Course information

Human security is a key pillar for global peace and security. This module assesses the local meanings and efficacy of human security in promoting peace and security particularly in the Global South(s). It attempts to answer pertinent questions such as:
What is human security? Do conceptions of human security differ between the Global South(s) and the Global North(s)? What are the pathways through which human security impacts on peace and security in the Global South? Is there a distinction between human rights and human security and which one promises lasting peace in the Global South(s)? What are some of the approaches for overcoming threats to human security in the Global South(s) and do they differ from the Global North(s)? What are some of the sustainable indigenous methods of conflict resolution that create and reinforce local meanings of justice, human rights and human security in the Global South (s)? Are there still some dominating instruments of peace from the Global North(s) affecting the realisation of human security and transformations of conflicts in the Global South(s)? By exploring these and other questions, the module offers an insight into the ways in which global peace and security can be enhanced by shifting the focus of security from the protection of the state to the protection of individuals from a range of threats to their daily survival (which can be caused by states or non-state actors).