Human Security Challenges Research Articles

Should Global Goal Setting Continue, and How, in the Post-2015 Era?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were introduced to monitor implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration which set out a vision for inclusive and sustainable globalization based on human rights principles. This paper critically assesses the MDG experience including their policy purpose, ethical commitments, political origins, and consequences. It proposes that post-2015 goals should be based on principles of equity, sustainability and human security and address key contemporary challenges such as climate change, unemployment, inequality and global market instability.

Environmental Security in Bangladesh: A Study on Climate Change

42 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXV, No.1, Fall 2011 Environmental Security in Bangladesh: A Study on Climate Change Mohamed Shariful Islam1 Introduction Although Bangladesh’s contribution to the global climate change is negligible it is the worst sufferer. And Bangladesh is recognized worldwide as one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of global warming and climate change. This is due to its unique geographic location, dominance of flood plains, and low elevation from the sea, high population density (1100/sq.km), high levels of poverty and overwhelming dependence on nature, its resources and services.2 In Bangladesh, the effects of climate change are not merely projections of what might happen in the future but a reality, the impact is well evident and real, mostly through changes in variability. For instance, the rising frequency and severity of natural disasters are clearly visible in Bangladesh. To provide some background since 1991, the 1991 Cyclone (April 29), the 1997 Cyclone (November 29-30), the Cyclone Sidr in 2007 (November 15), Cyclone Bijli in 2009(April 14), and also Cyclone Aila in 2009 (May 25) can be stated. Climate change is now regarded as major human security challenge which affects many aspects of life – politics, economics, migration, development, trade, food security as well as health. It can trigger conflicts, instability and humanitarian crises in Bangladesh. As the country’s environment declines, it will adversely affect economic development, erode social cohesion and lead to the destruction of political institutions.3 Besides, environmentally induced- migration will give rise 1 Muhamed Shariful Islam is an advanced graduate student in the department of the international Relations of the University of Dhaka, Bengladesh. 2 Department of Environment, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Climate Change and Bangladesh, September 2007, 1. 3 Choudhury Shamim, “Alternative views of environmental security in a less developed country: The case of Bangladesh” in Journal of Third World Studies, Vol. XXV, No.1, 259. 43 4 Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh: Damage, Loss, and Needs Assessment for Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction, 2008, 1. 5 Ibid, 3. 6 Human Impact Report of Global Humanitarian Forum, Geneva, Climate Change: The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis, Human Impact Report of Global Humanitarian Forum, Geneva, 2009, 17. 7 The Daily Star, December 9, 2009. regional tensions and bilateral conflicts between India and Bangladesh. Therefore, Bangladesh presents a test case of environmental insecurity. This paper looks into environmental security in Bangladesh from the case of climate change. Increasing Natural Disasters One of the major negative effects of climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. Bangladesh is a disaster prone country which is affected by some form of natural disaster almost in every year. It may be floods, droughts, cyclones or tidal surges. According to a report, “of the 508 cyclones that have originated in the Bay of Bengal in the last 100 years, 17 percent have hit Bangladesh, amounting to a severe cyclone almost once every three years. Of these, nearly fifty three percent have claimed more than five thousand lives.”4 One may be surprised to learn about the frequency, intensity as well as severity of natural disasters in Bangladesh. For instance, between 1991 and 2000, 93 major disasters were recorded in Bangladesh, resulting in nearly 200,000 deaths and causing US $ 5.9 billion in damages with high losses in agriculture and infrastructure.5 According to Human Impact Report of Global Humanitarian Forum, since 2000 Bangladesh has experienced more than 70 major disasters. Tropical cyclones, local storms, floods and droughts have killed 9,000 people and caused damage of more than US $ 5 billion.6 According to Global Climate Risk Index 2010 (Covering 1990-2008) Bangladesh ranks at the top level in terms of vulnerability to natural disasters.7 Natural disasters have caused the greatest loss of life in Bangladesh over the last decade than in any other country of the world, according to this Index which was published in December 8, 2009, in the Copenhagen Conference. An average of 8, 241 people died each year in 244 instances of extreme weather conditions in Bangladesh with cost...

