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NTS Bulletin

NTS Bulletin January 2014

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A publication of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

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Issues:

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This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to international attention. It is thus timely to ask: where is human security today? The following is the first part of a series exploring the evolution of the concept and its impact on security thinking and practice.

Human Security 20 Years On:
The evolution of human security

By Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Singapore

The latter part of the 21st century witnessed a shift in the understanding of international security. As tensions between countries eased with the end of the Cold War, new and significant security challenges gained prominence, and some began to argue that security as had been understood was not sufficient to guarantee peoples’ well-being. ‘Human security’ was thus introduced into the world’s security consciousness through the UNDP’s 1994 Human Development Report.

The broadening of security

The 1994 Human Development Report called for the broadening of the scope of global security, from one that focuses on the protection of state borders from external threats, to one that concerns the lives of people and communities inside and across those borders. Specifically, it outlined seven components of human security:

  • economic security.
  • food security.
  • health security.
  • environmental security.
  • personal security.
  • community security.
  • political security.

Freedom from fear vs freedom from want

Although human security is now seen as a core national security framework by many countries, debates over its meaning continue. One of the early controversies was the question of whether human security was essentially about freedom from fear or freedom from want.

Countries such as Canada and Norway emphasised human insecurity resulting from violent conflict and were strong advocates of human security as freedom from fear. This focus resulted in international treaties such as the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Mine Ban Treaty) and the 1998 Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Meanwhile, countries in Asia appeared to favour the notion of human security as freedom from want. Japan, for example, emphasised human insecurity resulting from poverty and economic deprivation. It uses its Official Development Assistance programme as the main tool for international engagement in this regard. It also played a key role in the establishment of the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the Commission on Human Security.

Today, human security is largely understood as encompassing both freedom from fear and freedom from want, as well as the freedom to live a life of dignity.

Human security in practice

In recent years, there have been efforts to move human security beyond the realm of theory to that of practice, an area that is as yet under-developed. An example of such is Amitav Acharya et al.’s Human Security: From Concept to Practice (2011), which applies several human security tools to conflict-affected areas in India. The range of tools used includes the Human Security Governance Index, the Human Insecurity Index and the Human Security Impact Assessment (for development projects).

In addition to helping to prevent and mitigate threats, such tools are important in refining the human security concept itself. For example, the 2011 analysis by Acharya et al. suggests that the notion of a sharp line between freedom from fear and freedom from want – the subject of much debate in academic and policy circles – holds little meaning for those directly affected by conflict.

Human security has come a long way from its early beginnings and has shaped the foreign policy agendas of many countries. With the security impacts of various threats – internal conflicts, climate change, natural disasters, transnational crime – continuing to rise in significance, there is increasing urgency to develop human security as a framework for threat evaluation and forecasting, among others; and so increase its utility for strengthening the human security of populations around the world. Throughout 2014, the NTS Bulletin will explore each human security component in turn.

Core readings

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CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND NATURAL DISASTERS

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

The recommendations in this policy brief are based on four civil society consultations from 2012 to 2013. Civil society participants noted that human activity is causing severe damage to the ecosystems that support life. Of concern are the increasingly unsustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly the inequitable exploitation of natural resources by the extractive, energy and agro-industrial industries.

This legal reference guide examines the connections between climate change and human rights, with particular focus on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It aims to ensure that governments continue to meet their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights in the context of new challenges brought about by climate change, as well as to highlight opportunities for policymakers.

This paper discusses how China’s changing socioeconomic landscape could threaten biogas as a sustainable energy solution for millions of rural households. It suggests that reviewing the biogas sector and taking objective action to secure China’s future would benefit the country and provide lessons to other countries facing challenges in rural energy supply.

Events & Announcements

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ENERGY AND HUMAN SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

The energy sector is undergoing a market shift. With China and India set to become the largest oil and coal importers respectively and US moves towards energy self-sufficiency, energy trade would start to flow from the American continent to the Asia-Pacific. Nevertheless, fossil fuels are likely to remain the primary source of energy in the near future. The Middle East is also likely to continue playing a pivotal role despite rising unconventional oil outputs in the US, Canada and Brazil.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in Asia faces unpredictability of supply and demand. In China, LNG has competition from other sources including potential domestic shale gas production. In Japan and South Korea, nuclear energy use is declining, but LNG may not be an automatic substitute. On the supply side, there are new producers such as the US, Australia and Canada, but there is domestic opposition in the US and Canada against exporting their LNG and current prices of Australian LNG are high.

Events & Announcements

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FOOD SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This report examines why and how pathogens of animal origin have become a global health threat and what might be done to mitigate it. The report suggests a paradigm shift in risk assessment, towards a greater focus on a ‘health-in-development’ approach that allows for increased stakeholder participation and analysis of the drivers of disease dynamics.

