The crisis of overdose deaths in British Columbia (BC) continues into its seventh year. This thesis applies a human security lens to a mixed methods computer-assisted discourse analysis on a corpus of public-facing documents from drug enforcement organizations in BC, and one from community-run harm reduction organizations in BC. Analysis uses a “What is the Problem Represented to Be”? (WPR) approach to analyze conflicting conceptual logics and answer the question “What human security problems are constructed in Harm Reduction and Enforcement discourses surrounding the crisis of overdose deaths in British Columbia?” Conclusion: Both corpora construct different problematizations. Whereas enforcement discourses emphasize criminality and proximal substance use harms, harm reduction discourses look at enforcement as a structural threat to people who use drugs. / Graduate / 2023-08-17

No / UN peacekeeping is once again undergoing a period of intense critical scrutiny. Having passed through three major phases of development, from first (classical or traditional) to second (multidimensional) generation configurations, to a third phase in the mid- and late 1990s when peace support operations emerged, it currently faces another period of transition. This article speculates about the possible configuration of peacekeeping and its role in global politics. Debates about the role of peacekeeping in the international system should bring to the forefront a conception and practice of cosmopolitan peacekeeping, involving a capacity to protect civilians from violent conflict (the negative peace dimension) and a the capacity to address the human security agenda adopted by the UN in recent years.

Rural Haiti provides an excellent case to study the human security crisis threatening women. Haitian women are often single mothers, leading average households of 4-6. In elected positions, female leadership is seldom recognized. With only 3.5% of parliament comprised of female leaders, policies decided at the state level seldom address the challenges women face in the countryside (HDI, 2017). Haiti has the highest mortality rate for children below the age of 5 and expectant mothers in the Western Hemisphere (WHO, 2017). This crisis is a significant one. When a mother struggles, both her life and her child's are threatened. Yet the human security crisis is not all we can learn from rural Haiti. We can also examine the unique ways women have chosen to respond to this crisis and the potential for female democratic agency. There is a significant lack of elected female officials in Haiti. This fact invites us to consider the impact rural Haitian females, such as the famn chay, are potentially making in Haiti. Famn chay are traditional birth attendants who assist mothers in their home deliveries. They are also first responders in times of crisis, providing meals to hungry families and using their collective resources to benefit children in need. Some famn chay, I suggest, are promoting an innovative form of democratic agency through their local community council, konsey kominote. Such form of agency does not focus on formal mechanisms of representation. Instead, threatened by growing social and income inequalities, this particular group has chosen to organize to address the human security crisis currently threatening women in rural Haiti. / MA / The human security crisis threatening women and children in rural Haiti has motivated Haitian traditional birth attendants known as the famn chay, to generate a response relative to the crisis and generate social change. This crisis is a significant one. When a mother struggles in childbirth, both the life of her and her child’s are threatened. Women in rural Haiti also face gender and economic inequalities. Despite these realities, the famn chay have chosen to mobilize and create what is known as a konsey kominote. Konsey kominote are community groups found throughout rural Haiti and are a key entry points for citizen engagement for many rural Haitians. This study seeks to examine the unique ways the famn chay have chosen to respond to the crisis through their konsey kominote and the potential for female democratic agency. There is a significant lack of elected female officials in Haiti. The historical roots of female gender discrimination stretch as far back as Haiti’s independence. By researching the impact rural Haitian females, such as the famn chay, are making in Haiti, we can begin to discover the potential for female democratic agency existing in rural Haiti.