Promoting Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Critical Step to Achieving Human Security in Nigeria

Achieving human security which is about providing guarantee of freedom from want and freedom from fear remains the most compelling issue in Nigeria today. In spite of the country‟s enormous human and natural endowments, majority of her populace continue to be threatened by extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS epidemic, mass unemployment, increasing crime rate and sectarian violence. Addressing Nigeria human security challenge has been basically hampered, amongst other factors, by poor governance and corruption. Though Nigeria has been a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights since 1986, she is yet to adopt justiciable constitutional guarantee for the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights. In the absence of justiciable constitutional guarantee, the realization of economic, social and cultural rights will continuously be stymied by assertions that such rights are non-obligatory development aspirations, therefore government are under no obligation to guarantee their fulfillment. Given the socio-economic context of security crisis in Nigeria, the problem of human insecurity cannot be approached from a tokenistic imprecise development goal strategy. What is required is the enforcement of socio-economic rights carved on the canvass of Nigeria‟ constitutional text as well as on short and long term budgetary plans and programs. This research, therefore, seeks to reopen a frontal debate for the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in the Nigerian Constitution. It proposes that fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights is fundamental to the achievement of human security in Nigeria.

Maritime security in the Indian Ocean region: Compelling and convergent agendas

The Indian Ocean region (IOR) is fast becoming a major area of global political and security interest. The region’s political and security context is quickly changing due mainly to expanding and competing Chinese and Indian spheres of influence along with relatively declining United States power. Traditional security concerns like maintenance of the freedom of maritime navigation and unfettered access to and transport of vital energy supplies are increasing in importance in the Indian Ocean. In addition, non-traditional security threats emanating from the impacts of climate change and the effects of population and industrial growth are presenting major resource management and environmental, human and food security challenges. These security challenges largely converge in the maritime domain. It is imperative that IOR-wide maritime security cooperation be progressed. Regional and extra-regional nation-states have interests to protect and capacities to contribute to IOR security. Arrangements need to be devised to accommodate the involvement of both. In this article it is argued that greater attention needs to be given to Indian Ocean maritime security and the development of IOR maritime security regimes need to be pursued as a matter of urgency.

Teaching the Applied Ethics of War and Peace

This article describes a course that critically explored the ethics of war and peace within the historical context of the War in Iraq. Education has a central role in preparing students to deal with the challenges of organized violence and human security. Because academic and policy discourse about the ethics of war is often abstract and impersonal, it can fail to address vital human interests. This course was designed to provide compelling content that included first-person, subjective perspectives on the costs of war in terms of human suffering. Undergraduate students enrolled in the course had limited knowledge of history and current events, so content had to provide reasonable historical context to enable meaningful discussion of ethical concepts.

World-Smart Students

world in which today's students will graduate is far different than the world in which we grew up. As never before, American education must prepare students for a world where the opportunities for success require the ability to compete and cooperate on a global scale. globalization of economies, the rise of China and India, advances in science and communications technology, acceleration of international migration--and the fact that virtually every major health, environmental, and human security challenge Americans face can be solved only through international collaboration--will require our high school graduates to be far more knowledgeable about world regions, cultures, and global issues. (1) But we have not emphasized such skills in our schools. A 2007 report from the National Academy of Sciences warns, The pervasive lack of knowledge of foreign cultures and languages threatens the security of the United States and as well its ability to compete in the global marketplace and produce an informed citizenry. (2) INNOVATIONS IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES Over the past few years, schools and communities across the country have begun to respond to this new reality and are seeking to redesign education to produce students who are both college ready and globally competent. Consider this example: Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, an inner-city magnet school that is one of Chicago's most ethnically diverse schools, has shown how integrating global content enhances academic excellence. Founded in 2000 and now one of the top schools in Illinois, the school's mission is to prepare students for leadership in their community, the nation, and the Every student studies a world language for four years and experiences a home-stay exchange with a sister school in China, France, north Africa, Japan, Switzerland, Chile, Italy, or South Africa. Use of technology, including videoconferencing, connects Payton classrooms to their sister schools and to subject-matter experts around the world. An array of international visitors, students, and seminars further develops the international spirit of the school. school is also the flagship of Chicago's Chinese language program, the largest Chinese program in the country. This school, one of the winners of the Goldman Sachs Prizes for Excellence in Education, run by the Asia Society, is clearly an outstanding school. But data collected on hundreds of schools that have applied for the prize--from more than 40 states and from rural and inner-city areas, as well as suburban and private schools--show that many schools are embarking on similar journeys. Our research shows that schools typically start in a small way and gradually broaden their approaches. Over time, globally oriented schools develop key common elements. These schools: * Create a global vision and culture by revising their mission statements and graduate profiles and creating a school culture that supports internationally focused teaching and learning; * Develop an internationally oriented faculty by recruiting teachers with international interests and encouraging teachers to take advantage of the many professional development and study/travel opportunities offered through universities and international organizations; * Integrate international content into all curriculum areas, bringing a global dimension to science and language arts, as well as social studies and languages; * Emphasize the learning of world languages, including less commonly taught languages, such as Chinese and Arabic; * Expand student experiences through internationally oriented service learning, internships, and partnerships and exchanges with schools in other countries; and * Harness technology to tap global information sources, create international collaborations, and offer international courses and languages online, especially to underserved communities. …

