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Human Security – concepts and challenges in Turkey and the western Balkans

Human Security – concepts and challenges in Turkey and the western Balkans . hCa , Istanbul 19 th February, 2013 Mary Martin . What do we mean by ‘human security’? 2 ways of looking at it . 1. WHO? People – humanising security HOW ?

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Human Security – concepts and challenges in Turkey and the western Balkans

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  1. Human Security – concepts and challenges in Turkey and the western Balkans hCa , Istanbul 19th February, 2013 Mary Martin

  2. What do we mean by ‘human security’?2 ways of looking at it 1. WHO? • People – humanising security HOW ? • Means are as important as goals ; human security as an approach as well as an end state WHAT? • The importance of everyday life; interconnected threats; justice • -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, and Right to Dignity • Focus on what kind of humans as well as what kind of harms ‘

  3. The European Union and HS • Barcelona Report + a Human Security Doctrine – which capabilities? • Madrid Report – how to deploy capabilities? • External relations, but internal dilemmas • Post Lisbon Treaty – what role for HS? • In the Neighbourhood • To complement national security and defence • As a domestic policy? Greece, the Balkans?

  4. A framework: 5 principles • Primacy of human rights • Which rights – positive and negative • how are they threatened? • Who should defend them ? • Rule of law , not rule of war/corruption • Focus on individual need not macro indicators

  5. 2. Legitimate political authority • Aim is credible and trust-worthy institutions – make people feel safe • Focus on creating space for life as usual • Not necessarily re-creating the state • Local and regional governance • Accountability • External assistance must also be scrutinised

  6. 3. Bottom-up approach • Sustainable – outsiders can only help not deliver • Requires local knowledge, representation participation and accountability mechanisms • Real empowerment versus token capacity building • Increased roles for women • Attention to youth , minorities

  7. 4. Effective multilateralism • Commitment to work with others • Commitment to rules/norms • Should build not erode legitimacy • Synthesis and inter-operability versus duplication and rivalry • End to ‘stove-pipe’ mentality

  8. 5. Regional focus • Focus on wider connections of conflicts • Existing dialogue emphasises ‘states’ • How to engage the neighbourhood • Not just as source of threat but also opportunity eg justice, economic initiatives

  9. Policy implications • Stability or sustainability? • Rule of law • Security @individual level = empowerment • Justice, inclusion • a strong civil society - accountability • Macro economic measures- GDP/currencies • Plus ....Issues of crime, jobs, micro credit

  10. ‘GOOD’ POLICIES • Granular Leading to • Organic • Opportunity • Dignity

  11. The challenges of a human security approach addressing complexity • Grey areas • Coping mechanisms and survival strategies – heroic or harmful? • Presence of ambiguous and contradictory markers of human security • Radical shifts in perceptions • Dialogues to manage complexity? clashes between principles: - the need for trade-offs : eg human rights versus bottom up , universal norms vsparticularist cultures -legitimating political authority : who decides? - Choices should be deliberative and transparent

  12. The state and HS • Complementary or competitive? • The paradox of HS – challenges the state but also needs to collaborate with it • Who should deliver HS? • Can the state be co-opted ? • Re-aligning priorities and powers

  13. Other challenges • Coping with messy outcomes • Undesirable and unintended consequences • No neat edges – systematic not systemic • Ownership of process and results • Balance between universal templates and local translation • Technical assistance or political intervention? • HS is deeply political • Outcomes are important as well as process • How to avoid the ‘Twin Peaks’ • No added value • HS as a technology of governance/biopolitics

  14. Lessons (not learned) fromthe Balkans experience • Legitimacy→ De jure AND de facto • Legacy → integrated, sustainable programmes; including the private sector • Coherence → Making multilateralism effective – stakeholder identification and engagement Agreement on objectives approaches narratives • Timeframes → benchmarking evaluation, accountability Continuous assessment

  15. Unemployment, and creating legitimate occupations Reshaping the social safety net and the political contract An inclusive society The affective dimension – hope, optimism, managing expectations HS Challenges in the region • Different levels and types of vulnerability • Managing the transition • Question of capacity or will? • Legacy: Security services; arms • Crime and porous borders • _________ ____ ____________ __________ __ __________ • ____ ______ • ___ ___ ______________ • _________ ___________ • _____ ______ ____ • ____ _______ _________

  16. Some ideas for thematic research • A regional security sector reform programme along HS lines? • Access to justice • Involve and stimulate the private sector • HS can also apply to business • What kind of civil society ? • Citizen networks • Dialogue and grass roots representation • Exploiting new technologies – countering marginalisation

  17. Doing HS – research methods • Good research is research conducted with people rather than on people • changing the perspective of the researcher to achieve • a different ethical position • a different kind of knowledge • unleash social, political processes of change

  18. Participatory Action Research (PAR) • PR/PAR = attempts to address power imbalances + oppressive social structures • Between researcher and subject • Between outside observer and inside actor • Between priveleged and underpriveleged/powerful and powerless

  19. Power of the researcher: • Select who has knowledge • Which type of knowledge to include • Ask questions • Interpret data Risks to communities?

  20. PR -Values the researched community as a vital part of the research project and its members as experts of their experiences [ Grant, Nelson, Mitchell] • ‘The role of PR is to enable people to empower themselves through the construction of their own knowledge in a process of action or reflection or conscientisation’ [Freire]

  21. Doing research as though people matter • What harms? Which humans? • What’s wrong with surveys? • Need to address power imbalances • A dialogic approach • Open ended conversations • 2 level translation • Multidirectional security markers

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