdevelopment, often called freedom from want
• The Very Broad School focuses on threats to all
  human freedoms

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Reconciling Tensions?

• The development of a nexus between violence and
  human development
• Taking the narrow schools focus on political
  violence as the dependent variable
• Taking the broad schools focus on human
  development as the independent variable

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Reconciling Tensions?

• A nexus between violence and development
  establishes a policy framework for
• Understanding causality
• Crisis management and prevention

But Is this a framework that can challenge the
state-centric argument of security?
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Human Security

• Necessary but not sufficient
• Human Security V State Security

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Human Versus State Security

• Necessary but not sufficient
• Realism

• Realism ignores a variety of threats that can
  undermine the state and conditionality of
  sovereignty
• It is also unclear about its ultimate purpose
  regarding the protection of people.
• This casts doubt on its position as the dominant
  concept

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Human Versus State Security

• Necessary but not sufficient
• Human security

• Human Security adds an important normative
  dimension
• However it is itself a necessary but not
  sufficient security argument given the
  contemporary context

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Necessary But Not Sufficient
State Security
Human security
Human Security State Security

• In principle both concepts are needed for an
  understanding of security
• There is a need to consolidate the conceptual
  foundations of this proposition

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Human Security

• A Useful Concept for Practitioners

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The Concepts Utility to Practitioners

• Despite the rhetoric there is limited
  implementation of the human security agenda by
  states
• UN active involvement in peace operations aimed
  at addressing freedom from fear and want is one
  of the reasons why there is a decrease in
  internal conflict

In general state practitioners appear to refer to
or implement the human security agenda when it
serves their material interests
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The Decline in Political Violence
Human Security Centre (2005)
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Explaining the Decline
Increasing Conflict Prevention, Peace-Keeping and
Building and Post-Conflict Activities
Four-Fold Increase Peacemaking Missions
Seven-Fold Increase Contact Groups
Eleven-Fold Increase Economic Sanctions
Four-Fold Increase Peace Operations
Six-Fold Increase Preventative Diplomacy Missions
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The Want for Security
Afghan Population and the Perception of the
Largest Threats Facing the country
Asia Foundation (2004) and Rand Corporation (2005)