Human Security: Theory and Action

by David Andersen-Rodgers Associate Professor, Cali, Kerry F. Crawford James Madison University

Overview

Human security refers in its broadest sense to the protection of individuals from harm. Human Security: Theory and Action explores the theory and application of concepts central to this notion of security. It examines the conceptual roots of human security, connecting its origins to its applications and challenges in war and peacetime. With a unique focus on the evolving notion of responsibility for security, the text introduces the critical questions and priorities that underpin policies and actions.

The text is organized around four sections. The introduction offers an overview of human security and its basic tenets and historical foundations. The second section focuses on human security in armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, discussing such issues as the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect, racial inequality, peacekeeping and peace negotiation processes, and humanitarian assistance. The third section identifies the long-term issues that are necessary for a durable human security, including human rights, food security, poverty, gender equality, health security, and environmental sustainability. The final section applies the concepts introduced in the book to twenty-first century concerns and offers insights on turning theory into action.

Integrated into the text are many case studies to broaden the student’s awareness beyond the conflicts and issues that dominate the media. By balancing theoretical explanations with concrete illustrative cases, both historical and contemporary, the text provides intellectually challenging and intrinsically interesting material and offers a unique, comprehensive introduction human security in war and peace.

The second edition of Human Security: Theory and Action examines the conceptual roots of human security, connecting its origins to its application in a time of conflict, inequality, environmental stress, and the aftermath of a global pandemic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538159941
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/12/2022
Series:	Peace and Security in the 21st Century
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	724 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Andersen-Rodgers is a professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento. His teaching and research has focused on human security, conflict-induced displacement, foreign policy decision-making, and small arms proliferation.

Kerry F. Crawford is an associate professor of Political Science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She is the author of several books, including Wartime Sexual Violence (2017, Georgetown University Press), Human Security: Theory and Action (2018, Rowman & Littlefield), and The PhD Parenthood Trap (2021, Georgetown University Press). She teaches and researches subjects related to human security, conflict-related sexual violence, United Nations peacekeeping, public opinion on civilian casualties, and gender and bias in the academic profession.

Table of Contents

Section I: Introduction to Human Security

1. Human Security—A New Security?

• Responsibility for Security
• Human Security and the Reconceptualization of Security
• Perspectives on Security
• Why Human Security?
• Plan of the Book

2. Historical Foundations of Human Security

• The Political Context for a New Security
• Debating Security
• Human Security: A Reimagined Security

3. Human Security Actors

• Security Providers
• Responding to Threats to Human Security
• The Three Policy Boxes: Problem, Policy, and Outcome
• Exploring Global Collaboration and Evolving Goals: The MDGs and SDGs
• Conclusion

4. Human Rights and Human Security

• The Roots of Human Rights
• Human Rights and the Protection of a Common Humanity
• Restoring Human Rights that Have Been Denied
• Human Rights and Human Security

Section II: Armed Conflict and Human Security

5. From Non-Intervention to the Responsibility to Protect

• Sovereignty and the Principle of Nonintervention
• Evolving Norms of Protection
• Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect
• Libya and the Responsibility to Protect
• Conclusion

6. Human Security in Peace Processes

• All Wars Must End?
• From Cease-Fires to Comprehensive Peace Accords: Integrating Human Security into Conflict Termination
• Human Security During Conflict: Protection, Assistance, and Advocacy
• Conclusion

7. Human Security and Peacebuilding

• Security Threats after Conflict
• State Building, Peacebuilding, and the Human Security Approach
• UN Peace Operations
• Policing after the Troubles
• No Peace Without Justice? Transitional Justice and Human Security
• Conclusion

Section III: Durable Human Security

8. Durable Human Security: Breaking the Cycle of Insecurity

• Human Security in Armed Conflict and Freedom from Fear
• From Armed Conflict to "Peacetime": Durable Human Security and Freedom from Want
• Economic Security: An Illustration of the Cycle of Security
• Overview of Section III Chapters

9. Health Security as Human Security

• Health as a Human Security Issue
• Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Responsibility for Health Security
• Conclusion: Good Health and Human Security

10. Gender Inequality and Security

• Gender and Gender Inequality
• Gender (In)Equality and (In)Security
• Global Efforts to Improve Gender Equality
• Conclusion: Gender Equality at Home and Abroad

11. Climate Change and Environmental Security

• Global Warming and Climate Change
• The Security Implications of Climate Change
• Global Cooperation and National Interest: Efforts and Obstacles
• International Agreements: Top-Down Solutions
• The Youth Climate Movement: A Cosmopolitan Effort to Save the World
• Security Provision from Below? New Prospects in an Uncertain Time

12. Food Security

• Hunger as a Human Security Threat
• Food Insecurity: Cases and Examples
• Protection Against Hunger

Section IV: Conclusions

13. Human Security: An Essential Approach to Twenty-First Century Security Problems

• Requirements of Human Security
• The Status of Human Security
• Human Security and Complex Questions
• Human Security in a Changing World: Theory and Actio

Glossary

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

Human Security: Theory and Action is an authoritative work and a worthy update to the original edition. This study introduces the concept of durable human security and shows its relevance across the board. Subjects covered effectively include an expanded treatment of human security as a major concept in the field, along with armed conflict and war, Northern Ireland after the Troubles, Responsibility to Protect, peace-building, public health and climate change. This book is essential reading about security issues in particular and international studies in general.

Patrick James

No study of international security affairs is complete without an examination of human security in all its dimensions, and no book does a better job of exploring this pivotal phenomenon than Human Security: Theory and Action. As Andersen-Rogers and Crawford conclusively demonstrate, an understanding of human security is essential for analyzing current world perils, including war and climate change, and devising effective strategies for overcoming them. At a time when these dangers appear increasingly acute, this book provides an invaluable guide for constructive thinking.

Michael Klare

This new edition of Human Security: Theory and Action is required reading for students of human security. Andersen-Rodgers and Crawford weave timely case illustrations, thought-provoking discussion questions, and fundamental concepts throughout the text to help readers bridge human security theory and practice in the fields of peace and conflict, health, the environment, gender, and rule of law. The second edition expands on the central theoretical debates within the human security field and includes essential discussions about racial inequality and policing. A foundational text for introducing human security in the classroom.

Lauren Balasco

This useful textbook covers all of the essential debates around the various dimensions of security. It will be a valuable resource to undergraduate students who study international relations, human rights, or development, as well as to the readers who want to better understand questions about war, peace, protection, and international intervention.

Séverine Autesserre

This useful textbook covers all of the essential debates around the various dimensions of security. It will be a valuable resource to undergraduate students who study international relations, human rights, or development, as well as to the readers who want to better understand questions about war, peace, protection, and international intervention.    

Séverine Autesserre