Human security, neoliberalism and corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Mainstream critiques of human security theory and practice have criticized how human security is being conceptualized, with a specific focus on how the absence of a precise and universally accepted definition hinders its practical application. Rejecting these critiques as an explanation for the policy failures of human security agendas, this article argues that the difficulties experienced in operationalizing human security lie in the myriad ways human security policies have revealed themselves to be subordinate to an existing, well-established and equally diffuse policy agenda: neoliberalism. The specific case study examines Canada, a prominent member of the human security vanguard, and its unwillingness to regulate transnational corporate conduct that contributes to human insecurity.