Security Predicament Research Articles

Securing Survivability for Urban Poor: A Review on Food Accessibility and Food Affordability

There are multifaceted challenges, including poverty, international and domestic food supply disruptions, labor shortages, global economic crises, natural disasters, and burgeoning global population, precipitating a formidable food security predicament. This predicament manifests in the form of compromised affordability, unreliability in accessibility, and inadequacy of available nutritious sustenance. This study is part of a larger study exploring affordable food supply via accessibility, particularly for the urban poor in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to analyze how policymakers could improve food affordability via food accessibility for the urban poor. This study reports a desktop survey using the systematic literature synthesis process based on the keywords "urban poor", "food accessibility", and "food affordability". The results found that urban poor could improve food security by utilizing their local supply chain (LSC) with a selective coping strategy (CS). The results led to the developing a proposed Urban Poor Secured Survivability Model. This study is significant because the results identified the limitations among the urban poor in accessing nutrient-rich, safe, affordable and quality local food. The benefits of this study include guiding potential local supply chain development with local food resources. It is recommended that future studies develop a local supply chain for urban poor food security and propose a management system to enable its successful implementation.

Abstract Spaces for Intervention in Libya and Nigeria

Abstract How is the space for contemporary interventions constructed? This article deepens our understanding of counterterrorism as a dialectical form of intervention by highlighting the importance of unifying rationalities in the creation of “ungoverned spaces” as abstract spaces for intervention purposes. We combine dialectical and decolonial thinking to track how unifying rationalities in Nigeria and Libya are deployed across cognitive, normative, and operational constructs. The article examines how interventions are cognitively tied to coloniality of knowing, being, and power, which exploit identity, religion, or societal divisions to justify ungovernance and normalize state and foreign violence. The simultaneous and reciprocal globalization of local security concerns and localization of global security predicaments facilitates the formation of abstract spaces for counterterrorism purposes. Empirically, our analysis shows how portraying Libya and Nigeria as ungoverned creates a void of meaning, putting external actors in charge of restoring governance and protecting human security, modernity, and civility. Interveners in Libya contributed to normalizing a broader spectrum of violence, frequently internalized by competing actors through their normative tropes. In Nigeria, state and foreign interventionism and counterinsurgency have been responsible for the widespread use of violence against entire communities.

Horizoning recent trends in the security of smart cities: Exploratory analysis using latent semantic analysis

The expeditious advancement and widespread implementation of intelligent urban infrastructure have yielded manifold advantages, albeit concurrently engendering novel security predicaments. Examining current patterns in the security of smart cities is paramount in comprehending nascent risks and formulating efficacious preventative measures. The present study suggests the utilization of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) as a means to scrutinize and reveal implicit semantic associations within a collection of textual materials pertaining to the security of smart cities. Through the process of gathering and pre-processing pertinent textual data, constructing a matrix that represents the frequency of terms within documents, and utilizing techniques that reduce the number of dimensions, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) has the ability to uncover concealed patterns and associations among concepts related to security. This study proposes five recommendations for future research that employ a topic modeling technique to investigate the often-explored subjects related to smart city security. This discovery provides additional evidence in favor of the proposition that a robust blockchain-driven framework is vital for the advancement of smart cities. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) offers important insights into the dynamic landscape of smart city security by employing several techniques such as pattern recognition, document or phrase clustering, and result visualization. Through the examination of patterns and developments, individuals in positions of political authority, urban planning, and security knowledge possess the ability to uphold their proficiency, render judicious choices substantiated by empirical data, and establish proactive strategies aimed at preserving the security, privacy, and sustainability of intelligent urban environments.

Information and modern technologies as an asymmetric threat to state security. Philosophical perspective.

ObjectivesRapid evolution and progress in computer sciences present new determinants for informational technologies. The universal knowledge based on Mathematics and Computer science exploring processes in information dissemination, should be persistently analyzed. Its focus on practical applicability presents various problems and new possibilities for the field of Security Studies, adding new categories to its research interests, that should be constantly defined and redefined. And what is the objective of the article.Material and methodsThe descriptive methodology used in the article is limited to a presentation of philosophical categories, as it allows for defining of chosen problems that correspond, upon analysis, to asymmetric threats mounting from IT evolution.ResultsThe predicaments of technological evolution in view o the categories arising through philosophical focus, presented here by authors and as applied in Security studies, point to definitions and associated categories of potential dangers that IT progress may entail. Hence, the presentation of three categories analyzed – information, communication, asymmetric threat, and the following analysis of categories of threats with asymmetric values, as a potential nuisance and danger to state security, related to those categories.ConclusionsAnd as is concluded, the new developments, as discussed in the article, present challenges for state security and are presently evolving. Hence, those should be constantly categorized and associated with security predicaments – active and potential.

