Human security vocab

Discourse

the language and representations through which we

describe and understand the world.

High politics

the category of global issues related to military

and security aspects of relations between governments and

peoples.

Low politics

the category of global issues related to the

economic, social, and environmental aspects of relations

between governments and people. (Basically everything else in

the international system.)

State security

a concept that refers to the protection of the

welfare of a state.

– Sometimes referred to as national security (but not by us

because states and nations are different!).

Classical Realism

focus on human nature to explain lack of

security in the international system.

Structural Realism

focus on the characteristics of the

international system itself to explain insecurity and state

behavior.

Broadening of security studies

adding new areas or topics

into the realm of “high politics” (e.g., environmental security,

health security, etc.).

Deepening of security studies

adding actors above and

below the state into our concerns about security (e.g.,

international security, regional security, community security,

individual security).

Human security

refers to the degree to which the welfare of

individuals is protected and advanced.

Vulnerability

a condition that exists when humans are exposed

to potentially harmful developments and lack the means to

effectively prevent, limit, or cope with the damage that may occur

from them.

Norm

a commonly accepted belief or idea that provides

standards for behavior.

Human security norm

an assumption that actors should act to

ensure human security.

First-generation human rights

political or civil rights of citizens that

prevent governmental authority from interfering with private individuals or civil society (negative rights).

Second-generation human rights

social and economic rights that

states are obligated to provide their citizenry, including the rights to

medical care, jobs, and housing (positive rights).

Third-generation human rights

collective rights of groups, including

the rights of ethnic or indigenous minorities and designated special

groups such as women and children, and the rights to democracy and

development, among others.

Just war theory

a complex and interdisciplinary field that

focuses on 1) when it is just to engage in war, and 2) how

war should be conducted.

Negative peace

the absence of violence (e.g., when actors enact

a ceasefire to stop a war). It is negative because it refers to the

absence of a behavior or event.

Positive peace

a long-term process aimed at achieving not only

the absence of direct violence but also the absence of the root

causes of conflict (i.e., indirect or structural violence).

Peace science

focuses on empirical examinations of questions like

why wars and violent conflicts occur. Much of this field adopts a

negative peace approach and conducts large-N, cross-national

studies on war.

Peace studies

is an interdisciplinary field that traces its intellectual

origins back to philosophical debates about the nature of peace

going back centuries.

Direct violence

a form of violence that threatens life itself or

undermines one’s capacity to function. (E.g., killing, assault, bullying,

etc.)

Structural violence

a form in which the violence is built into the

structure and shows up as unequal power (and consequently as

unequal life chances). (E.g., inequalities in access to education,

and healthcare, uneven application of legal protections, etc.)

Cultural violence

the existence of social norms that make direct

and structural violence seem “natural” or the only path forward.

These provide the justification for the continuation of the existing

system. (E.g., the idea that some groups are “harder working” than

others, or more “deserving” than others.)

Peacemaking

actions aimed at bringing two or more hostile parties

to an agreement, through diplomatic negotiations and with their

consent.

Peacebuilding

the activities associated with aiding states in the

process of recovering from war.

Peacekeeping

the prospective use of military force to maintain

peace between two potential foes.

Humanitarian intervention

uninvited intervention by external actors

into the domestic affairs of a state with the primary motive of ending

or preventing violations of human rights.

Unilateral intervention

uninvited intervention by a state or small

group of states into the affairs of another state without the approval

or sanction of some larger international organization such as the

United Nations.

Multilateral intervention

uninvited interference in the domestic

affairs of another state carried out by many states with the approval

or sanction of a “legitimate” international organizations such as the

UN.

The Responsibility to Protect

2001 report issued by the

International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty

(ICISS) which outlined the responsibilities of states for civilian

protection. It highlighted:

 A duty of states to protect their citizens;

 A duty of states in the international community to protect the

citizens of states that engage in human rights abuses, or who

lack the ability to intervene on behalf of their citizens.

Power over

an asymmetrical relation between two or more actors

or group of actors

Power to

the ability of an actor themselves to carry out certain

specific outcomes

Power with

the ability of a group to act together in view of

collective outcomes or goals

Power from

the power to withstand pressure from others

The International Criminal Court (ICC)

a legal institution created

as a permanent international body with the authority to prosecute

individuals, including heads of state, who are responsible for

genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Genocide

the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial,

or religious group

War crimes

grave breaches of the laws of war under the Geneva

Conventions and serious violations under customary international law (such

as torture, taking of hostages, willfully causing great suffering, intentionally

attacking civilian populations, attacking undefended civilian property,

schools, historic monuments, or hospitals, using starvation of civilian

populations as a method of warfare, or using child soldiers)

Crimes against humanity

violations committed as part of a large-scale

attack against any civilian population, including murder, rape, unjust

imprisonment, slavery, persecution, torture, or apartheid

Crimes of aggression

acts where a political or military leader plans or

executes the use of armed force by a state against the territorial integrity,

sovereignty, or political independence of another state, or in any other

manner inconsistent with the UN Charter.

Livelihoods approach

a framework that focuses on the everyday

life realities of people experiencing poverty and seeks to identify

how they secure their living. (What it is that can sustain households

experiencing poverty through the stresses and shocks of their

lives?)