Conceptualising the environmental dimension of human security in the UN

Peace and security are goals of the UN Charter. In 2005, Kofi Annan addressed three pillars of human security: freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity. This chapter examines two conceptual discussions on human and environmental security in the social sciences and in the UN system, and considers conceptual linkages for a people‐centred environmental security concept and the environmental dimension of human security. It assesses the environmental challenges for human security posed by climate change, desertification, water, and natural hazards. It concludes that natural hazards pose manifold threats, challenges, vulnerabilities and risks for human, environmental, national and international security. Addressing environmental dangers to security requires a combination of strategic instruments and policies to reduce the vulnerability to hazards and the risks for affected societal groups. This requires a dual strategy for dealing with the short‐term situational impact of extreme weather events and natural hazards and long‐term structural impacts of global environmental change.

The ethical challenges of human security in the age of globalisation

The moral innovation of human security is also its terrible Achilles' heel. In a world of globalisation, where the values of the global view are imposed upon most people with the force of necessity, the concerns of individuals resist global action. At the very moment when individual concerns are put on the agenda, the possibility for achieving anything local is nearly erased by individual weakness in a world of massive collective interests. What can the particular interests of individuality make claim to in such a strong environment of universality? The aim of this chapter is to discuss the ethical dimensions of the concept of human security in a principled discussion of ethics and international relations. It starts with the evolution of the concept of human security, its use in international policy and its philosophical history. It ends with a discussion of the paradoxes of different philosophical positions with respect to the concept.

Human Security in the Context of Sudan's State Crisis: The Case of Darfur

The struggle for independence in many African countries was aimed at regaining the dignity and respect of Africans. After post-independence most regimes became more concerned with their states' political insecurities than their citizens' human security. Since its independence, different regimes in the Sudan have been mobilizing the national resources and investing them in war machines and military industry as opposed to human security. Consequently, Sudan has lost more than 5 million citizens in civil wars. A violent confl ict erupted in 2003, with more than 250 000 civilians killed and more than 2 million people displaced. This article traces and examines the genesis and magnitude of human security challenges in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Africa Insight Vol. 37 (4) 2008 pp. 192-205

The Importance of Northern Dimension Foreign Policies in the Geopolitics of the Circumpolar North

The end of the Cold War dramatically altered geopolitical relationships within the circumpolar North. Part of this change involved the development of a regionalised governance structure stressing the common issues faced by human populations within the circumpolar North, regardless of their national or ethnic origins. Signatories to a cadre of new circumpolar agreements include eight nation-states or the “Arctic states” (Canada, USA, Russia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland) as well as indigenous peoples organisations and supranational organisations such as the European Union. Equally important, although somewhat less tangible, is the fact that in addition to the new forms of international and regional governance now giving shape to an emerging circumpolar “northern” space, are several new discourses concerning the scale and nature of circumpolar regionalism and the critical new environmental, human security, and economic development challenges which it faces. Rather than using the rhetoric of tension and confrontation common throughout the Cold War era, these new northern discourses stress regional co-operation, human security and sustainable development. This paper examines the political structures and actors which give shape to emerging geopolitical versions of the international “North”. It explores the relationship between the new international geopolitical space of this circumpolar region and the northern dimension policies of constituent states, in order to identify links between the geopolitical consensus which has become the potential basis for the international structure and goals of governance within the circumpolar region. Particular emphasis is placed upon Canada, the USA and the European Union, where northern dimension policies are most developed.

