Intervening for human security

Abstract

This opening chapter introduces the UN concept of ‘human security’ before theorizing a transformative vision of security for the unfolding Mediterranean refugee crisis. It offers an alternative envisioning of a people-centred security, and calls for investment in intervention of a different kind: in protecting human rights; in offering humanitarian assistance; in cooperatively sharing governmental expertise; and in enabling security mechanisms that are ultimately human-centred. The chapter outlines the key challenges of enacting human security, paying particular attention to mobilizing human securitization discourses progressively and collaboratively. It outlines the contributions of the book’s leading international authors from a range of disciplines in documenting the core political, economic and social issues of the crisis, before concluding by showing how a human security approach to the crisis can instructively conceptualize the intricacies of the challenges faced, and also build a politics of solidarity in proffering integrated solutions.