Thesis (M.A. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Human security (HS) came about as a result of a number of international developments that triggered risks threatening the wellbeing, security and survival of human beings. In that regard, HS shifted away from exclusive concerns with the state towards individual citizens. This study examined HS challenges in Zimbabwe from 2008 to 2017. A qualitative research methodology and exploratory design was employed for that purpose. The study also employed realism as a theory to analyse the research problem. Data was derived exclusively from secondary sources. Various HS categories were used to exam Zimbabwe. These included food, health and political security. Furthermore, the study assessed the impact of HS threats on the welfare and day to day life of Zimbabweans. In doing so, it highlighted how a denial of basic human rights undermined the security of citizens. It concluded by suggesting a number of policy recommendations, which could stem the massive poverty that now characterises that country. Among others, these include consciously cultivating respect for human rights and democracy and good governance. This effort must be followed by programmes geared at improving the socio-economic circumstances of all Zimbabweans irrespective of their political affiliation. Regional, continental and broader global organisations must commit and help Zimbabwe rebuild itself economically and politically as well.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is conclusive that climate change will lead to scarcity of the basic resources that sustain life for people around the world – fresh water supplies, food production and land for habitation and cultivation. It is argued that environmental scarcity leads to migration which in turn results in conflict in the receiving area as competition over resources develops. Based on the main theories relating to resource scarcity and conflict, the purpose of this study is to examine the link between climate change and human security. The relevance of this research is the fact that the Stern Review concludes that climate change poses a serious threat to the world and that Africa will be one of the hardest hit continents. Africa is already vulnerable to climate variability and has the least capacity to respond, and this study aims to establish the impacts of resource scarcity on human security in South Africa. The theoretical approach addresses the much debated concept of ‘human security’ as it has developed since the end of the Cold War and the analysis is based on the main conflict theories that maintain that competition over access to scarce resources is one of the root causes of violent conflict. The research design for this study is of an empirical nature with the units of analysis being states, physical events and processes and the resulting human actions. It is a descriptive analysis, interpreting the impact of climate change on scarce resources and the resulting propensity for conflict. Much of the violence against migrants has been the result of varying degrees of xenophobia amongst all racial groups in South Africa. This study proposes the hypothesis that migration results in increased competition over scarce resources in receiving areas, which as a result of xenophobia leads to conflict. Based on the theoretical arguments put forward, the paper aims to determine what policy options for adaptation, mitigation and governance would be most likely to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change on vulnerable regions and groups of people in South Africa and neighbouring countries in order to contain migration and lessen the likelihood of violent conflict. Having identified xenophobia as a spark that could ignite violent inter-group conflict it would be useful to gain some theoretical insight into reducing group prejudice and attaining group cooperation through inter-group contact. It is apparent that there is no single theoretical approach that can be applied to gain a better insight into the complex link between resource scarcity and conflict. The different theories are mutually compatible and each theoretical perspective contributes a partial elaboration to and additional insights into the climate change/conflict hypothesis. There is possibly room for a new theoretical approach to gain a better understanding of the complexity and the uncertainties that are inherent in the study of a mechanism as complex as climate change. South Africa has the responsibility to use its global political influence to promote a shared understanding of responsible behaviour across all societies. Active participation will enable South Africa to guide global negotiations towards outcomes that will lessen the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable countries and populations. In conclusion, possible policies and actions are identified that could support these objectives. Without urgent, appropriate intervention climate change will undermine any efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and a crippled African continent will be a threat to world security.

Securitisation theory has made significant contributions to security studies. However, the theory is not without theoretical and empirical shortcomings. Notably, a lack of operationalisation and differentiation has led to a binary classification of results as either ‘securitised or not’. In addition, the presence of Euro-centric assumptions has weakened the theory’s applicability in non-Western contexts. This thesis develops a new framework featuring a typology with eight branches of securitisation. The thesis then uses that framework to study HIV/AIDS securitisation in two Asian countries: China and India. The process of HIV/AIDS securitisation in both countries is illustrated chronologically. Following the international HIV/AIDS securitisation obtained in 2000, the study shows that HIV/AIDS has been fully securitised by both national governments since 2004. However, the Chinese government addressed HIV/AIDS through a stand-alone programme, whereas India’s national HIV/AIDS programme was integrated into its primary health care system. Six cities were included in the detailed empirical analysis: Beijing, Shanghai, and Kunming in China, and New Delhi, Mumbai, and Imphal in India. Semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst 62 individuals working in HIV/AIDS-related non-governmental organisations, and 10 officials working in government agencies. Chinese respondents were receptive to framing the threat and handling of HIV/AIDS, yet many grassroots organizations lacked opportunities to participate in the national HIV/AIDS programme. In contrast, such groups were strongly involved in national HIV/AIDS interventions; however, Indian government efforts in fully securitising HIV/AIDS were largely faded out. The thesis therefore responds to the major theoretical and empirical shortcomings identified by security scholars. The thesis also advances the existing knowledge of security studies in general, and HIV/AIDS securitisation processes in the non-Western world in particular. / published_or_final_version / Humanities and Social Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the use of narratives informed by the discourse of human security in the context of the Colombian conflict during the government of President Alvaro Uribe Velez (2002-2010). Its main contribution is to map the transformation of these narratives from the site of their formulation in the international institutions to the site of their appropriation into domestic settings; and then consider their role in the formation of the actors' strategies and the construction of the subjectivities of the individuals affected by the conflict dynamics. The research proceeds to this analysis through an investigation of the policies for the internally displaced and those relating to the rights of the victims informed by the framework of transitional justice. It shows that, with a combination of narratives of empowerment and reconciliation, they fulfill complementary roles in the construction of the subjectivities of individuals affected by the conflict in Colombia. The dissertation also concludes that the flexibility of the human security discourse allowed the Uribe government to reinforce its position.

