Civil Society Democratization And The Search For Human Security

This book examines the relationship between civil society and human security in the Indian state of Meghalaya, part of the region known as Northeast India. Civil society has been revived over the last two decades and is now one of the key concepts in development, politics, and international aid. The concept has gained particular significance as part of attempts to analyse and instigate grassroots democratisation through widespread political participation. This is seen as enabling a broader range of issues to be politicised and made a part of political agendas at the local, national, and global levels. However there are few studies that examine the constraints on civil society at the local level, even in contexts where civil society may appear to be active and vibrant. Those studies that do exist tend to focus on the constraints coming from the state, overlooking the constraints that come from within civil society itself. During the same period human security has gained prominence as a challenge to state-centric conceptions of security and as an alternative approach to development by focusing on the security and insecurity of groups and individuals. The concept has been taken up by international organisations, development agencies, and bilateral donors as a more effective way to understand the difficulties people face in their everyday lives that go beyond conventional categories and indicators. In order for those experiencing insecurity to identify and contest the causes of insecurity, participation in civil society is necessary.

There is a real security gap in the world today. Millions of people in regions like the Middle East or East and Central Africa or Central Asia where new wars are taking place live in daily fear of violence. Moreover new wars are increasingly intertwined with other global risks the spread of disease, vulnerability to natural disasters, poverty and homelessness. Yet our security conceptions, drawn from the dominant experience of World War II and based on the use of conventional military force, do not reduce that insecurity; rather they make it worse. This book is an exploration of this security gap. It makes the case for a new approach to security based on a global conversation- a public debate among civil society groups and individuals as well as states and international institutions. The chapters follow on from Kaldors path breaking analysis of the character of new wars in places like the Balkans or Africa during the 1990s. The first four chapters provide a context; they cover the experience of humanitarian intervention, the nature of American power, the new nationalist and religious movements that are associated with globalization, and how these various aspects of current security dilemmas have played out in the Balkans. The last three chapters are more normative, dealing with the evolution of the idea of global civil society, the relevance of just war theory in a global era, and the concept of human security and what it might mean to implement such a concept. This book will appeal to all those interested in issues of peace and conflict, in particular to students of politics and international relations.

Tackles questions on how democracies can deliver social and economic rights, include all citizens in decision making and reduce poverty. This new publication is a two-volume set that explores ways in which democratic practice can contribute to the management of contemporary conflicts and promote the realization of security and development objectives. Volume I contains analysis and recommendations based on wide-ranging research and evaluation of lessons learned from democratization processes, past and ongoing. Volume II presents essays and case studies by leading specialists from around the world that further develop the themes and findings presented in Volume I. Democracy, Conflict and Human Security argues that effective democracy building moves beyond the process of elections and technical assistance and examines how democratic practice relates to human security. Governments may hold free elections but fall short in other democratic measures such as the separation of powers, the freedom of the press, and guarantees of human rights. These two volumes are aimed at practitioners, parliamentarians, politicians, government officials and policy makers concerned with problems such as social exclusion, the quality of democracy and new forms of authoritarian regimes.

This book provides seven studies that address major issuessuch as the human rights and human security nexus, gender aspectsof human security, ethical and environmental challenges, humansecurity as a basic element for a policy framework, the humansecurity agenda developed by the Human Security Network, anddebates on human security within the United Nations. Building on its variety of themes, the book takes account ofthe complexity and scope of the concept of human security, andproposes thereby to refresh and enrich discussion Contributors are internationally renowned experts in thedifferent subfields of human security Offers an overview of current trends and insights on what is atstake if the international community is to maintain the momentumcreated a few years ago when the concept of human securityemerged Designed to help both newcomers and experts in the field ofhuman security Readers will find inspiration in the new developments of aconcept that aims to shape practical action to meet the needs ofthe most vulnerable

Written by diplomatic practitioners, Human Security and the New Diplomacy is a straightforward account of challenges already overcome and the prospect for further progress. From the evolution of peace-keeping, to peacebuilding, humanitarian intervention, war-affected children, international humanitarian law, the International Criminal Court, the economic agendas of conflict, transnational crime, and the emergence of connectivity and a global civil society, the authors offer new insights into the importance of considering these issues as part of a single agenda. Human Security and the New Diplomacy is a case-study of a major Canadian foreign policy initiative and a detailed account of the first phase of the human security agenda. The story of Canada's leading role in promoting a humanitarian approach to international relations, it will be of interest to foreign policy specialists and students alike. Contributors include David Angell, Alan Bones, Michael Bonser, Terry Cormier, Patricia Fortier, Bob Fowler, Elissa Goldberg, Mark Gwozdecky, Sam Hanson, Paul Heinbecker, Eric Hoskins, Don Hubert, David Lee, Dan Livermore, Jennifer Loten, Rob McRae, Valerie Ooterveld, Victor Rakmil, Darryl Robinson, Jill Sinclair, Michael Small, Ross Snyder, Carmen Sorger, and Roman Waschuk.

Since the emergence of the dissident “parallel polis” in Eastern Europe, civil society has become a “new superpower,” influencing democratic transformations, human rights, and international co-operation; co-designing economic trends, security and defense; reshaping the information society; and generating new ideas on the environment, health, and the “good life.” This volume seeks to compare and reassess the role of civil society in the rich West, the poorer South, and the quickly expanding East in the context of the twenty-first century’s challenges. It presents a novel perspective on civic movements testing John Keane’s notion of “monitory democracy”: an emerging order of public scrutiny and monitoring of power.

Civil Paths to Peace contains the analyses and findings of the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding, established in response to the 2005 request of Commonwealth Head of Government for the Commonwealth Secretary-General to 'explore initiatives to promote mutual understanding and respect among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth.' This report focuses particularly on the issues of terrorism, extremism, conflict and violence, which are much in ascendancy and afflict Commonwealth countries as well as the rest of the world. It argues that cultivating respect and understanding is both important in itself and consequential in reducing violence and terrorism. It further argues that cultivated violence is generated through fomenting disrespect and fostering confrontational misunderstandings. The report looks at the mechanisms through which violence is cultivated through advocacy and recruitment, and the pre-existing inequalities, deprivations and humiliations on which those advocacies draw. These diagnoses also clear the way for methods of countering disaffection and violence. In various chapters the different connections are explored and examined to yield general policy recommendations. Accepting diversity, respecting all human beings, and understanding the richness of perspectives that people have are of great relevance for all Commonwealth countries, and for its 1.8 billion people. They are also importance for the rest of the world. The civil paths to peace are presented here for use both inside the Commonwealth and beyond its boundaries. The Commonwealth has survived and flourished, despite the hostilities associated with past colonial history, through the use of a number of far-sighted guiding principles. The Commission argues that those principles have continuing relevance today for the future of the Commonwealth--and also for the world at large.