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Summaries

Summaries SUMMARIES Editorial note: Below you will find summaries of the articles in this issue of Security and Human Rights, formerly Helsinki Monitor. Human security as a discourse and counter-discourse, Georg Frerks This paper first sketches the parameters of contemporary conflict and describes the movement in the direction of the broader concept of human security. It then outlines the tendency of securitising issues, as elaborated by the Copenhagen School, where governments and other securitising actors exaggerate societal problems and overreact by military means or by curtailing human rights. This blurs their vision and affects their openness to alternative solutions. The paper argues that despite shortcomings, the discourse on human security has brought important benefits to the security debate, especially as a counter-discourse to militarised state-centred approaches. However, it must stay clear from the tendency of turning all subjects into a security threat, as the ‘over-securitisation’ of issues has evident disadvantages and is often counter-productive. The paper recommends treading the middle-ground. It is here where societal actions need to be formulated to deal with societal problems well before they become a security risk. It is also here where the assets of the human security approach can best be protected and maintained and the dysfunctions of securitisation avoided. Global steps towards human security, Peter Hough The rise of limited global and regional governance marks a recognition from within that the sovereign state system is inadequate for the satisfaction of what must be the fundamental aim of political activity: making people as secure as possible. Unravelling globalization is not the route to human security, however. Rather it can be shown that the promotion of more 'rounded' globalization, in which the universal ethic of human co-responsibility is able to take up the role it does in any open society, would enhance global solidarity and permit the advancement of human security. Why human? The interlinkages between security, rights and development, Berma Klein Goldewijk Assessments of human security, human rights and human development increasingly tend to focus on their connections, coherence and mutual reinforcement. Human security, in this conjunction, is widely seen today as both a catalyst for multiple paradigm shifts and a bridging concept. However, whereas the human adjective most evidently interlinks each of the policy areas of security,Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 101 Summaries rights and development, it is surprising that this goes fully unexplored. This article argues in favour of a substantial treatment of the human dimension. It discusses three basic options: is the human dimension an instrument for defining or qualifying the three areas; or is it ultimately their normative foundation; or is it a common denominator that synchronises and coordinates the shared policy goals and orientations? It is argued that the function of the human dimension is to identify, modify and frame each one and jointly all of the three areas of security, rights, and development. This is explored in three sections: 1) in the context of multiple paradigm shifts that have come with human security; 2) as an integral part of the changes in the normative framework of the international community; 3) in the perspective of transformative agency. It is concluded that, precisely by keeping the three functions of identification, modification and framing together, the human connection harbours the potential for a stronger policy-relevant, operational and practical orientation of the security, rights and development discourses. Human security from below in a Hobbesian environment, Martijn Dekker and Mient Jan Faber In cases of a state collapse, people shortly seem to fall back to the Hobbesian state of nature — the phase of ‘total freedom’ which equals a war of all against all. They start to form new communities, with new power structures. The exact opposite of this Hobbesian state is what we call the Orwellian state, where the security of the state is total at the expense of all freedom. Forcing a people to be free by creating a Hobbesian situation and thereafter confronting the new situation is difficult. The intervening foreign power will not be a non-partisan actor in the conflict but becomes one of the warring factions. When people lose faith in the state as their ruling power and source of security, they tend to focus more on religious, ethnic and local ties to form a new, more localised social contract. New methods to ensure security are adopted: human security from below. US troops in Iraq, their Dutch colleagues in Afghanistan, and others, must be aware of the fact that they are not impartial referees, but actively engaged in a struggle for security of besieged people and to stay secure themselves. Winning the hearts and minds of the locals is not something they have an exclusive right on. At the same time, some local groups are trying to gain the foreigners' sympathy. Human security from below, a case study from the Ituri district, Democratic Republic of Congo, Joost van Puijenbroek In Ituri ( NE Congo) security and reconciliation is far from assured. Residual militia groups are still active. The main human rights abusers are the army and the police. Public administration is extremely fragile. Civil society is extremely weak due to years of ethnic conflict and local churches and NGO ’s are seen as being linked to one of the ethnic communities. The relation between the communitiesSummaries 102 Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 and the state security agencies is characterized by extreme distrust. Any solution for the security problem had to come from the organization of the communities on their own security and the organization of an interface between the communities and the state (security) agencies. It had to be organized by a platform of churches and NGO ’s as to assure sufficient credibility with all ethnic communities. This strategy made it possible to decrease substantially the abuses and harassment by the official security agents and to reduce local insecurity. It also created space for the population to express itself and for the state to slowly start rehabilitating itself. While addressing the abuses of the army, often a coalition emerged between local civil authorities and the population. Large scale community gatherings on security have proven to be an invaluable tool in changing the behavior of the army and police. Human security and development: an ambivilent relationship, Jan Gruiters Security and development are closely intertwined. This widely shared insight does not automatically lead state actors and civil society organisations to produce consistent policies and to cooperate with one another. Likewise, the insight does not guarantee the success of endeavours intended to impede unrestrained violence or counteract chronic poverty. This article explores the causes underlying the differences in opinion on the connection between violence and poverty. One cause is the use of different policy perspectives, the state and the human viewpoint, on security and development. Choosing human dignity as the normative foundation for thinking about security and development has implications for the policy perspective on, and definitions of, security and development. The answer to the question whose security and whose development are at risk is decisive when prioritising aspects of security and development and the resources to be deployed. A second cause is the lack of a broadly accepted evidence-based policy theory on the connection of violence and poverty and integrated strategies to promote security and development. To advance security and development a greater insight into the context-specific interrelationship between security and development is needed. Context analysis based on the human perspective and a context-specific approach are indispensable for augmenting an effective policy on security and development. The article includes advice on how to differentiate into context typologies and related strategies. The OSCE and human security, Gerd Oberleitner Until recently the OSCE has largely been disconnected from the emerging practice of and the global debate over the concept of human security. Although the organisation has occasionally referred to human security in its documents, the consequences of the emergence, development and application of the concept over the past decade for the OSCE have not been explored. Much of the essence of theSecurity and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 103 Summaries concept of human security — that security is comprehensive, cooperative and ultimately geared towards protecting and empowering the individual; is best achieved in trans-regional networks and in cooperation with civil society actors; should be dealt with in multilateral settings which also serve small and middle- power states; puts practice over theory; and seeks to create a visionary and geographic space in which security is considered a common good and shared value — is part of the OSCE ’s self-perception. Still, there seems to be added value in rooting the organisation’s work more firmly in human security in order to connect the three dimensions of security in the OSCE , emphasize their integral and indivisible character and focus on the ultimate aim of the OSCE to increase individual security in the region. The military and human security, Kees Homan From a military perspective, humanitarian operations can be conducted as part of a broader peace support operation or in a non-peace support operations scenario, which has the alleviation of human suffering as its main objective. The recently introduced concept of ‘The responsibility to protect’, argues that where a civilian population is suffering from serious human rights abuses, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to avert them, the principle of non-intervention must yield to the international responsibility to protect the population. The unofficial ‘Human Security Doctrine’, which was developed on the request of Javier Solana, proposes a ‘Human Security Response Force’, composed of 15.000 man and women, of whom at least one third would be civilian. In the field of civil-military cooperation, one of the obstacles is that humanitarian actors are afraid it is blurring their identity. Human security considerations should be made part of all military activity, not just an add-on. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Security and Human Rights Brill

