Contextual Approaches to Human Security

During the last decade, human security has made its way into policy discourses. According to the UNDP's widely acknowledged approach, the term implies, on the one hand, safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression and, on the other, protection from sudden and harmful disruptions in the patterns of daily life whether in homes, jobs, or communities.1 Human security denotes a multidimensional and holistic approach to security that is based on the conviction that problems such as human rights, development, and insecurity in conflict zones are strongly interrelated. The term is also characterized by its universalism as it reflects a concern with the security of every individual, irrespective of country or place of residence.In the policy domain, Canada and Japan (together with the UN) have been the most important international promoters of the idea of human security. However, foreign policy discourses and foreign policy practices often remain two different worlds. Widespread use of a label or slogan by itself is frequently an insufficient guide, or an irrelevant factor, to the determination of a country's strategy. Simultaneously, strategies often fail to lead to concrete policies. And sometimes implementation on the ground may fail to achieve objectives or even may end up contradicting declared policies. This piece aims to assess the extent to which the idea of human security has been mainstreamed into the actual policies of Canada and Japan.This article examines the implementation of the Canadian and Japanese approaches in a specific region: the Balkans. In the post-Cold War period, the Balkans has been a geographical zone facing serious human security challenges. But it was also a region where no vital national interest was at stake for either Canada or Japan. Thus, it appears to be an ideal place to study how Canadian and Japanese human security perspectives were turned into concrete actions.The article's main finding is that-with the exception of Canada's participation in the bombing of Serbia in 1999-the two countries' regional policies have not been very much influenced by human security priorities since the concept appeared in their official discourses. In particular, their overall commitments in terms of aid resources have been rather limited. This is not to negate their positive contribution to the stabilization of the region. It is instead to claim that their contribution has been characterized by a remarkable continuity during the entire post-Cold War period. The Canadian and Japanese human security perspectives demonstrate that policy change is often hidden or silent: policies may be followed for years without the governing elites finding ways to describe and conceptualize them in a few catchy words. International actors may promote human security without saying it. Yet the formal adoption of human security increases the cost of deviations from its premises and provides the framework for the improvement of policy coordination and effectiveness.The first part of the paper briefly sketches the content of the Canadian and Japanese human security perspectives. It discusses in parallel their motivations, goals and instruments and argues that whatever differences have emerged, they are mainly owed to the particular context-specific domestic conditions of each of the two countries. The next sections analyze how the Canadian and Japanese approaches have translated into praxis in the Balkan region.THE CANADIAN AND JAPANESE APPROACHES TO HUMAN SECURITYMost studies on human security tend to depict the Canadian and Japanese perspectives as divergent.2 Some analysts also recall that Japan turned down an invitation to participate in the human security network (HSN) and that it did not seek any participation from Canada in the Commission on Human Security (CHS). It is additionally mentioned that Japan denied an offer to play a role in the Canada-sponsored International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). …

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