Security Predicament of Syrian Refugees Through Gender Lens in Line with EU–Turkey Joint Action Plan 2015

War has numerous repercussions for each gender. In the instances of war-induced displacement, both genders are usually subject to intensive risks in their journey as refugees, from reaching destined countries through dangerous routes to gender differences and inequalities they face in the host countries. The tales of agony and calamity shed light on the fact that the refugee crisis is very much a crisis for both genders not limited to one gender. Since the Second World War, the Middle East has been regarded as the world’s most conflict-prone region. Continuous Wars and civil wars have always raised questions about human threats and Syria is not exceptional. As a consequence of the Syrian civil war which was started in 2011, 13.5 million Syrians substituting for more than half of Syria’s population are deracinated, destitute or confined in difficult to access areas. Tens of thousands of Syrians have fled their nation in search of safety and access to essential amenities. Many Syrians choose to reach Europe other than Middle East countries as their destination to get asylum where they risk their lives by making the dangerous journey through the Mediterranean Sea route and both men and women face different refugee predicaments throughout their journey. At the same time, the European Union (EU) is playing a significant role in managing the Syrian Crisis, although it has been facing a remarkable advent of refugees and migrants. In 2015, the EU and Turkey officially followed a joint ‘Action Plan’, which mainly aimed to deter the gargantuan influx of outcasts and transients into the EU. However, the plan has faced a lot of criticism which argued that although the EU presented as a humanitarian actor in dealing refugee crisis, it is trying to push its responsibilities towards Turkey. Against this backdrop, this article has examined the crisis faced by the Syrian refugees after the adoption of the joint action plan. Further, it has analysed, if the said joint action plan has made their refugee journey more complicated in the EU by adding new challenges for both Syrian men and women differently.

Abolishing Military and Cultivating Pacifism in Costa Rica: Reflective but Limited Peace?

Existing literature on peace, security and civil-military relations in Latin America only recently recognises the historical institutional sources of Costa Rican exceptionalism. While the Cold War's security predicament and the military dictatorship are common antecedents for most Central American states, Costa Rican demilitarisation and pacifism origins are unique and incomparable. Rather than treating post-1948 civil war development as exceptionalism, this paper seeks to normalise their success. The paper examines the political development of Costa Ricans in the 1950s and whether José María Hipólito Figueres Ferrer's historic decision to permanently abolish the military after the war helped to explain the institutionalisation process of organic civilian peace. While Costa Rican decisions to abandon its defence rights are always romanticised as "progressive" and an anomaly during the Cold War. The reality of relations between military abolishment, pacifism and democratic peace is multidimensional and complex. To perpetuate illogical pacificism reflections from Costa Rica in the 1950s and prescribes into present arguments for global democratic peace is somewhat imprecise. Drawing from years of research on Security in Latin America, this article reinvigorates Costa Rican exceptionalism. It analyses the cultivation of pacificism of those that have made the right choices in the face of adverse circumstances. Considering the historical institutional approach in researching local peace history, the paper illustrates a critical juncture that set peculiar peace formation, the path-dependent that ends the war, and the eventual decision to abolish the military in Costa Rica. The path dependence on national progress in education, health, and productivity only confirmed the unique political trajectory of Costa Rica, wherein they cannot be easily replicated or comparable. Understanding this distinctiveness should serve as a reminder of any renewed debate of Costa Rican exceptionalism in Central American security or democratic peace theory in liberal peacebuilding.

