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The Concept of Security

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Human and Water Security in Israel and Jordan

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace ((BRIEFSSECUR,volume 3))

Abstract

Security is of vital importance. The term is frequently used to help raise consciousness of the importance of particular issues, which are then so labelled in the minds of the population at large (Buzan 1991, p. 370). However, security is an ‘essentially contested concept’ (Gallie 1956, p. 184; Buzan 1983, p. 6); a concept on which no consensus exists. This conceptual vagueness makes it difficult to find a common ground for discussion. A feature shared by most definitions is some form of threat to cherished values (Williams 2008, p. 5), especially those threats that endanger a particular referent object’s survival in the near future. Accordingly, concern for survival entails a preoccupation with security.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Security, in an objective sense, measures the absence of threats to acquired values, in a subjective sense, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked” (Wolfers 1962, p. 149).

  2. 2.

    In 1982 the Palme Commission led by Olof Palme issued the report on Common Security. It argued that both sides in the Cold War have legitimate security needs. Unilateral security for one block based on superior military resources is seen to be impossible (Palme 1982).

  3. 3.

    ‘Power’ is understood in a Weberian sense as: “the chance of a man, or a number of men to realize their own will in communal action, even against the resistance of others” (Weber 2005, p. 28).

  4. 4.

    “The concept of security has for too long been interpreted narrowly: as security of territory from external aggression, or as protection of national interests in foreign policy […]. It has been related more to nation-states than to people […] For many of them, security symbolized protection from the threat of disease, hunger, unemployment, crime, social conflict, political repression, and environmental hazards” (UNDP 1994, p. 22).

  5. 5.

    “Freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy environment—these are the interrelated building blocks of human—and therefore—national security” (Annan 2000a, p. 1).

  6. 6.

    ‘Hazard’ is defined as: “A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon and/or human activity, which may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation” (UN/ISDR 2002). Hazard is not related to the persons or objects that could be affected. It describes only the threat emanating from an event. Hazards can be single, sequential, or combined in their origin and effects (UN/ISDR 2002).

  7. 7.

    At this point we shall introduce the definition of ‘crises’. Crises are defined as “specific, unexpected, and non-routine events or series of events that [create] high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to high priority goals” (Seeger et al. 1998, p. 254). The defining characteristics of crises are: they are unexpected, create uncertainty, and are seen as a threat to important goals (Seeger et al. 1998, p.254).

  8. 8.

    “It is impossible to explore causal relationships between violence, on the one hand, and indicators of underdevelopment, on the other, if all are subsumed under the rubric of human insecurity” (Mack 2004, p. 2).

  9. 9.

    “… The adequate and sustainable access to income and other resources to enable households to meet basic needs. This includes adequate access to food, potable water, health facilities, educational opportunities, housing, and time for community participation and social integration”. (Frankenberger 1996, p. 3).

  10. 10.

    “[…] we know all too well that the biggest security threats we face now, and in the decades ahead, go far beyond States waging aggressive war. They extend to poverty, infectious disease and environmental degradation; war and violence within States; […] the threats are from non -State actors as well as States, and to human security as well as State security” (United Nations Department of Public Information 2004, p. 11).

  11. 11.

    “Insecurity reflects a combination of threats and vulnerabilities, and the two cannot meaningfully be separated. […] national security policy can either focus inward, seeking to reduce the vulnerabilities of the state itself, or outward, seeking to reduce external threat by addressing its sources” (Buzan 1991, p. 112).

  12. 12.

    Sensitivity is the “Degree to which a system is affected by or responsive to climate stimuli” (IPCC 2001).

  13. 13.

    Adaptive capacity is the “potential or capability of a system to adapt to climatic stimuli or their effects or impacts” (IPCC 2001).

  14. 14.

    ‘Physical exposure’ is the presence and density of the people, habitat, networks, and goods and services in risk zones, defining potential losses or damages, both human and non-human (stakes). Physical exposure also is the socio-ecological: human-induced ecosystemic perturbations aggravating the natural hazard.

  15. 15.

    ‘Insufficient capacities’ to prevent, prepare for, face and cope with hazards and disasters can be separated into: physical weakness, legal vulnerability, organisational vulnerability, technical vulnerability, political vulnerability, socio-economical vulnerability, psychological vulnerability, and cultural vulnerability (Nathan 2009).

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    Philip Jan Schäfer

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Schäfer, P.J. (2013). The Concept of Security. In: Human and Water Security in Israel and Jordan. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29299-6_2

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