Globalization and the Third World: a study of negative consequences

List of Tables List of Figures Notes on the Contributors Introduction: The End of Geography and the Beginning of Conflict B.N.Ghosh PART ONE: CLASHES, CONFLICTS AND CONTRADICTORY DYNAMICS The Contradictory Dynamics of Globalization P.A.O'Hara Globalization, Cultural Conflicts and Islamic Resurgence M.K.Pasha Globalization and the Clash of Civilisations H.M.Guven Globalization, Sub-national Governments and Urban Crises in Developing World P.Gangopadhyay & S.Nath PART TWO: LABOUR MARKET DISTORTIONS AND INEQUALITIES Globalization, Labour Markets and Gender: Human Security Challenges from Cross-Borders Sourcing in Services N.Aslanbeigui & G.Summerfield How Does Globalization Affect Regional Inequality within a Developing Country?: Evidence from China X.Zhang & K.H.Zhang Flexicurity, Casualization and Informalization of Global Labour Markets J.D.Schmidt Race to the Bottom: The Impact of Globalization on Labour Markets: A Review of Empirical and Theoretical Evidence O.Mehmet PART THREE: CAPITAL, TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE Globalization and the Agrarian Question: Peasants Conflicts in Africa and Asia S.Amin Globalization, Capital Inflows and Financial Crises B.N.Ghosh Globalization and Incomplete Technology Transfer to Developing Countries F.Praussello PART FOUR: TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND UNEQUAL COMPETITION WTO and the South: Past, Present and Future R.K.Sen Globalization, Trade Liberalization and Conflict: A Southern Perspective A.K.Dutt Globalization and Agricultural Trade: The Market Access and Food Security Dilemmas of Developing Countries T.Anderson Index

The civilised self and the barbaric other: imperial delusions of order and the challenges of human security

In the aftermath of the military conflicts of 1936 – 45, there seemed to be a global renunciation of war as an instrument of state policy. Shortly thereafter, however, decades of ideological attrition between the major powers and the inherent perversion of postcolonial states reduced the solemn declarations of 1945 to ineffectual rhetoric. Underpinning the decline and demise of a human-centred approach to global peace and security is the enduring notion of the civilised self and the barbaric other. The polarisation of humanity between camps of the savage and the civilised has continued to animate international policy making despite denials. This paper argues that a rejection of the polarities is imperative for the success of the emergent concept of human security.

Integrating the Supply Chain with RFID: A Technical and Business Analysis

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the technical and business implications of adopting Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in organizational settings. The year 2004 marked a significant shift toward adopting RFID because of mandates by large retailers and government organizations. The use of RFID technology is expected to increase rapidly in the next few years. At present, however, initial barriers against widespread adoption include standards, interoperability, costs, forward compatibility, and lack of familiarity. This paper describes basic components of an RFID system including tags, readers, and antennas and how they work together using an integrated supply chain model. Our analysis suggests that business needs to overcome human resource scarcity, security, legal and financial challenges and make informed decision regarding standards and process reengineering. The technology is not fully mature and suffers from issues of attenuation and interference. A laboratory experiment conducted by the authors' shows that the middleware is not yet at a "plug-and-play" stage, which means that initial adopters need to spend considerable effort to integrate RFID into their existing business processes. Appendices contain a glossary of common RFID terms, a list of RFID vendors and detailed findings of the laboratory experiment. NOTE: BECAUSE OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS USED, THIS ARTICLE IS LONG; APPROXIMATELY 850KB IN BOTH JOURNAL AND ARTICLE VERSION

Global Health Challenges for Human Security, by Lincoln Chen, Jennifer Leaning, and Vasant Narasimhan, eds.

Global Health Challenges for Human Security, by Lincoln Chen, Jennifer Leaning, and Vasant Narasimhan, eds.

The global challenge of human security

Human security is far more than the absence of conflict. It encompasses education and health, democracy and human rights, protection against environmental degradation and the proliferation of deadly weapons. It may be referred to as the concept of “freedom from want and fear”, which includes economic, food, health, environmental, political, community and personal security. Human insecurity, whether generated by neo‐liberal globalization, militarization, trafficking and the sex industry, social inequality, poverty, terrorism and local conflicts, is a big challenge at the beginning of the twenty‐first century, as much for developing countries as for the countries of the Atlantic Community. The interrelated challenges of human security and peace require an integrated multilateral response of the international system, a consistent human security policy that focuses on the responsibility of each and everyone. In short, it is a call for the globalization of responsibility for human security.