Summaries

Security and Human Rights , Volume 19 (1): 4 – Jan 1, 2008

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1874-7337
eISSN
1875-0230
DOI
10.1163/187502308784048474
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

SUMMARIES Editorial note: Below you will find summaries of the articles in this issue of Security and Human Rights, formerly Helsinki Monitor. Human security as a discourse and counter-discourse, Georg Frerks This paper first sketches the parameters of contemporary conflict and describes the movement in the direction of the broader concept of human security. It then outlines the tendency of securitising issues, as elaborated by the Copenhagen School, where governments and other securitising actors exaggerate societal problems and overreact by military means or by curtailing human rights. This blurs their vision and affects their openness to alternative solutions. The paper argues that despite shortcomings, the discourse on human security has brought important benefits to the security debate, especially as a counter-discourse to militarised state-centred approaches. However, it must stay clear from the tendency of turning all subjects into a security threat, as the ‘over-securitisation’ of issues has evident disadvantages and is often counter-productive. The paper recommends treading the middle-ground. It is here where societal actions need to be formulated to deal with societal problems well before they become a security risk. It is also here where the assets of the human security approach can best be protected and maintained and the dysfunctions of securitisation avoided. Global steps towards human security, Peter Hough The rise of limited global and regional governance marks a recognition from within that the sovereign state system is inadequate for the satisfaction of what must be the fundamental aim of political activity: making people as secure as possible. Unravelling globalization is not the route to human security, however. Rather it can be shown that the promotion of more 'rounded' globalization, in which the universal ethic of human co-responsibility is able to take up the role it does in any open society, would enhance global solidarity and permit the advancement of human security. Why human? The interlinkages between security, rights and development, Berma Klein Goldewijk Assessments of human security, human rights and human development increasingly tend to focus on their connections, coherence and mutual reinforcement. Human security, in this conjunction, is widely seen today as both a catalyst for multiple paradigm shifts and a bridging concept. However, whereas the human adjective most evidently interlinks each of the policy areas of security,Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 101 Summaries rights and development, it is surprising that this goes fully unexplored. This article argues in favour of a substantial treatment of the human dimension. It discusses three basic options: is the human dimension an instrument for defining or qualifying the three areas; or is it ultimately their normative foundation; or is it a common denominator that synchronises and coordinates the shared policy goals and orientations? It is argued that the function of the human dimension is to identify, modify and frame each one and jointly all of the three areas of security, rights, and development. This is explored in three sections: 1) in the context of multiple paradigm shifts that have come with human security; 2) as an integral part of the changes in the normative framework of the international community; 3) in the perspective of transformative agency. It is concluded that, precisely by keeping the three functions of identification, modification and framing together, the human connection harbours the potential for a stronger policy-relevant, operational and practical orientation of the security, rights and development discourses. Human security from below in a Hobbesian environment, Martijn Dekker and Mient Jan Faber In cases of a state collapse, people shortly seem to fall back to the Hobbesian state of nature — the phase of ‘total freedom’ which equals a war of all against all. They start to form new communities, with new power structures. The exact opposite of this Hobbesian state is what we call the Orwellian state, where the security of the state is total at the expense of all freedom. Forcing a people to be free by creating a Hobbesian situation and thereafter confronting the new situation is difficult. The intervening foreign power will not be a non-partisan actor in the conflict but becomes one of the warring factions. When people lose faith in the state as their ruling power and source of security, they tend to focus more on religious, ethnic and local ties to form a new, more localised social contract. New methods to ensure security are adopted: human security from below. US troops in Iraq, their Dutch colleagues in Afghanistan, and others, must be aware of the fact that they are not impartial referees, but actively engaged in a struggle for security of besieged people and to stay secure themselves. Winning the hearts and minds of the locals is not something they have an exclusive right on. At the same time, some local groups are trying to gain the foreigners' sympathy. Human security from below, a case study from the Ituri district, Democratic Republic of Congo, Joost van Puijenbroek In Ituri ( NE Congo) security and