Political Science 391S - S-Human Security

In the early 1990s, UN Secretary General Boutrous-Boutrous Ghali suggested that the protection of national borders should be replaced with a concern for human security - the protection of individuals from fear, want and repression by their own governments. This has now become an important mantra of the United Nations, which itself was founded not to protect humans from their own governments but to prevent the scourge of interstate war. What is "human security"? Is it a paradigm shift for thinking about global order or just a bunch of hot air? What are the various international architectures available under global anarchy for achieving it? This course will examine global issues through the lens of "human security" including refugees, protection of civilians, human rights, women's rights, terrorism, war, the environment, pandemic and poverty. How does the world collectively organized itself to deal with these sorts of planetary threats? Will the community of nation-states and their associated international organizations be able to ensure "human security"? What does it look like when they try?

Open to Juniors or Seniors in any major and Sophomore POLISCI Majors. Students are encouraged to have taken PoliSci 121. Students pursuing the IR Certificate should email the instructor (charli.carpenter@gmail.com) to request access. IR Certificate students will be granted access even if they are not Political Science majors.