Prelude: The surprising spread of ‘human security’ discourse
Although the language of ̳human security‘ that became prominent in the 1990s has encountered criticism from many sides, it has continued to gain momentum. One encounters it frequently now in discussions of environment, migration, socioeconomic rights, culture, gender and more, not only of physical security. Werthes and Debiel propose that: ̳human security provides a powerful ―political leitmotif‖ for particular
states and multilateral actors by fulfilling selected functions in the process of agenda-setting, decision-making and implementation‘ (2006:8). I suggest that in order to
understand human security discourse and its spread this specification of actors and
functions should be broadened. The relevant actors include more than states and
multilateral agencies. What was primarily a language in United Nations circles is now
far more. Like the sister idea of human rights, human security could be becoming an
idiom that plays important roles in motivating and directing attention, and in problem
recognition, diagnosis, evaluation and response