Is human safety universal?
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Mohammad Rajja
Is human safety universal? Realists, and later neorealists, have seen safety as merely incomplete as well as provisional, for the reason that "war is expected." They consider the world is anarchical. Since they consider the state as the ultimate power, therefore, safety is destined top be "national safety."
It presupposes a set of mechanisms to defend a state so that it can continue as a political unit. They include defense against attacks and pressure from outside as well as against any event that could gravely intimidate a country's ruling government from inside. As such attacks can take place anytime, they call for the force. When there is neither war nor other armed disagreement, a state is hypothetically "safe" or "at peace."
Southeast Asia calls it "comprehensive security." Many non-state actors, including the non-government organisations (NGOs), propagate this idea. Inclusive security goes further, and presupposes customary military pressure, internal aggression and racial conflicts.
September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, led scholars to reconsider their theories of global relations, particularly relating to aggression conducted by non-state actors towards not only states but towards the common citizen.
In 1994, the UN adopted its Human Development Report. Since then, the idea of human security has been attracting the academic world as well as governments. The slogan "freedom from fear and freedom from wants" also became popular at that time.
Comprehensive security focuses on the well-being of the human race-not just the safety of the citizens of a particular state cutting across the cultures, genders, and religions.
Canada pays more attention to human rights as essential for human safety. Japan stresses more on growth which is reflected in its Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The states in Southeast Asia adopted the concept of human security to defend their national boundaries against military and non-military threats. Malaysia considers illegal drugs, a threat to its nationwide issues like HIV-AIDS, also pose threats to security.
National disasters like volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes human security also pose similar threats.
Human safety could suffer due to unintentional threats as well as planned or controllable threats like armed conflicts, organised crime, and the like.
In Malaysia, the concept of human security is new, especially to the policy makers. In its place, human development has been used interchangeably with human safety. This may be due to 'human rights' factor, that was obviously stressed in human security approach.
The writer is a student of Gano Bishwabidyalay, Savar. He may be reached at e-mail: arnold_raza@yahoo.com
Is human safety universal? Realists, and later neorealists, have seen safety as merely incomplete as well as provisional, for the reason that "war is expected." They consider the world is anarchical. Since they consider the state as the ultimate power, therefore, safety is destined top be "national safety."
It presupposes a set of mechanisms to defend a state so that it can continue as a political unit. They include defense against attacks and pressure from outside as well as against any event that could gravely intimidate a country's ruling government from inside. As such attacks can take place anytime, they call for the force. When there is neither war nor other armed disagreement, a state is hypothetically "safe" or "at peace."
Southeast Asia calls it "comprehensive security." Many non-state actors, including the non-government organisations (NGOs), propagate this idea. Inclusive security goes further, and presupposes customary military pressure, internal aggression and racial conflicts.
September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, led scholars to reconsider their theories of global relations, particularly relating to aggression conducted by non-state actors towards not only states but towards the common citizen.
In 1994, the UN adopted its Human Development Report. Since then, the idea of human security has been attracting the academic world as well as governments. The slogan "freedom from fear and freedom from wants" also became popular at that time.
Comprehensive security focuses on the well-being of the human race-not just the safety of the citizens of a particular state cutting across the cultures, genders, and religions.
Canada pays more attention to human rights as essential for human safety. Japan stresses more on growth which is reflected in its Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The states in Southeast Asia adopted the concept of human security to defend their national boundaries against military and non-military threats. Malaysia considers illegal drugs, a threat to its nationwide issues like HIV-AIDS, also pose threats to security.
National disasters like volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes human security also pose similar threats.
Human safety could suffer due to unintentional threats as well as planned or controllable threats like armed conflicts, organised crime, and the like.
In Malaysia, the concept of human security is new, especially to the policy makers. In its place, human development has been used interchangeably with human safety. This may be due to 'human rights' factor, that was obviously stressed in human security approach.
The writer is a student of Gano Bishwabidyalay, Savar. He may be reached at e-mail: arnold_raza@yahoo.com