Rethinking Human Security

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Human security describes conditions in which the grounds are provided for the removal of material and spiritual human needs simultaneously and constantly. This attitude was included in the agenda of institutions and individuals when traditional outlook on security failed to respond to the challenges in this area as insecurity increased at the national and international levels with the expansion of world developments. The discussions raised regarding human security (topic, issues, challenges, and the quality of evaluating and enhancing it), in spite of useful theoretical explanations, have heightened its conceptual ambiguities. Stressing on the practical aspect and placing the idea of human security at the center of foreign policy discussions, this article rethinks the concept of human security. While offering a comprehensive, consistent, and precise definition, it provides the possibility of measuring and reinforcing it. Writers, with coining and defining the concept of ‘generalized poverty,’ have defined human security as “the number of years of future life spent outside of a state of generalized poverty.” This definition can be included in the academic and research agenda for assessing and enforcing human security in the areas of risk assessment, prevention, preservation and compensation of those risks’ consequences, through using quantitative and statistical instruments. This article mainly aims to recognize the threats to human security and to strengthen human security versus those threats.

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