ABSTRACT

For decades, peace research has inquired into causes and consequences of violence and obstacles to human wellbeing. The analysis produced by this research has defined the concept of structural violence through which to assess the frustration of human needs fulfillment, generally deemed as basic to human security. Building on that theory with other concepts of violence described here, this article enables us to discern the gendered nature of both national/state security and human security. It introduces concepts essential to any discussion of human security within a systemic approach, recognizing the structural, political, economic and cultural aspects of security systems. This article provides some conceptual tools with which to assess state security systems and the human security possibilities of non-violence.