1. Reconciling the Geographies of Human Security Karen O’Brien Department of Sociology and Human Geography University of Oslo, Norway WUN S EMINAR N OVEMBER 14, 2006

2. Lecture Outline Definitions of human security; Human security and the geography of inequalities; Human security and the geography of interconnections; Individual and ”collective/connective” human security – a case of cognitive dissonance; Examples from climate change research; Reconciling the two geographies of human security.

3. Human Security – the concept Freedom from fear, freedom from want (1945); Safety from chronic threats, protection from disruptions. Seven dimension of human security: personal, environmental, economic, political, community, health, and food security (UNDP 1994); ”The objective of human security is to safeguard the vital core of all human lives from critical pervasive threats, in a way that is consistent with long-term fulfillment (Human Security Commission, 2003); Human Security is achieved when and where individuals and communities have the options necessary to end, mitigate or adapt to threats to their human, environmental and social rights; have the capacity and freedom to exercise these options; and actively participate in pursuing these options (GECHS 1999).

4. Human Security – the discourse Includes normative claims: equity, justice and fairness; Disaggregates to the level of individuals; Recognizes that threats and risks will affect individuals differentially.

5. Human Security – strengths and weaknesses + an integrative concept that “directs us to examine major connections, across the disciplinary and national boundaries...” (Gasper 2005, p. 238). + a policy-based discourse + has both protective and enabling dimensions + a political and theoretical concept -too much attention to the unit of analysis, not enough attention to the interplay between levels of analysis -notion of security has been ”militarized”

6. Human security and the geography of inequalities Recognizes deep social and economic inequalities; Emphasizes the role of context; Focuses on structures that create insecurities based on race, class, caste, gender, age, or simply place; Relational aspects: one individual’s security is often another’s insecurity.

8. Human security and the geography of interconnection Takes a broader view of human security, as not only collective, but ”connective”; Sees humans as part of a larger ”global system”, where processes and outcomes are linked over space and time.

11. Cognitive dissonance? Tensions in distinguishing between individual human security and collective/connective human security; Exemplified by climate change, where the uneven outcomes are superimposed on a geography of inequalities and inequities; Climate change is likely to transform the context for human security, creating new and potentially unexpected outcomes; Difficulties relating individual dimensions of human security to collective-connective dimensions.

14. Climate change as an equity issue Not everyone contributes equally; Not everyone has an equal voice in deciding what to do about it; Not everyone will be equally affected – some will benefit, others are highly vulnerable; Vulnerability analyses can be used to identify where, how and why human security may be affected by climate change.

15. Climate change as a global issue Individuals and communities exist as part of a larger context, and changing the larger context (warmer temperatures, extreme climate events, sea level rise, melting of glaciers, etc.) is likely to affect both the secure and the insecure; Examples: Melting of Arctic sea ice, Changing variability and extreme events.

18. The Northern Sea Route New opportunities: for shipping, trade, consumption; for northern communities; for countries/companies who have oil and mineral rights; Equity dimensions: may negatively influence resource-based livelihoods, and individuals and communities who cannot adapt to rapid change; Collective/connective dimensions: sea level rise, coastal storms, accelerated warming.

19. Changing variability and extreme events The magnitude and frequency of extreme events will change with the climate; Many small-scale farmers are already vulnerable to current variability; The capacity to adapt to changing conditions is unequal. Source: Smit and Pilisofova 2003

20. Adaptive capacities differ, whether we are talking about Norway or India.

21. Cognitive dissonance & climate change Results when beliefs in the individual dimension of human security are held firm, in the face of growing evidence of the interconnected dimension; E.g.,a belief in benefits from the Northern Sea Route does not resonate with the possibility of losses that can result from climate change (temporal dissonance); E.g., a belief in the struggle for livelihoods and the need to cope with normal variability and everyday insecurities does not resonate with the possibility of creating a different future climate; The individual dimension of human security dominates over the collective/connective dimension of human security.

22. Reducing the dissonance? ”The theory of cognitive dissonance states that contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new thoughts or beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, so as to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions”* Climate change strategies: emphasize adaptation, invoke fear, make moral and ethical appeals, promote indifference… redefine human security?? *(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance)

23. Human security: A useful discourse? Can give meaning and relevance to global issues; But does not capture the collective/connective dimension of human security; Focuses on human development and the North-South divide, reinforcing an ”us and them” perspective, rather than an ”I and we” perspective.

24. Redefining human security in the context of global change ”Human security as a collective and connective state of well-being that is continually negotiated by and for individuals and communities who recognize that processes and outcomes are linked to one another across both space and time.”

25. © Seppo Leinonen, www.seppo.netwww.seppo.net Thank you!