Cooperative Security Framework for South Asia: A Sri Lankan Perspective
Abstract
The concept of security has undergone changes over the last two decades as
having the leading concerns of security strategists. Security, today, encompasses
issues such as environmental pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global
warming, the influx of refugees, hierarchical social relations, feminist security,
food security, etc. which fall into the category of “human security” or
“comprehensive security”. The concept of “human security” came into
prominence in the debate following the 1994 Human Development Report of
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP proposed
that the focus should shift from traditional norms of security including nuclear
security to human security. The Report redefined security thus: “For most people,
a feeling of insecurity arises more from worries about daily life than from dread
of a cataclysmic world event... Human security is not a concept with weapons—
it is a concern with human life and dignity.”1 While this concept may be useful
in indicating the variety of human needs that must be satisfied, it is far too
expansive and elastic to be an effective policy goal and does not offer an appealing
alternative to the traditional conception of security.
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