Livelihood security

secure ownership of, or access to, resources

and income-earning activities, including reserves and assets to

offset risk, ease shocks, and meet contingencies.

People-centered

sustainable poverty elimination will be achieved

only if external support focuses on what matters to people,

understands the differences between groups of people and works

with them in a way that fits in with their current livelihood strategies,

social environment and ability to adapt

Responsive and participatory:

poor people must be key actors in

identifying and addressing livelihood priorities. Outsiders need

processes that enable them to listen and respond to the poor.

Multi-level

poverty elimination is an enormous challenge that will

only be overcome by working at multiple levels, ensuring that local-

level activity informs the development of policy and an effective

enabling environment, and that higher-level policies and institutions

support people to build upon their own strengths.

Conducted in partnership

with both the public and the private

sector.

Sustainable

there are four key dimensions to sustainability –

economic, institutional, social and environmental sustainability. All

are important – a balance must be found between them.

Dynamic

external support must recognize the dynamic nature of

livelihood strategies, respond flexibly to changes in people’s

situation, and develop longer-term commitments.

Gender

a set of socially constructed ideas about what people

identified as “men” and “women” ought to be. (Applies to both

people identified as “women” and “men.”)

Masculinity

the characteristics that are traditionally thought to

be typical of or suitable for “men.”

Femininity

the characteristics that are traditionally thought to

be typical of or suitable for “women.”

Patriarchy

valuing norms associated with masculinity more

highly than norms associated with femininity.

BIPOC

Black, Indigenous, or People of Color

Systemic racism (structural racism)

the perpetuation of racial

inequality and white supremacy through the institutions, norms,

and interactions that shape both government and daily life.

Push factors

factors that cause individuals to leave their homes

(includes security threats and threats to personal safety). (There is

something pushing you away.)

 Forced migration

Forced (involuntary) migration

population movement due to

things like natural disaster, war, ethnic, religious, or political

persecution.

Pull factors

factors that make an alternative destination desirable

(often economic). (There is something pulling you to a new place.)

Internally displaced person (IDP)

someone who has been

forced to flee their home but never cross an international border.

Refugee

someone who has been forced to flee his or her country

because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-

founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality,

political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most

likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so.

Security-migration nexus

a concept that highlights the complex

ways that migration is securitized as well as insecurity leading to

migration. (Renewed attention due to climate change.)

Securitization

the process of connecting an issue to security

debates and policymaking.

Food security

exists when all people, at all times, have physical

and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet

their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy

life.

Food access

an individual’s ability to purchase or otherwise

acquire a sufficient amount of nutritious food to sustain their daily

activities.

Food availability

the supply of food in the region.

Food use/utilization

overall nutritious well-being achieved

through the combination of a nutritious diet, clean water, sanitation,

and healthcare.

Food stability

an individual’s access to food at all times, without

sudden or cyclical disruptions, such as those that result from

recession, climate change, armed conflict, etc.Food deserts

Food deserts

areas with a high population of low-income

households and lack of access to available, affordable, and

nutritious food sources with a set distance

Scale

humans are making larger impacts on ecosystems than any

other time in history. We are faced with numerous environmental

challenges simultaneously (climate change, biodiversity loss,

desertification, deforestation, pollution, resource shortages, etc.)

Transboundary nature

environmental change impacts multiple

communities and multiple states. (Environmental problems don’t

respect state borders.)

Uneven distribution

the negative effects of environmental damage

are often felt by those who have contributed the least to it, and who

lack the capacity to cope with it. (Justice and equity concerns)

Slow violence

a concept associated with scholar Rob Nixon that

refers to violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence

of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an

attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.

Anthropocene

the age of humans

Multidimensional

they affect people through multiple channels

Interconnected

they interact as part of self-regulating planetary

systems (interactions between ecosystems and social systems)

Universal

they have global (though unequal) reach

Unequally distributed

their effects are geographically

asymmetrical and the impacts on people are mediated by

existing social, economic, and political structures

environmental conflict

discourse is anthropocentric- meaning

that it focuses primarily on humans.

Resource conflict

conflict over access to renewable or

nonrenewable resources.

environmental security

is also an

anthropocentric discourse. Here the focus is on the security of

human beings as individuals or in groups.The discourse is concerned with the negative impacts of

environmental change for people

Chipko movement

a nonviolent social and ecological movement

by rural villagers, particularly women, in India in the 1970s. It aimed

at protecting trees and forests slated for government-

backed logging. The Hindi word chipko means “to hug” or “to cling

to” and reflects the demonstrators’ primary tactic of embracing trees

to impede loggers

epidemics

an unusually high incidence

of disease in a community or the spread of disease to a new locality

pandemics

the spread of disease across borders or on a global

scale

Health security

the protection of individuals from sudden or chronic

health threats and also the efforts to empower individuals to lead

healthy lives.

Human trafficking

the forced movement of people from one

location to another for purposes of exploitation

Migrant smuggling

the facilitation, for financial or other material

gain, of irregular entry into a country where the migrant is not a

national or resident.