Mary Kaldor, Hungry for Peace: Positives and pitfalls of local truces and ceasefires in Syria

Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Centre has co-authored a new report, ‘Hungry for Peace’, which documents local negotiations and agreements in Syria which have helped to bring respite, aid, services and hope to thousands of civilians caught up in the brutal war

Human security: practical possibilities

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed a turbulent world of inequality, failing states, crime, violence, racism and authoritarianism. But it has also opened up the practical possibilities of human security – the notion that governments and international institutions take responsibility for the wellbeing of individuals and the communities in which they live, protecting them from global ills such as Covid-19 and ensuring both material security (safety from poverty and deprivation) and physical security (safety from violence and crime). My focus on this essay is on physical security, and, in particular, how to address the problems that contemporary war inflicts upon individuals and communities. Of course, physical and material security are intimately connected. Poverty, inequality, and deprivation are undoubtedly a cause of violence and crime and, by the same token, violence accentuates precarity. But while solving the problems of material redistribution could well reduce the incentives for violence, this is extremely difficult to achieve in violent contexts where the warring parties control the flow of resources. Thus, finding ways to mitigate violence is often a precondition for material security. In this essay, I outline an understanding of human security as a tool for reducing violent conflict

Giving Europe political substance

Following the 2019 European Parliament elections, Mary Kaldor argues that developing substantive democracy in Europe to tame neoliberal globalisation must be the Leitmotif for the coming European term

Labour must abandon the soft Brexit position and come out for Remain and reform

Mary Kaldor explains why Labour should abandon its ambiguous ‘sensible deal’ position in favour remain and reform thhe EU; she argues that such a stance is Labour’s opportunity to trigger a farreaching deliberative exercise in both Britain and Europe. According to Theresa May, the choice is between her deal, no deal or no Brexit. But the Labour leadership still seems to think that it can negotiate a more ‘sensible deal’. What on earth would a more ‘sensible’ deal look like and is it a sensible strategy for the Labour Party? Is not now the moment to abandon the soft Brexit position and to come out for remain and reform

Global governance and human security

This chapter reviews how the practical implementation of human security by states, as well as international and regional institutions, is a necessary condition for effective global governance. It traces the changing meaning of human security, including the ‘broad’ version of security linked to human development, the ʼnarrow’ so-called Canadian version linked to human rights and the European version centred on addressing conflict. It outlines the radical critiques of the concept and how they can be considered to amplify the concept, especially the understanding of what it means to be human. It draws attention to the growing interest among the military in human security, especially in Europe and NATO, and argues that although human security refers to a broad range of existential threats to individuals and the communities in which they live, and that a range of instruments are required to counter those threats, a shift in the role of the military from war-fighting to the protection of civilians is central to the operational application of human security. The chapter concludes by discussing the implications of such a shift for the legitimacy of global governance