Cooperative Security Framework for South Asia: A Sri Lankan Perspective

Abstract

The concept of security has undergone changes over the last two decades as having the leading concerns of security strategists. Security, today, encompasses issues such as environmental pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, the influx of refugees, hierarchical social relations, feminist security, food security, etc. which fall into the category of “human security” or “comprehensive security”. The concept of “human security” came into prominence in the debate following the 1994 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP proposed that the focus should shift from traditional norms of security including nuclear security to human security. The Report redefined security thus: “For most people, a feeling of insecurity arises more from worries about daily life than from dread of a cataclysmic world event... Human security is not a concept with weapons— it is a concern with human life and dignity.”1 While this concept may be useful in indicating the variety of human needs that must be satisfied, it is far too expansive and elastic to be an effective policy goal and does not offer an appealing alternative to the traditional conception of security.