Abstract
Human security is a contemporary and burning aspect of Asia. Several Asian countries are struggling with numerous issues, including poverty, terrorism, corruption, health, education, and human rights (p. 3). Asian politics is more precarious or uncertain due to instability in governments and nondemocratic political systems. This edited volume elaborates on the micro dimensions of Asian society and politics, which help in understanding the concept of human security from various perspectives. Peace and security are currently confronting longer-lasting and more complex challenges in Asian politics. These issues impose a direct risk to people’s lives and their general well-being in communities. Unlike the interstate paradigm that persisted till the end of the Cold War, the nature of conflicts has shifted toward becoming more intrastate in the form of ethnic, racial, and regional antagonism. Contributors of this volume have emphasized several regions in these countries where uncertainty in human security and also highlighted that the deficient governance structure and nondemocratic political systems as the leading causes behind this shift in conflict that compromise national and international human security (p. 270). It also focuses on civil war and internal conflicts, which are notable forces that prove to be pull factors in the migration of people and their livelihood to minimum resources. It results in a situation where they can only able to fulfill their present needs for survival. In some Asian countries, due to terrorism, militarism, and totalitarianism, human security is a secondary aspect because the actual form is possible only in a democratic system. The book highlights the notable point that the Global South is home to the vast majority of the world’s forced-displaced population and refugees. They are not acknowledged for their rights and encounter various obstacles in obtaining basic amenities. The world’s largest FDP settlement is located in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Ban on higher education for women, unavailability of jobs, and youth joining terrorist groups were some reasons for the migration of Afghans to other countries after the Taliban rule (p. 230).
This edited volume consists of fifteen chapters, including an introduction that critically examines human security in Asia. It does not cover all Asian countries, but significant countries have covered and given essential recommendations for implementing policies regarding human security. It illustrates the significance of empowering human security through several studies from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Japan to East Timor and Papua New Guinea. People require protection from individual threats or groups of related threats, which are not always the same. Its nature changed according to circumstance and place. Before the end of the Cold War, security concerns were primarily defined against foreign animosity and military assault with the safety of the nation and, therefore, of the people (p. 57). It explores the problem of political and social division among Asian nations using the idea of ‘Human Security.’ This fragmentation is because Asian countries are looking toward democratization and a growing economy due to an increment in regional integration. On the other hand, the number of people living in poverty is also increasing; therefore, the gap between the rich and poor has been widening for a long time. Recently, ethnic and religious disputes have surfaced previously concealed beneath democratization and economic integration. The increasing economic gap is closely linked with these disputes. There is evidence of growing inequality and eroding democracy worldwide with ongoing globalization. However, regional integration, democratization, and globalization have resulted in distinctive crises in Asia. This edited collection also revisits the paradigm of human security and development in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also looks at the relationship between protection and empowerment because it is related to different demographics and vulnerable groups that suffered during a pandemic.
This book also explains various insights on human security by examining bottom-up empowerment from both theoretical and practical angles. There are many theories in the study of international relations. Nonetheless, it has investigated the idea of human security from the perspective of different theories of international relations like liberal, realist, Marxist, and feminist. Liberalism explains various aspects and spreads values to bring peace, which is essential for maintaining human security (p. 18). Meanwhile, realism proposes that national interest is the primary concern and that war is a normal condition to achieve peace. States are susceptible to getting into conflicts over borders, rivers, arms races, trade wars, and other issues. It should always be emphasized that human security is under threat by all these conflicts. The Realist and Neo-Realist belief says that there is no way to end war. It implies that human insecurity is not temporary. Marxists understated these issues of class conflict and highlighted that for the proletariat or the working class, security is more necessary than other things because they do not have resources, including food security, health security, personal security, community security, environmental security, and political security (p. 27).