Followership Complicity in Insecurity in Nigeria: A Case in Femi Osofisan’s Aringindin and the Nightwatchmen

Insurgency, kidnap for ransom, banditry, herdsmen-farmers clash, and gruesome killing of individuals have become quotidian security realities in contemporary Nigeria. Scholarly approach to this concern has often resulted in criticism domiciled only at leadership while neglecting the role of the followership in this security predicament. This paper is therefore designed to examine the representations of the complicity of the people in insecurity using Femi Osofisan’s Aringindin and the Nightwatchmen (2002) as a case study. The investigation combines a deliberate look at the dramaturgical devices employed by Osofisan to enhance this representation. Georg Lukacs’s theory of literary realism and Achille Mbembe’s model of the Postcolonial theory are adopted as the framework for the study to unravel the complicity of the people. At the same time, the method applied is the interpretive design and the socio-artistic approach to literary criticism. Osofisan deploys dramatic metaphor, aesthetics of masking, Orunmila motif, and Satire to unmask the villains who mystify efforts to address insecurity and throw the state in a nightmare. The revelations are incredible even as vigilantism is deconstructed. The play points attention to the need to carefully examine proposals on ending insecurity in Nigeria while also contributing to emerging scholarship on investigating the followers with regards to their contribution to their disillusionment.

AFRICOM and the Burdens of Securitisation in Africa

This article aims at analyzing the nature and role of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in the governance security in Africa. It depended on secondary data, which were obtained from journals, newspapers, books, and annual reports on the activities of the Command. A combination of thematic, content and historical methods of data analysis was used to interpret and explain the nature, role, and challenges of AFRICOM in the governance of security in Africa. Guided by the theory of securitization, the results indicate that the nature of AFRICOM’s security governance reflects continuity and change in the United States' militarism in Africa and the evolving character of the securitization order in the continent since the events of 9/11. The analysis shows that the securitization role of AFRICOM involves competitive militarisation strategically designed to contain the rising economic and political influence of China on the continent. Yet, its counterterrorism operations fall short of addressing the structural sources of Africa’s security predicaments. In these contexts, AFRICOM’s activities have had little or any significant impact on the protection of life and property in Africa. In fact, by articulating and reproducing Africa as security deficient and security dependent on the West, the concept and activities of AFRICOM broadly constitute a phase in the genealogies of coloniality of Western militarism and securitization in the continent.

The ‘Homeland Security Moment’ in International Politics: Implications for the Third World

This article attempts to understand the emergence of the idea of homeland security in the US in the recent past, the attendant security praxis, and its impact on the Third World security (predicament). It maps the journey of the idea of homeland security—from a US-specific domestic policy framework to a globalizing security framework. It is argued that in the emerging security understanding, the concerns of Third World countries, which were getting some global attention in the past few decades through the concepts like human security and societal security, have been marginalized. By referring to security-related policy changes in other countries, the article explains the US efforts to export this new understanding of security to the Third World and its long-term implications. As the homeland security paradigm and practices make their way into many developing countries, understanding the ‘homeland security moment’ from the perspective of the latter is of crucial significance to gauge their security predicament in the newer context.

The South African security predicament: making sense of the objective realities

This article reflects an effort to make sense of the objective realities of the SouthAfrican security predicament. The objective realities on the security agenda are rootedin the practical reality of experience and are open for public discussion, debate andspeculation. These realities are informed by the threats facing South Africans on adaily basis. Government provides security with subjective content to the extent thatpolitical power demarcates the threat agenda, prioritises the items on the threat agenda,and foots the security bill. Since the creation of the Union in 1910, South Africa hashad to find a balance between the security realities emanating from three key securitydomains – irrespective of the ruling entity: security threats from outside Africa, thosethreats facing the country from within Africa, and security threats from within theborders of South Africa. The article aims at a scholarly demarcation of some of the mostcritical, important, and key features of the South African security agenda using thesethree domains as a framework for discussion. On a secondary level, the discussion alsocritically reflects on the ability of the human security paradigm to address the SouthAfrican security predicament.

Security sector spending and public safety in South Sudan, 2006–2018

ABSTRACT This analysis draws from security and state spending data to measure the human security experience in South Sudan. The results show a more volatile security environment following independence. Defence expenditure and human security, as measured in the number of insecurity episodes, are unrelated. Descriptive evidence indicates that human security and security expenditure tend to vary unpredictably over time, a signal that security sector spending is unresponsive to the country's security predicaments. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models suggest the same: security sector spending does not contain local insecurity. Instead, more defence investment seems to correlate with insecurity; an additional 1% spent on security translates to at least 60 deaths. This finding reflects the importance of reviewing South Sudan's security sector in order to properly situate the reforms currently outlined in Chapter II of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). As these reforms get implemented, security sector expenditures need strict oversight, with improved accountability measures integrated to minimise inefficiencies and foster sustainable socioeconomic and security results. Lastly, recent improvements in the security situation, as represented by significant reductions in violence, should be strategically leveraged to enable greater public confidence and trust in the recently inaugurated R-ARCSS.

