Human security and the 'Rightful State'

• Author: Craciun Leucea
• Position: Law and Economics Faculty, Social Sciences Department, Agora University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania
• Pages: 35-39

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicalj ournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 2 (2014), pp. 35-39

35

HUMAN SECURITY AND THE “RIGHTFUL STATE”

C. Leucea

Crciun Leucea

Law and Economics Faculty, Social Sciences Department

Agora University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania

*Correspondence: Crciun Leucea, Agora University of Oradea, 8 Piaa Tineretului St.,

Oradea, Romania

E-mail: departament@univagora.r

Abstract

The article is based on the idea that human security concept should be understood as

an open one, accepted in its broad definition and definitely not in its narrow terms because

the variety and multilevel forms of threats to human security can manifest in manners hard to

anticipate. The main challenge in promoting human security concept internationally lies in

its power to deconstruct the principle of state sovereignty which is the key-stone of the

contemporary international system and of international law and that’s the reluctance to

accepting it. But if there weren’t bad states, the human security concept wouldn’t have

emerged. The point we intend to advance is that defining human security restrictively might

imply legitimating sovereignty for “bad” countries in which corruption is endemic and where

groups of people who achieved power by “negative selection mechanisms” perpetrates

human insecurity rather than security.

Keywords: human security, sovereignty, state system, non-intervention

Introduction

Supporters of human security concept have not excluded the importance of state as a

provider of safet y and public goods for the population, yet in many countries human security

is threatened by the actions of its own government. In many cases the state had became a

source of threat for its own people. From this point of view, when the state is the perpetrator

of violence, understood as well as structural violence, human security is hard to be promoted

as long as the state remains the main and legitimate sovereign actor in international relations.

1

The international law is based on the concept of state. The state has its fundament in

its sovereignty which involves the supremacy of governmental institutions in domestic sphere

and in juridical relations with other international actors. Yet, there are situations in which, for

some historical reasons, there have been developed during time negative mechanisms

selection of political elite that succeeded to have power to legitimately oppress the population.

The principal argument they posses to remain in power and to claim international

reconnaissance of state sovereignty is appealing the “rightful state” concept in order to deter

foreign intervention.

Still, humanitarian intervention is placed under the question mark regarding its

compatibility with predominant norms in international society, sovereignty, territorial

integrity and non-interference in domestic state-affairs. Up to now humanitarian intervention

was justified in cases of direct and violent conflicts and the narrow definitions of human

security was related to conflict management necessity.

1

KERR, Pauline, ‘Human Security’, in COLLINS, Alan, Contemporary Security Studies, Oxford University

Press, 2007.