ABSTRACT
State-centred conceptions of security have been critiqued widely, not least because a focus on the state renders structural inequalities within states and the insecurity that exists within borders invisible. Moreover, states are often the source of insecurity thus making ‘national’ security somewhat of a misnomer and insufficient as an approach to security. Emerging out of discussions of human security, both its potential and limitations, is the concept of ‘security from below’. This takes the concept of human security further than simply the involvement of civil society organisations in security questions. Cecilia Jacob refers to this as a ‘security gap’ in that it is problematic to conceive of human security emanating from structures or institutions that are themselves often weak, ineffectual or where the political state remains in ‘self survival mode’. In her research on Somali refugees in Kenyan camps, Cindy Horst found that a nomadic past and high mobility were connected to the security and stability of the community.
