Differentiate between traditional security and Human security.

Traditional security and human security represent two distinct approaches to understanding and addressing threats to peace, stability, and well-being, with traditional security focusing on state-centric military and strategic concerns, while human security prioritizes the protection and empowerment of individuals and communities.

Traditional security:

1. State-centric Focus: Traditional security emphasizes the security of states as the primary actors in the international system, with a focus on protecting national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and strategic interests. It is concerned with military capabilities, defense policies, and power dynamics among states, often emphasizing deterrence, military alliances, and arms control as key strategies for maintaining peace and security.

2. Military and Strategic Concerns: Traditional security focuses on threats posed by military aggression, interstate conflicts, and geopolitical rivalries, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the potential for war. It prioritizes military preparedness, defense spending, and strategic planning to deter and respond to security threats, often at the expense of other dimensions of security and development.

3. National Security Paradigm: Traditional security is grounded in a national security paradigm that prioritizes the protection of state interests and institutions, often at the expense of human rights, democracy, and social justice. It tends to prioritize the interests of political and military elites over those of ordinary citizens, leading to authoritarianism, repression, and human rights abuses in some cases.

Human security:

1. People-centered Approach: Human security shifts the focus from state-centric concerns to the security and well-being of individuals and communities, emphasizing protection from a wide range of threats, including poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation, human rights abuses, and armed conflict. It recognizes that security is fundamentally about protecting people, not just states.

2. Multi-dimensional Perspective: Human security adopts a multi-dimensional perspective that encompasses economic, social, political, environmental, and personal dimensions of security, recognizing that individuals face diverse and interconnected threats to their safety, dignity, and rights. It emphasizes the importance of addressing root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, inequality, and marginalization, and promoting sustainable development, human rights, and social justice.

3. Empowerment and Participation: Human security emphasizes the empowerment of individuals and communities to participate in decisions that affect their lives, exercise their rights, and access resources and opportunities for development. It prioritizes human rights, democracy, and inclusive governance as essential foundations for achieving peace, stability, and prosperity.

In summary, while traditional security focuses on protecting state interests and maintaining military power, human security prioritizes the well-being and empowerment of individuals and communities, addressing a broader range of threats and vulnerabilities to human security. By adopting a people-centered approach and addressing root causes of insecurity, human security seeks to build more resilient, inclusive, and peaceful societies that prioritize the rights, dignity, and welfare of all people.