This paper outlines a framework for examining the relationships between poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, and proceeds to look at the empirical links among them. The analysis reveals that many countries manifest chronic poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, but a much smaller set of countries suffer from acute instances of such. This suggests that acutely vulnerable countries may benefit from targeted agricultural development strategies.

Events & Announcements

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HEALTH SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

An assessment of drug reformulations, repurposed products, vaccines and clinical trials (as markers of new advances) reveals that there is insufficient drug and vaccine development for neglected diseases. Indeed, product development research is still focused on malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoeal diseases.

This article reviews the presentation, burden, correlations and treatment of mental disorder after disasters and identifies logistical and methodological challenges for disaster-related psychopathology. It suggests several directions for future research, including longitudinal assessments of disaster victims to identify disorder trajectories, evaluation of existing research to assess post-disaster functioning, and evaluation of a range of potential risk factors at multiple levels.

Events & Announcements

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INTERNAL AND CROSS-BORDER CONFLICT

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This report presents the progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in the Asia-Pacific. Although countries in the region have had much success in poverty reduction, there are still many challenges in areas like social equality, urban planning, management of climate change effects, environmental protection and water security. It calls for a new development framework that emphasises sustainable development, inclusive growth, goals based on a country’s needs, social equity, reliable financing, partnership and better developmental statistics.

This is based on an interview with Professor Ibrahim Gambari. Drawing on his experience as a diplomat and UN envoy, Prof. Gambari discusses changes in international peacemaking, including new challenges in peace negotiations and the rising role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). He also talks about his involvement in Myanmar’s peace process and China’s engagement with peacebuilding.

Events & Announcements

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TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This publication presents a framework for companies to develop comprehensive anti-bribery programmes. While many large companies have no-bribes policies, all too few implement these policies effectively. The report encourages companies to consider using business principles as a starting point for developing their own anti-bribery programmes or to benchmark existing ones.

Despite eradication efforts, Southeast Asia continues to see a rise in poppy cultivation. Myanmar leads the way with poppy cultivation increasing 13 per cent from the previous year to 57,800 hectares, more than double that of 2006. In all, the country produced 870 tonnes of opium in 2013, an increase of 26 per cent over the previous year.

According to this report, developing countries lost USD5.9 trillion to illicit outflows from 2002 to 2011, with USD946.7 billion lost in 2011 alone owing to crime, corruption, tax evasion and other illicit activities. The outflows increased at an average rate of 10.2 per cent per year over the decade. China leads the world over the 10-year period with USD1.08 trillion in illicit outflows. However, 2011 marked the first time that Russia’s illicit outflows (USD191.14 billion) exceeded China’s (USD151.35 billion).

Events & Announcements

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WATER SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This new study estimates that half a million cubic kilometres of freshwater lie under the seas off the coasts of North America, China, Australia and South Africa. This is a hundred times more than what has been extracted from under the earth’s surface since 1900. Successfully extracting this freshwater from aquifers under the seabed however is likely to require expensive offshore drilling technology and the development of new techniques to prevent salinisation of the reserves.

According to this study, water shortages could double the impact of climate change on agriculture, leading to an estimated loss of up to 43 per cent of the supply of rice, maize, wheat and soybeans. Some regions are however predicted to have more water available in the future. The challenge will be whether these new wetter regions will be able to make up for the projected decline in food production in other areas.

The WRI Aqueduct Project evaluated, mapped and scored risk associated with freshwater for 180 countries around the world to create a global water stress index. After assessing 100 river basins ranked by area and population, the project identified 36 countries as facing ‘extremely high’ water stress levels. For an online interactive map, visit http://www.wri.org/resources/maps/aqueduct-country-and-river-basin-rankings.

Events & Announcements

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Terms of Use:

You are free to publish this material in its entirety or only in part in your newspapers, wire services, internet-based information networks and newsletters and you may use the information in your radio-TV discussions or as a basis for discussion in different fora, provided full credit is given to the author(s) and the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Kindly inform the publisher (NTS_Centre@ntu.edu.sg) and provide details of when and where the publication was used.

About the Centre:

The Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, based in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), was inaugurated by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan in May 2008. The Centre maintains research in the fields of Climate Change, Food Security, Energy Security, Health Security, as well as Internal and Cross-border Conflict. It produces policy-relevant analyses aimed at furthering awareness and building capacity to address NTS issues and challenges in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The Centre also provides a platform for scholars and policymakers within and outside Asia to discuss and analyse NTS issues in the region.

The Centre is the Coordinator of the ASEAN-Canada Research Partnership (2012–2015) supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. It also serves as the Secretariat of the initiative.

In 2009, the Centre was chosen by the MacArthur Foundation as a lead institution for its three-year Asia Security Initiative (2009–2012), to develop policy research capacity and recommend policies on the critical security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific. It is also a founding member and the Secretariat for the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia).

More information on the Centre can be found at www.rsis.edu.sg/nts.


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