Pardee-CFLP-Remittances-TF-Report

Because of its focus on the multidimensional aspects of sustainable peacebuilding,the human security approach has profoundly impacted global policiesof interventionism in armed conflicts: “Bringing together security, political,humanitarian, and economic goals, the multi-dimensional approach of peacebuildinghas spawned a variety of practices, including the disarmament andsocial reintegration of combatants, the reform of the security sector, demining,the negotiation of peace accords, the organisation of elections, the establishmentof independent legal systems, the repatriation of refugees, the promotionof human rights, and the framing of economic development strategies” (Therien2012, 206). With its focus on post-conflict participatory institution-building ratherthan military protection, the post-interventionist approach 6 to human securityhighlights local resilience as a key to sustainable peace-building (Chandler 2012).Defined as “the capacity to positively or successfully adapt to external problemsor threats,” the concept of resilience draws attention to a subject who is an activeagent, capable of self-transformation (Chandler 2012, 217). Instead of treatingconflict-affected populations as victims in need of external protection, the resilienceparadigm to human security places an emphasis on broader institutionalframework for the management of security concerns through local empowermentand participatory capacity building (Chandler 2012). The focus on multifacetedlocal development over military-strategic considerations in the securitydiscourse has opened up new spaces of collaboration including the state, policymakers and military specialists, but also “’non-traditional’ actors, such as localcivil society organizations, women groups and international NGOs” (Frerks andGoldewijk 2007, 28). 7 The multi-sided participatory post-conflict developmentapproach advocated by the human security discourse therefore draws attentionto the importance of cooperation among a wide range of transnational and localactors and the issues of sectorial and institutional coordination in post-conflictdevelopment.6 Human-centered approaches to security have sometimes been criticized for a narrow focus on armed protectionand military intervention, together with an emphasis on individual rights and economic objectives that maycome at the expense of equality and social goals. To address these potential pitfalls, there has been an increasingemphasis in policymaking on long-term strategies to prevent insecurity and vulnerability that may lead to violence.The “interventionist” paradigm to the protection of human rights of the 1990s is increasingly being replaced bya “post-interventionist” paradigm that recognizes the importance of jointly shared responsibility for peace andlong-term development.7 One example of the increasing and multi-faceted global cooperation that is framed by the concept of humansecurity is the United Nations Millennium Development Goals that set strategies for the reduction of human globalpoverty by analyzing the causes of diverse kinds of insecurity and allocating multi-sided responsibilities for achievingthe entitlements of the individuals in poor countries: “The human security approach engenders the collaborationnecessary between diverse kinds of national governments, multilateral governing bodies and NGOs in order tobring them together around a common goal of increasing individual securities” (Goldsworthy 2010, 453).12 A Pardee Center Task Force Report | October 2013