Human security
Institutionalisation of regional metagovernance framework to enhance human security in East Asia
Understanding the forces that govern human security in East Asia
Authors:
C. Soh
Publisher:
Global Institute for Asian Regional Integration, Waseda University, 2008
This paper examines the relationship between poverty alleviation and human security. It evaluates the significance of the concepts, how they are mutually reinforcing and how they contribute towards achieving sustainable development in East Asia. It notes that while a concrete conceptualisation of human security is yet to be found, most studies agree that human security brings together the human elements of security, of rights and of development.
The paper argues that human security attempts to protect individuals from direct threats to their well-being, but a second aspect is the power for people to act on their own behalf, which means that in order to promote human security, individuals must be encouraged to build and develop capabilities and awareness of human dignity, which will lead to avoiding future threats.
The paper concentrates on the regional institutionalisation of a human security framework, focusing on the socio-economic and human rights aspects of human security. It examines characteristics that are unique in East Asia to identify features that need to be understood before building a possible East Asian framework that will lead to promoting human security in the region.
The paper introduces a metagovernance framework for East Asia, based on the collaborative efforts of multilateral actors, including International Organisations (IOs), NGOs and nation states. It argues that for this model to be successful, the traditional role of the strong sovereign state that dominated behaviours within national boundaries must be discarded and the state must transform radically into a new type of state that undertakes the role of managing and moderating the interactions among the diverse actors.
