Human Security & Social Quality

The project group human security & social quality The preceding work on 'the human' and 'the social' Following two Asian conferences (Chiba 2006 and Taipei 2007) a project group was established to compare the social quality and human security approaches and to research upon their complementarity. This took place under the lead of the ISS and the EFSQ. The human security discourses are prominent in certain Asian countries, notably in Japan, Thailand, and in the work of some United Nations agencies (UNESCO, UNDP, UN Secretariat) and national and international development NGOs. This work resulted into the project group's first expert meeting in September 2007. A main theoretical question related was the question of the 'human' and the 'social'. One repeated criticism of the human development approach has been that its picture of personhood is too simple and understates the formation and existence of persons as social products. UNDP-sponsored human development writing conceives of 'human' mostly in an individualist way. Does the social quality approach provide an avenue for feasible enrichment of the human development (and thus human security) approach? Four participants contributed to the '2008 Conference of the Human Development and Capability Association' held in Delhi, September 2008. A reflection on this contribution appeared in a working paper by the ISS and the Foundation on this topic (D. Gasper, Th. Truong, L.J.G. van der Maesen, A.C. Walker (2008) Human Security and Social Quality: Contrasts and Complementarities (The Hague: ISS, November, working paper series 264). A second expert meeting in June 2009 about rights and sustainability In June 2009 the project group organized its second expert meeting in The Hague. It should be connected with studies about the significance of the complementarity of the social quality approach and human security discourses to analyze 'afresh' main societal trends and contradictions, the role of economics in daily circumstances, the working of institutions causing the financial and economic crises and the impact of the current crisis on policy areas (as gender relations, employment and social care, housing, education, socio-economic security systems, position of migrants, etc.). Human rights, human development and human security are targets for people in specific circumstances (contextual based). This refers to another issue, the difference between Western countries and many Asian countries. Most of European people enjoy freedom of speech and actions. They can create lawful organizations to cope independent from political parties, companies, bureaucratic institutions. This essentially differs from many Asian practices. A third expert meeting: extension of comparative work A third meeting of this project group took place in Bangkok, following the Asian Conference on Social Quality, December 2009. The welcome remarks at the conference by the Vice President of the Chulalongkorn University were important for this meeting as well. According to her, 'the framework of social quality is very crucial now that many countries in the world have been affected by the global economic downturn. This phenomenon addresses an important question about development path. (... .) Thailand recognizes that economic growth does not necessarily lead to social well-being, so there has been a shift in the development paradigm since the 8th national Economic and Social Development Plan (... .) At the moment, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand is in the process of drafting our 11th national development plan. In the concept paper, there is a section on 'social architecture' that places an emphasis on this very concept of 'social quality''. (D. Gasper, Th. Truong, L.J.G. van der Maesen, A.C. Walker (2008) Human Security and Social Quality: Contrasts and Complementarities (The Hague: ISS, November, working paper series 462). A book proposal was discussed to present the outcomes of the Delhi contribution in 2008 (on the human and the social) and the comparisons of the social quality and human security discourses with other approaches and how to apply these outcomes for explorations of social movements and the consequences for societies. The project group human security/social quality would elaborate ideas about the functionality of the proposed book to start debates with the UNDP as well as ESCAP and other international organizations. The ambitions are to contribute to a change of the traditional conceptual and methodological framework for better grasping the recent societal questions. This implies a far-reaching understanding of the European and recent Asian discussions on the nature and applicability of the social quality indicators in comparison to existing indicators referring to or connected with the social development (ESCAP), human development (UN), human security (Japan, Thailand), quality-of-life (European Union), social capital (World Bank) and social harmony (China) approaches. The outcomes should be related with the global debate (or comments) on the nature and role of GDP-indicators and the proposed alternatives referring to also the capability theory by A. Sen and M. Nussbaum. The challenge is to answer the question if the human security/social quality complementarity has something essential to offer for the question of sustainable human existence. The group consists of: • Des Gasper, ISS • Jan Berting, em. Erasmus University • Thandam Truong, ISS • Alan Walker, Sheffield University, UK • Tetsuo Ogawa, Chiba University, Japan • Ananta Giri, Madras Centre of Development Studies • Geof Wood, Centre for Development Studies, Bath University • Manon Osseweijjer, IIAS • Raymond Apthorpe, Australian National University • Surichai WuníGaeo, Chulalongkorn University • Terry Jones, former UNDP • Yochi Mine, Osaka University, Japan • Laurent van der Maesen, EFSQ