Environmental protection and US–Asia relations: a policy of disconnect

Despite the post-September 11 focus on regional security and the continued emphasis on regional economic cooperation, environmental degradation should not be overlooked as an important issue for US policy in and relationship with the Asia-Pacific. It is an important issue in its own right, presenting the countries of the region with ecological, economic and social (human security) challenges. There are both ethical and instrumental impulses for the United States, as a rich indus­trialised country and as a disproportionate consumer of resources and polluter of global waste, to provide environmental assistance to the Asia-Pacific. Despite global demands that the ‘new’ new world (environmental) order should be based on solidarity and collective responsibility, neither US environmental policy towards the region nor the regional consequences of its international environmental policy more generally meet this test. The US is fundamentally self-regarding rather than other-regarding in the various dimensions of its environmental relationship with the region. The consequences for both the region and for the US may be substantial. Continued environmental degradation in the region has the potential to undermine other US policy goals, in terms of its reputation, it economic objectives and even its more orthodox geopolitical security objectives.

The Role of Health in a Security-Obsessed World

Global Health Challenges for Human Security, edited by Lincoln Chen, Jennifer Leaning, and Vasant Narasimhan. (Boston: Harvard University Press, 2003). 338 pages. $29.95. While globalization has driven economic prosperity in many countries over the last few decades, it has also created multiple new security vulnerabilities, including a substantial threat to global health. The relationship between health and security is explored in detail in Global Health Challenges for Human Security, an edited volume of fifteen essays commissioned by Harvard University's Global Equity Initiative. The essays highlight the security implications of recent health threats, including bio-terrorism, emerging infectious diseases like SARS, and the regional devastation caused by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. While they may appear to be unlikely bedfellows, the union between health and security is not without historical precedent. A quick review of the history of global health policy reveals that international health concerns arose primarily from security interests. As Simon Szreter points out in his essay on the history of health and human security, the birth of the entire field of tropical medicine was spearheaded by nineteenth century military physicians concerned with the protection of imperialist troops against foreign diseases.1 Universal health care came as an afterthought, when a few enlightened specialists realized that the health of the world's elite depended on the health of its poor and disenfranchised. These observations are even more relevant in today's global landscape, where economic stability is based on the global exchange of goods, services, technologies and human beings. In a world where nearly 2 million people daily fly internationally, local health problems can rapidly escalate into global ones, as the recent SARS outbreak in China demonstrated.2 Health threats defy the political boundaries that have historically defined national security pursuits. In order to adequately address the increasingly complex security challenges presented by health risks, security must acquire a broader meaning beyond the defense of national borders. To this end, the concept of "human security" was first advanced in the 1990s as an alternative to the narrowly defined, traditional notion of national security. Human [End Page 175] security is rooted in the idea that the insecurities experienced by all people, including the world's marginalized poor, are universally threatening in an increasingly interconnected world. The first five essays in this volume address the theoretical basis of this notion of human security and its contemporary applications. These are followed by a series of essays analyzing health threats, violence and poverty and their links to human security. Lincoln Chen's opening analysis expertly lays out the advantages of a human security approach. Chen also acknowledges the concept's weaknesses, conceding that human security is often too broad to inspire concrete action. Indeed, the definition put forth by the United Nations Commission on Human Security lacks conceptual clarity: The objective of human security is to safeguard the vital core of human lives from critical pervasive threats while promoting long-term human flourishing.3 Not surprisingly, skeptics point out that policymakers are unlikely to respond to such ambiguous thinking. Lately, however, decision makers have started paying attention to the more specific ways in which global health trends impact both national and human security interests. The use of anthrax after the events of September 11, 2001, quickly heightened the profile of bio-terrorism and infectious disease threats in the security community. These threats are detailed in the second cluster of essays in this volume, entitled "Global Epidemics." In an essay that delves headlong into the microbial world, David L. Heymann, Executive Director of the World Health Organization's Communicable Diseases Program, warns that new, highly lethal infectious diseases like Ebola and Hantavirus are emerging at a startling rate of one per year.4 Multiplying, mutating, and increasingly drug-resistant microbes are driving these emerging threats, notes Heymann. And yet, the diseases that still kill the most people worldwide are not new to humans. Despite enormous technological advances made over...

