Page 13 - Empowerment and Protection - Conclusions Chapter

In The Palestinian territories and the Philippines, some have taken up arms to defend themselves against violence. This approach has sometimes triggered retaliation and has militarised communities, creating a new set of security challenges. Both bottom-up empowerment approaches and top-down protective security strategies should be complementary, so that they contribute to rather than diminish each other. The interconnected and multidimensional nature of human security also necessitates complementarity among interconnected sectors, for example, natural resource management and economic policy.
Democratising security
Human security encompasses both an outcome and a process. The outcome is the preservation of citizen life, livelihood, and dignity. The process is a democratic one that requires engaging local people in dialogue on their security perceptions, needs,
Successful human security strategies mediate social conflicts and generate new social capital.
and solutions. Human security calls for opening up security policy formulation to greater democratic participation and to greater accountability to
the rule of law and international human rights. Advancing democracy in the security sphere by empowering citizens to participate in public policy and hold the state accountable is the primary
way that human security strategies transform the relationship of the citizen to the state.
Some argue that human security is a logical extension of democracy and human rights. The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control
of Armed Forces (DCAF) argues that human security is the logical extension of the basic liberal democracy paradigm, where state legitimacy
is based on the ability of the state to protect fundamental individual rights. “States have
responsibility not just to provide for welfare, or representation, but – first and foremost – to ensure the security of their citizens. This is arguably the basic compact or contract that led humanity out
of the Hobbesian anarchy.”4 A similar conclusion
is made in the chapter on Ukraine, which suggests that Ukraine needs a modern ‘demand-driven’ security approach that puts police in the role of service providers rather than armed semi-military forces.
By democratising security, human security strategies also require the transformation of
social relationships beyond the citizen-state relationship. Successful human security strategies mediate social conflicts and generate new social capital. The citizen-led biking initiative started
by activists in northern Mexico is generating
new civic relationships by demonstrating public ownership of public spaces and building public trust and respect. In the Philippines, tribes have overcome longstanding violence through a series of reconciliation ceremonies that rekindle traditional kinship alliances. Civic collaboration has enabled people to engage government more effectively and promote more holistic approaches to deep-seated security problems. Increased civic collaboration
has empowered government to more effectively address the needs of previously polarized social groups. Thus, human security strategies also enable the state to meet diverse security needs more equitably. Democratising security requires that the state and civil society increase collaboration and responsiveness to a more diverse set of groups.
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