human
security lab

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As a research matter, security problems were traditionally framed as matters at the scale of threats to nation states typically addressed via some form of military readiness or action.

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1. Economic security (e.g., freedom from poverty);
2. Food security (e.g., access to food);
3. Health security (e.g., access to health care and protection from diseases);
4. Environmental security (e.g., protection from climate change, environmental pollution and depletion);
5. Personal security (e.g., physical safety from torture, war, criminal attacks, domestic violence, drug use, suicide and even traffic accidents);
6. Community security (e.g., survival of traditional cultures and ethnic groups as well as the physical security of these groups); and
7. Political security (e.g., enjoyment of civil and political rights, and freedom from political oppression).

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While this list has been criticized as being too capacious, it does serve as a useful beginning framework to re-size and focus the idea of security at a level that allows for mesoscale analysis and intervention.

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Multilayered crises, whether stemming from a pandemic, disasters or conflict, are no longer isolated events confined to certain countries or regions. Tragedies taking place a continent away are interacting in new ways, reaching unprecedented scale and testing people on every front. The slow progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals reflects the challenges resulting from geopolitical tensions, widening inequalities, worsening climate crises and emerging gaps in the digital transformation. Although these may seem to be disparate issues, the application of the human security approach offers opportunities to find common ground in addressing the underlying drivers of current and emerging challenges.

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The challenge to creating human security solutions lies in developing comprehensive people- and community-centered approaches that address these interconnected vulnerabilities at the appropriate scale allowing for maximum impact. Without addressing systemic challenges that exist at each of the macro-, meso- and micro-scales, progress toward durable human security and well-being will remain limited.

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Current national- and institutional-level responses tend to be reactive rather than preventive, and often fail to reach target populations in need in an appropriate and effective manner. Individual and local-level solutions tend to be fragmented and struggle to reach scale and achieve sustainable support. There is an open opportunity to bridge the differing challenges of the macro-and micro-levels by working at the “mesoscale” to implement technology-based solutions that engage the inherent complexity of human security issues while achieving material and sustainable impact at the individual and community level.

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In the context of the challenges identified in the UN’s 2024 report, the Human Security Lab are focuses on developing technology-based solutions to deliver enhanced security across a number of dimensions at the individual and community level.