Human security is understood as a response to the proliferation of new security threats which fit awkwardly within the relatively narrow confines of the traditional, state-centric national security paradigm. Human Security is a field of study that has emerged over the last 20 years. It is a sub-section of security studies but encompass a diverse range of academic disciplines and policy discourses (development studies, international relations, environmental studies, public health, economics, gender issues, human rights and foreign policy). It is also increasingly being adopted by policy-makers from individual nation states (Canada and Japan), bodies (European Union and the African Union) as well as institutionalized by the United Nations, and used by non-state actors in such as NGOs and the corporate sector. This volume serves as a valuable compilation of a disparate discourse, and a core reference for scholars and practitioners in a wide range of fields.