Egyptian National Security and the Perils of Egyptian–Libyan Border Management

In this post-9/11 age, marked by international terrorism, militant non-state actors have created a world of insecurity, challenging international borders by constructing numerous national security issues. These international demarcation lines have been upheld by international conventions and treaties that have been established over the past decades. However, the fluid movement of people and goods, specifically jihadi militants and weapons, through borders in recent years has created both national and transnational security concerns. Nowhere is this problem more relevant than in the Middle East, and more so at the Libyan–Egyptian border. This research paper assesses the current security and policy problems of the Egyptian–Libyan border from Egypt’s national security perspective and the movement of ISIS militants across this border, which inevitably impacts Egypt’s Eastern border in the Sinai Peninsula. The present actions of international assistance of the United Nations and European Union member states are discussed regarding their negotiation initiatives in Libya. Egypt’s alternative approach is discussed, whereby it is taking charge, whether multi- or unilaterally, of the security predicament by effectively policing this porous border. In effect, this paper analyzes Egypt’s insistence on implementing its traditional notions of security, thereby ensuring it remains in a position of power.

Changing borders in a changing region: the civilian dimension and security predicament along the Syrian-Israeli border

ABSTRACTThe Syrian civil war – which has largely ended following bloody 8 years – serves as a prime case study of mechanisms which challenge border realities, as well as geography and demography, through engagement of manifold internal and external actors. This article discusses these processes and their implications by focusing on the Syro-Israeli borderland. It analyses the main actors and their motives, geography of interactions, as well as implications for humanitarian situation and security considerations. It is argued that while the dynamics in the Syro-Israeli borderland have several unique characteristics, they also point to a broader process of re-drawing borderlands and lines of influence in the Middle East region.

Regional security dilemma for Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea

ABSTRACT This article examines the regional security predicaments surrounding Ethiopia’s access to the sea and thus to international markets for foreign trade. It takes regional stability and wealth as key variables for exploring the security dilemma caused by Ethiopia being landlocked in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. The findings of the qualitative analysis of secondary data suggest that intra- and extra-regional conflicts, weak intra-regional trade and poor infrastructure are the major obstacles to the country’s sea access and foreign trade. These problems exist despite (arguably weak) attempts at regional peacebuilding and trade and infrastructure development through external assistance and funding. Thus, strengthening such efforts remains a viable remedy for the regional dilemmas related to Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea.

War Economy, Governance and Security in Syria’s Opposition-Controlled Areas

This paper explores links between the war economy and civilian security by using evidence from the three opposition-held areas in Syria. The study of Eastern Ghouta, Daraa and Atareb shows how different type of behavior by non-state armed groups engaged in criminal war economy, shaped by the broader war economy conditions, impacts on the ability of the local populations to address their security predicaments. Our findings will challenge the assumption prevalent in the scholarship on the war economy that civilian security is unequivocally undermined by insurgents’ criminal war economy dealings. We show that in some local contexts a diverse range of economic choices and actors provide the local population with more opportunities to develop coping strategies by engaging in different parts of the war economy.

Unsolved murders and the investigative failures of the Nigerian police force: Security and sociopolitical implications

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the systemic failures of the Nigerian police force to unravel the mysteries surrounding homicides in the country, along with the security, social and political implications of the ongoing trend. The article draws on documented pieces of evidence of high-profile murders, along with the causes of the upsurge in murder incidences and the inhibitive factors relating to the investigative procedures of the police. The suitability of the theory of subaltern realism and the concept of third-world security predicaments in explaining the peculiarities of Nigeria’s internal security challenges is examined, along with the problems of the legitimacy of political regimes and weak borders. There is a need for the National Assembly of Nigeria to exercise its constituted powers in reawakening and supervising investigations into dormant cases of murder through its committees on police affairs, public safety and national security. The police should check its organisational failures, which may be related to using the wrong investigative approaches, low levels of information, limited resources, corrupt practices, and pressure to obtain quick results.

