The ethical challenges of human security in the age of globalisation

• Published in: International social science journal Vol. 59; no. s1; pp. 49 - 63
• Main Author: Burgess, J. Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2008
• Edition: English edition
• Subjects: Ethics; Globalization; International relations; Security; Social conditions & trends
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2451.2008.00632.x
• EISSN: 1468-2451
• ISSN: 0020-8701

The moral innovation of human security is also its terrible Achilles' heel. In a world of globalisation, where the values of the global view are imposed upon most people with the force of necessity, the concerns of individuals resist global action. At the very moment when individual concerns are put on the agenda, the possibility for achieving anything local is nearly erased by individual weakness in a world of massive collective interests. What can the particular interests of individuality make claim to in such a strong environment of universality? The aim of this chapter is to discuss the ethical dimensions of the concept of human security in a principled discussion of ethics and international relations. It starts with the evolution of the concept of human security, its use in international policy and its philosophical history. It ends with a discussion of the paradoxes of different philosophical positions with respect to the concept.