Security Deficit

Abstract

A security deficit essentially refers to a threat. It can be on different scales from sub-national to national and global. Threats come in various forms, not only military, but also societal, economic, political and cultural. Further adding to the complexity of what is a threat -and hence what constitutes a security deficit -the scale and form of threats need not be distinct but can impact on, or overlap, one another. The impact of climate change, for example, may be analysed at global and local levels, as well as its economic and policy implications. Unlike traditional threats, where military force is used against an adversary, non-traditional security threats -like climate change, transnational crime, politically motivated violence or economic crises -are often depicted in human security terms.Human security itself is a broad term, the referent being the human rather than the state, and needs to be viewed within particular contexts. One context is that of non-state armed groups. These include terrorists, insurgents, militias, and criminal organizations. They not only pose a military threat to states and their neighbouring regions but, from the human security perspective, to local communities. Indeed, research suggests that "the most pervasive threat from non-state armed groups is to the human security of local civilians" (Englehart, 2016). This is illustrated by the activities of Islamic State (IS). Among other violations, its genocidal aggression against Iraq's Yazidi minority in 2014 has been well documented (UN, 2014). Englehart (2016) points out that non-state armed groups can even be a source of security, as exemplified by the Kurdish peshmerga militias having assisted Yazidis fleeing IS. This was enabled by state intervention in the form of US airstrikes against Islamic State, showing state and non-state actors have their distinctive and complementary roles to play.