Tehnologija i ljudska bezbednost - izazovi i prilike

There is a close relationship between scientific and technological developments and human security issues due to the revolutionary impact of new technologies on different aspects of lives of human beings. However, while modern technology undeniably brings a number of advantages to people, it has also some negative implications for the life of individuals. Therefore, it will be important to examine the bright (opportunity) and dark (challenge) sides of new technologies through the lens of human security due to the increasing impact of technological developments on security realm and lack of relevant literature. Indeed, there are concerns about security risks stemming from the possible misuse of science and technology. For example, while surveillance technologies lead to personal insecurities, unequal distribution of technology jeopardizes socio-economic problems of people, especially in less-developed parts of the world. Therefore, Janus-faced feature of new technologies should be taken into consideration in order to analyse and comprehend their impact on human-beings and their security predicaments.

Reconsidering the Security Predicament of Weak States in the Context of Human Security and Societal Security

Reconsidering the Security Predicament of Weak States in the Context of Human Security and Societal Security

The Third World security predicament and state building in Romania. The question of railway infrastructure, 1869–1989

Apart from laying an exaggerate emphasis on the systemic level of analysis at the expense of the unit level, Wallerstein’s world-system theory disregards completely the question of stateness in the peripheral areas. The latter ones have been explored only from an economical perspective and thus the political and security aspects have been utterly overlooked by Wallerstein who has paid little heed to what Mohammed Ayoob has termed the “third world security predicament”, a trope that basically refers to either lack of stateness or very low capacity states in peripheral areas. Wallerstein’s undetailed perspective is hardly surprising considering that his world-system theory was meant to be a heuristic surrogate, couched in economic terms, for Mackinders’ famous Heartland perspective. We argue that lack of stateness in peripheral areas has decreased the ability of local power centers to legitimate themselves at home and participate effectively in the world politics. At the same time, low bureaucratic accumulation specific to peripheral areas has made the regional states vulnerable to external pressures. Thus, due to this high political permeability, the peripheral state elites have become obsessed with the issue of security couched rather in a modern fashion, i. e. with a focus on political and military aspects, and less in a post-modern way, i.e. with little emphasis on economic, societal and environmental aspects. Therefore, in the security imaginary of peripheral state elites, local vulnerabilities have always played a more significant role than external threats. Our article argues that the infrastructure state, as an expression of political centralism, has developed in Romania mainly around the railway infrastructure, which has played a preeminent role in comparison to road infrastructure throughout most of the twentieth century. We argue that the asymmetry between railway and road infrastructure in Romania has showed the obsession of the local elite with the issue of political security, which is understandable considering the late emergence of politically centralized state in most of the peripheral areas. The main line of inquiry of this article suggests that by tracing the development of railway infrastructure one could measure the evolution of the state building process in Romania. Moreover, the article addresses the beginning of the railway infrastructure’s securitization process, which started once the Romanian state became politically independent in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The securitization of the railway infrastructure started at a time when Romania met the institutional conditions that impelled the state building process in Latin America, namely internal and external political stability added to a state project backed by the political elite. The article also examines the reasons behind the securitization process of the railway infrastructure in Romania. The main objective was to shore up political centralization, and this is why local and regional initiatives regarding railway infrastructure were forbidden by law whilst public policies consistently developed railway infrastructure at the expense of road infrastructure. The article argues that security dilemma was another important reason behind the securitization of railway infrastructure in Romania.

Genocide and the ending of war: Meaning, remembrance and denial in Srebrenica, Bosnia

The occurrence of genocide during war is a serious security predicament facing humanity in modern times, producing civilian casualties measured in millions. The persistence of this heinous crime renders imperative understanding of the effects of genocide in the course of war and its aftermath, effects that this paper examines in the context of the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995—the darkest moment in European history since the Holocaust. In contributing to a deeper understanding of the relationship between genocide, war, and peace, the paper demonstrates how the Srebrenica genocide has been a factor both in the ending of the Bosnian War and the constitution of inter-ethnic relations in the ensuing peace. The analysis is grounded on a critical examination of the concept of genocide and its close connection with war. When embedded on asymmetrical relations of power, war can be conducive to genocide because it creates organizational, political, and psychological conditions that facilitate large scale killing of targeted people. Whilst in the course of war genocide benefits the perpetrators, in the aftermath of fighting genocide can lend credence to the victims’ community demands for recognition, accountability and redress. At the same time, the perpetrators and their community—frequently—deny genocide with the view to avoiding responsibility and reparations. The instrumental utility of genocide reflects rationales that go at the heart of enhancement of national identity and (contested) claims for political authority and legitimacy. More than twenty years after the Srebrenica genocide, these competitive and divisive claims do not bode well for Bosnia’s societal cohesion and transition to sustainable peace.