The book illustrates all theories and effective characteristics that are essential to understanding human security in contemporary scenarios. Health and food are vital aspects of human security, which have reflected the internal decadence of people. Chapter 5 discusses several issues faced by Vietnam during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic raises an urgent need for global health security resources to protect people around the world. As a core component of human security, health security should be a prior concern for the government. A variety of responses came from various governments worldwide, somewhere different on a short-term basis. However, Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industries have made progress in recent years. The economic opening helped domestic enterprises to access capital and technology from abroad which increases the graph of production scale and also brings diversity in products. Pharmaceutical companies provided assistance to Vietnamese in saving human lives. The author has discussed worries resulting from recent multifaceted crises like energy, food scarcity, climate change, economic and financial difficulties, and health security. As coupled, new elements could further complicate food supply and health security for regional countries. Fresh viewpoints on human security should be concentrated by securitizing health security in the region. Unpredictable climatic change and blameless man-made activities have affected the food supply and production in recent years. As a result, the growing strain from food security concerns affects people’s health and turns into a human security issue that affects all the states in the region.
This volume critically examined the unstable political systems of Afghanistan and Myanmar, where people are struggling for democracy, and women are facing unconditional challenges in living their daily lives. It did not occur in Afghanistan due to unfavorable socio-religious factors. There is no prospect that the government will leave out the catastrophe. Freedom, civil society, and human security cannot be guaranteed in an environment where religious and ethnic leaders play a major role in the functioning of democratic institutions. Afghanistan’s fundamental disputes between religion and civil society are yet to be settled. Religion can make it more difficult for civil society to exercise its free and impartial function in an orthodox culture. People are not able to exercise civil rights and freedom of expression due to the Taliban regime, which banned women’s education. The Rohingya refugee crisis, protracted military rule, and the hardship and struggle of ‘Aung San Suu Kyi’—a modern-day symbol of democracy—are the three main reasons why people think about Myanmar. The struggle of citizens against the military government to restore democracy and advance human rights frequently made headlines. Many people who follow the events in that Southeast Asian state are shocked to know about the ongoing ethnic conflict and military control, where human security was taken hostage, as it is a land of Lord Buddha’s devotees. In such countries, people face a lot of challenges to achieve human security values.
The book explains the contemporary situation of human security in Central Asian countries, where addiction to drugs in youths and human trafficking is increasing day by day. The geostrategic significance of Central Asia is well-acknowledged worldwide. The region’s energy and mineral resources compete for access and are controlled by major regional and international powers. In this sense, these powers cannot ignore the human insecurities in the area. They must work together to address human security issues to protect their own strategic and financial interests. The majority of aid, funds, and political backing will enhance human security. More than 42 percent of East Timor’s population lives below the poverty line, and nearly 68 percent of them reside in the rural areas of the state. This is the main cause of the unstable status of medical facilities and health security, resulting in a severe and appalling state of affairs inside the healthcare system. Approximately 41 percent of female deaths and neonatal deaths in the state occur as a result of complications during childbirth, primarily because over 50 percent of pregnant and expecting mothers in the region where do not have access to adequate health facilities during pregnancy and childbirth (p. 315). Water pollution from runoff, sedimentation, and inadequate waste management, as well as the state machinery and people’s reckless attitude toward sustainable development through a combination of logging, overcutting of vegetation, and unsustainable agricultural practices, make the situation worse.
After discussion, this book provides multidimensional aspects of human security, which is essential discourse in the contemporary world. Besides the strengths, some emerging aspects of Asian society are missing. Generally, South Asian societies are rural dominant societies where human security issues are different than urban areas. Institutions play a significant role in sharpening democratic values and human security values among citizens, which are necessary for human security. However, these institutions are not so responsible in South Asia, where states are dominating the citizens. Such aspects are explained separately in this volume. The function of regional cooperation and civil society can play a crucial role in establishing cohesion among countries, which will help achieve human security goals easily. Because it helps promote stability and development in Asia, it is one of the main aspects that should be covered. From capacity-building programs to infrastructure projects, Asia’s involvement is marked by a dedication to achieving mutual prosperity and addressing a number of issues via political and citizen dialogue. Nevertheless, these uncovered aspects will help evolve significant work on human security. Through a variety of human security issues, the contributors explore the subtleties of human security development assistance and its Asian ramifications in order to formulate well-informed human security values for nations. It provides various perspectives for readers to understand contemporary human development and human security discourse in various Asian countries. This work will enhance knowledge in the fields of political science, international relations, foreign policy, and good governance, particularly for those people who are interested in working on human security.
