Perceptions on a complex issue
Shahid Alam goes through a strenuous exercise
Human Security Index for South Asia, Exploring Relevant Issues, Abdur Rob Khan, A.K.M. Abdus Sabur, The University Press Limited, BIISS
You could choose to expend this effort: propose in a scholarly undertaking that the security of an ant is a function of human security, send it to UNDP and a host of human security theorists, and the possibility cannot be ruled out that your hypothesis could figure prominently in the glittering array of human security theories and what they entail that have been offered down the years. Or, maybe not! I am being cynical, but, upon going through Human Security Index for South Asia: Exploring Relevant Issues, I am totally bewildered at just how vast a range of topics human security theories cover. Seemingly, almost anything and everything under the sun! Pardon the hyperbole. Just consider what Abdur Rob Khan and A.K.M. Abdus Sabur, security and conflict studies specialists both, have to say: "…the ever-expanding human security agenda have come to include issues as diverse as economic security, personal security, violence, intra-state conflict, ethno-religious conflicts, landmine, terrorism, democracy, human rights, gender, crime, consequences of underdevelopment, poverty, hunger, deprivation, inequality, diseases and health hazards, unchecked population growth, human development, education, market, water, energy, migration, environmental degradation and so on. As a matter of fact, a process of 'securitisation' of a wide range of issues is continuing unabated, while simultaneously, a degree of caution persists with regard to how far the process can proceed." How far it can proceed will depend on how far theorists come up with new additions to the list, and, as things stand, there is no guarantee that the process will end anytime soon. The slim volume does dwell on human security in South Asia (particularly in Chapter 3, "Profiling Human Security in South Asia", and Chapter 5, "A Framework for Human Security Index in South Asia"), but also allocates around the same space to theoretical constructs (Chapter 2, "Human Security: Concept, Scope and Issue Areas", and Chapter 4, "Progress in Constructing a Human Security Index"). Chapters 1 and 6, "Introduction" and "Conclusion", respectively, as the titles indicate, begin and round off the book. A fairly large bibliography would help the interested scholar explore the works cited for gaining further insights into the subject matter. The authors, at the outset, generalize the concept of human security into two broad dimensions of foreign policy: economic development and military security. Elaborating on these aspects, while restricting them within sensibly focused attributes, they go on to say: "The whole gamut of security needs of the individual and people is encapsulated in two fundamental concerns: 'freedom from want' and 'freedom from fear'. The first one emphasizes remedies to all sorts of deprivation --- socio-economic, politico-cultural, health, environmental and so on, while the second one emphasizes on the safety from violence, violent conflicts and their consequences. UNDP, in its Human Development Report 1994, first attempted to articulate human security. While cautioning that a precise quantification of human security might not be possible, it still strongly advocates that it should be carried out in order to determine likely problem countries as "an essential part of preventive diplomacy and an active peace policy." The report defined human security in fairly broad terms: "It means, first, safety from such chronic threats as hunger, disease and repression. And, second, it means protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the pattern of daily life." And that has spawned a slew of definitions to the point where Andrew Mack argues with good reason that "overly broad definitions of human security can block investigation of the very phenomena that need to be understood." Khan and Sabur carry out a partial review of the existing literature on the topic, and, in the chapters on "Profiling Human Security in South Asia", "Progress in Constructing a Human Security Index", and "A Framework for Human Security Index in South Asia", attempt to answer these questions in order to differentiate between human and traditional security: Security for whom? Security of what values? Security from whom? Security from what threats? Security by whom? Security by what means? Noticeable in the literature review is the perplexing array of attempts to define human security that cause more confusion than provide clarification when considered from a holistic concept of security. At the very least, the authors pare down the two security dimensions to their essentials: "While national security needs investment in military, human security needs investment in human development and humane governance." Furthermore, while taking notice that, in the post-World War II period the concept of state security being sustained by military power dominated security studies, and in the post-Cold War period the notion of human security through human development and humane governance has gained prominence, the authors are canny enough to acknowledge that, even in the current world system, "the state-centric security concerns with emphasis on military aspects have not disappeared altogether." To their credit, Khan and Sabur acknowledge that "Perception of 'the vital core', 'all human lives', 'critical and pervasive threats', 'human freedoms' and 'human fulfillment' varies across individuals and societies, in certain cases, considerably." They also do a competent job in taking the reader through some of the institutions dealing with human security existing in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan, but also introduce the caveat that there are no institutions and individuals particularly dedicated to carrying out research, advocacy and policy planning on human security in South Asia. Presumably, the institutions they have identified have a piecemeal or ad hoc approach the matter, but the apparent contradiction discerned in the caveat and the discussion of the institutions is not explained. The authors draw attention to certain realities existing with regard to human security in South Asia. There are other sobering realities that they bring up, which indicate the long-term paramountcy of traditional security thinking in the region: "…even in ensuring human security, the role of the state is of crucial importance…. Its power is hardly controlled or diluted by the effective functioning of civil society. Notwithstanding globalization and privatization, it still controls and, by all indications, will continue to control a significant part of economic resources in very poor societies." Finally, showing up the difficulties associated in developing a universally acceptable and credible Human Security Index, "Apart from objective methodological constraints…different countries and cultures have interpreted risks differently and have attributed varying degrees of significance to them. As a consequence, researchers from a wide diversity of background have not been able to agree on methods for measuring the subjective aspects of human security in a way that can be compared." One might find going through Human Security Index for South Asia: Exploring Relevant Issues a somewhat strenuous exercise, but s/he might also find enough to further explore the relevant issues associated with human security.
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