reconciliation is far from assured. Residual militia groups are still active. The main human rights abusers are the army and the police. Public administration is extremely fragile. Civil society is extremely weak due to years of ethnic conflict and local churches and NGO ’s are seen as being linked to one of the ethnic communities. The relation between the communitiesSummaries 102 Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 and the state security agencies is characterized by extreme distrust. Any solution for the security problem had to come from the organization of the communities on their own security and the organization of an interface between the communities and the state (security) agencies. It had to be organized by a platform of churches and NGO ’s as to assure sufficient credibility with all ethnic communities. This strategy made it possible to decrease substantially the abuses and harassment by the official security agents and to reduce local insecurity. It also created space for the population to express itself and for the state to slowly start rehabilitating itself. While addressing the abuses of the army, often a coalition emerged between local civil authorities and the population. Large scale community gatherings on security have proven to be an invaluable tool in changing the behavior of the army and police. Human security and development: an ambivilent relationship, Jan Gruiters Security and development are closely intertwined. This widely shared insight does not automatically lead state actors and civil society organisations to produce consistent policies and to cooperate with one another. Likewise, the insight does not guarantee the success of endeavours intended to impede unrestrained violence or counteract chronic poverty. This article explores the causes underlying the differences in opinion on the connection between violence and poverty. One cause is the use of different policy perspectives, the state and the human viewpoint, on security and development. Choosing human dignity as the normative foundation for thinking about security and development has implications for the policy perspective on, and definitions of, security and development. The answer to the question whose security and whose development are at risk is decisive when prioritising aspects of security and development and the resources to be deployed. A second cause is the lack of a broadly accepted evidence-based policy theory on the connection of violence and poverty and integrated strategies to promote security and development. To advance security and development a greater insight into the context-specific interrelationship between security and development is needed. Context analysis based on the human perspective and a context-specific approach are indispensable for augmenting an effective policy on security and development. The article includes advice on how to differentiate into context typologies and related strategies. The OSCE and human security, Gerd Oberleitner Until recently the OSCE has largely been disconnected from the emerging practice of and the global debate over the concept of human security. Although the organisation has occasionally referred to human security in its documents, the consequences of the emergence, development and application of the concept over the past decade for the OSCE have not been explored. Much of the essence of theSecurity and Human Rights 2008 no. 1 103 Summaries concept of human security — that security is comprehensive, cooperative and ultimately geared towards protecting and empowering the individual; is best achieved in trans-regional networks and in cooperation with civil society actors; should be dealt with in multilateral settings which also serve small and middle- power states; puts practice over theory; and seeks to create a visionary and geographic space in which security is considered a common good and shared value — is part of the OSCE ’s self-perception. Still, there seems to be added value in rooting the organisation’s work more firmly in human security in order to connect the three dimensions of security in the OSCE , emphasize their integral and indivisible character and focus on the ultimate aim of the OSCE to increase individual security in the region. The military and human security, Kees Homan From a military perspective, humanitarian operations can be conducted as part of a broader peace support operation or in a non-peace support operations scenario, which has the alleviation of human suffering as its main objective. The recently introduced concept of ‘The responsibility to protect’, argues that where a civilian population is suffering from serious human rights abuses, and the state in question is unwilling or unable to avert them, the principle of non-intervention must yield to the international responsibility to protect the population. The unofficial ‘Human Security Doctrine’, which was developed on the request of Javier Solana, proposes a ‘Human Security Response Force’, composed of 15.000 man and women, of whom at least one third would be civilian. In the field of civil-military cooperation, one of the obstacles is that humanitarian actors are afraid it is blurring their identity. Human security considerations should be made part of all military activity, not just an add-on.

Journal

Security and Human RightsBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2008

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