Building on a legacy or bucking tradition? Evaluating Canada's human security initiative in an era of globalization

The concepts of human security and globalization both challenge our understanding of security, and influence the practice of Canadian foreign policy. This article argues that the human security agenda is, in fact, no great departure from the tradition of Canadian foreign policy, and that the roots of the current attention to human security may be found in the globalization of international relations. The article explores perceptions of human security and globalization, and also how foreign policy approaches and skill sets must be adapted if human security is to be included as a policy option. In particular, the article considers the Canadian human security platform, its related implications, and the way that human security relates to the tradition of Canadian foreign policy.

Human Security and Asia's Financial Crisis

A critique of Canadian policyMORE THAN THREE YEARS AFTER the onset of Asia's financial crisis, several of the region's economies have been showing signs of recovery. As interest rates continue to decline and exchange rates in the region show signs of strength, many analysts argue that the region is poised to resume its journey towards economic growth and development. Because of improvements in the regional economy, some believe that the worst is over and that standards of living and social conditions in Asia will continue their long march upward.The complete story, however, is less sanguine. In some countries, industrial capacity continues to decline and private investment is far from pre-crisis levels. These persistent challenges promise even more unemployment and continued social difficulties. When coupled with the likelihood of continued economic hardship in some economies through 2000 and 2001, the popular argument that Asia's economic and political troubles are over seems less convincing as the declining social security/welfare situation is not likely to see consistent improvement.(1) Even if the least afflicted economies manage to post strong growth through the remainder of 2000, their situation will remain precarious, and economic stability will not be assured. Consequently, they will be less able to provide their citizens with the sorts of opportunities for economic advancement that were available prior to the crisis.(2) The absolute number of people living either on or below the poverty line will remain large, and the human welfare challenges posed by the crisis will persist. As a result, Canadian policy-makers will have to remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation in Asia closely.The purpose of this article, however, is to go beyond the income-related effects of the crisis and draw attention to some of its more specific implications on human security concerns in three Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Using data uncovered during fieldwork - through interviews/consultations with personnel from government, academe, and non-governmental/activist groups, as well as a review of primary and secondary data most readily available in these countries - the article provides a critique of how the Canadian policy establishment conceptualizes and articulates human security in the 1995 foreign policy statement, Canada in the World.The decision to focus on Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam was driven by two key considerations. First, the violence and remarkable political transformations that took place in Indonesia and, to a lesser degree, in Thailand and South Korea has meant that other countries affected by the crisis have received relatively less attention and analysis either from academe or from the international media. Second, each of these countries is experiencing social, economic, and political transformations that began before the onset of the crisis. By focusing on these three countries, it is possible to examine how an exogenous/systemic shock (the crisis) affected domestic/endogenous processes of social and governmental change and the implications of this interaction on human security concerns.The article makes two arguments. First, Asia's financial crisis had a considerable impact in countries already undergoing transitional processes. On their own, these internal transformations posed serious human security challenges to citizens in each country, and the onset of the crisis exacerbated their effects. In some cases, key institutions faltered and human security was compromised in ways that go beyond the income-related effects of the crisis. Second, the observations and conclusions drawn from the fieldwork, in most cases, present a direct challenge to how Canadian policy-makers conceptualize human security. Based on the data uncovered during the course of research, the argument is that Canada should rethink its understanding of human security if its efforts are to be effective over the longer term. …

Whither regional peace and security: The DRC after the war

Since the end of the Cold War the international community has become increasingly reticent to become involved in peace missions in Africa although some countries actively train Africans to participate in peacekeeping operations. In the arc which stretches from the Upper Nile basin to Angola, a dozen major wars and twice as many rumbling insurrections continue to cause widespread devastation. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shares common borders with nine countries, and is the centre of a vast web of Sub‐Saharan conflicts. This paper discusses the future of regional peace and security in Central and Southern Africa and identifies challenges facing the region. Some of the constraints faced by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in mounting robust military interventions are identified. The capacity of the South African Development Community (SADC) to deal with the challenge of maintaining peace and security in the region is assessed in light of its recent foray into military enforcement actions and its existing conflict management structures. The paper then examines the broader human security challenges facing both the DRC and the region, and identifies what is required in order to create a more stable environment leading to lasting peace.