The thesis examines Canadian and Japanese human security assemblages. It aims to delve below stereotypical imageries 'representing' these human security articulations. The concept of 'human security' is not a starting point, but a result of elements, processes, structures and mechanisms which need to be investigated in order to reveal insights about a given articulation of human security. Each human security assemblage is composed of messy discourses and practices which are loosely related and sometimes even disconnected. Academics have frequently avoided studying the messiness of political discourses and practices and their mutual dependencies or their lack thereof. By contrast, this thesis ascertains what has lain beneath Canadian and Japanese spatio-temporal articulation of human security and establishes the kinds of structural terrain which have enabled, shaped, or blocked the unfolding of certain versions of human security. The pivotal contention of the thesis is that Canadian and Japanese articulations of human security have been different because they have grown from completely different domestic economies of power governing the relationship between the state apparatus and the non-profit and voluntary sector. While the Canadian human security assemblage has been shaped by transformations in the country's advanced liberal model of government, the Japanese has been shaped by the continuities of Japan's bureaucratic authoritarianism. A novel approach is employed for the related process-tracing: a general series linking structural conditions with actual articulations of the human security projects, and their further development, including analysis of their unintended consequences.

La plupart des conflits aujourd'hui sont menés essentiellement avec des armes légères et de petit calibre. Celles-ci sont les armes privilégiées dans les guerres civiles, le crime organisé et les guerres de gang. L'examen des divers aspects de la question des armes légères met l'accent sur l'incidence négative que ces armes ont sur la sécurité humaine, les droits de l'homme et le développement social et économique, en particulier dans les situations de crise, de conflit et d'après conflit. Lutter contre la prolifération des armes légères exige d'agir sur l'offre et la demande en armements, de se préoccuper des stocks d'armes existants et des flux du commerce des armes, tant au niveau des trafics illicites que de celui des ventes légales. Par ailleurs, la problématique des armes légères doit à la fois être abordée de manière spécifique en fonction des caractéristiques particulières de ce type d'arme, mais aussi être incluse dans la question des stocks et des ventes d'armes conventionnelles en général. Grâce à la volonté de quelques Etats et à la mobilisation de la société civile, une réelle dynamique internationale est née il y a quelques années et devrait aboutir à l’adoption d’un Traité sur le Commerce des Armes en 2012. / Most conflicts today are held essentially with small arms and light weapons. They are the weapons of choice in civil wars, organized crime and gang wars. The consideration of the various aspects of the question of light weapons emphasizes the negative incidence that these weapons have on human security, human rights and social and economic development, in particular in situations of crisis, conflict and post-conflict.Fighting against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons requires to act on the supply and demand in armaments, to control existing stocks of weapons and their flow, both at the level of the illicit traffics and legal sales. Besides, the problem of SALW proliferation must be approached in a specific way according to the particular characteristics of this type of weapon, but they should also be included in the control of conventional arms sales in general.Thanks to the will of some States and to the mobilization of the civil society, a real international dynamic was born a few years ago and should lead to the adoption of an Arms Trade Treaty in 2012.

Previous civil war analyses have approached conflict as a single category with limited exceptions, and this thesis project assesses whether differentiating conflicts by their type and intensity using a local-level geo-referenced analytical approach produces differing results for sub-groups of conflicts. The conflicts are divided into 1) governmental hostilities, where the aim of the armed non-state group is to capture the state, and 2) territorial hostilities, where the aim of the armed non-state group is to capture increased autonomy or secession for a territorial claim. The conflicts are also differentiated by intensity into 1) low-intensity conflicts, with fewer than 1000 battle-related deaths per year, and 2) civil wars, with 1000 or more battle-related deaths per year. The results demonstrate that conflicts with differing insurgent goals and intensities of battle are correlated with markedly different factors. There are three factors – local population density, change in local rainfall, and statewide GDP growth – that are significant to both governmental and territorial hostilities but have opposite signs for the two sets. Only one variable – Polity IV scores – showed a consistently significant correlation for governmental and territorial hostilities. There are no factors that are significant to both low-intensity conflict and higher-intensity civil war. These findings suggest that approaching all conflicts as a single class, particularly at the local level, may not reveal significant differences in factors correlated with conflict. Modeling of local conflict will require differentiation of conflicts into salient sub-groups. For policymakers and practitioners, this research suggests that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach for conflict prevention but that strategies need to be targeted to specific types of conflict.