ABSTRACT
Several chapters in this book argue for a reinvigoration of human security focused on an emancipatory agenda. Our argument is that human security cannot be rescued because it has been institutionalised and co-opted to work in the interests of global capitalism, militarism and neoliberal governance. Some, however, dispute that it has had any impact. Muggah and Krause (2006), for instance, tested its application in Haiti and concluded that it made little difference in policies or outcomes. Indeed, others have argued that there are few examples where human security has actually informed foreign-policy decisions (Owen 2008). Such observations led David Chandler to dismiss human security for being ‘the dog that didn’t bark’ i.e. ‘that its integration into the mainstream of policymaking has reinforced, rather than challenged, existing policy frameworks’ (2008: 428).
