ABSTRACT
The concept of human security remains a central element of the discourse in international relations. This chapter explores some of the arguments advanced to explain the human security "deficit" in contemporary international relations. This deficit is best explained by disaggregating the concept to distinguish three public goods that contribute to the realization of human security: equity, intervention for the purposes of humanitarian protection, and peacebuilding. The chapter demonstrates the sources of undersupply for each of the three public goods by using the case of the Syrian civil war, raging since 2011. There are arguably several distinct conceptions of human security that shape current debates, which are distinguishable according to their understanding of the nature of the threat. The international response to the conflict in Syria exemplifies the shortage—one might say "absence"—of human security. The chapter concludes by advocating a portfolio diversification approach to the provision of global public goods related to human security.
