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- Convenors:
-
Maria Kristina Alinsunurin
(University of the Philippines)
Benigno Balgos (Ateneo de Manila University)
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- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Crisis, conflict, and humanitarian response
Short Abstract:
The polycrisis demands reimagining human security and humanitarian action in an increasingly unstable world. This panel examines evolving conceptual frameworks and grounded practices at the intersection of human security and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
Description:
From climate disasters to prolonged conflicts to economic instability, overlapping crises are becoming the norm rather than the exception across the Global South. As traditional boundaries between humanitarian response, development, and peacebuilding blur, the 1994 UNDP vision of human security demands fresh examination. While the humanitarian-development-peace nexus offers a framework for an integrated response, implementation remains challenging amidst competing priorities and diminishing resources. Communities are increasingly developing their own hybrid approaches to security and resilience, blending indigenous knowledge with contemporary practice. Meanwhile, institutions struggle to evolve beyond siloed interventions toward genuinely transformative action.
In this context of compounding crises, how do communities navigate multiple insecurities while building resilience? What role should local knowledge systems play in reimagining human security? How can institutional architecture better support integrated approaches spanning humanitarian aid, development, and peacebuilding?
This interdisciplinary panel seeks to examine conceptual frameworks and grounded practices at the intersection of human security and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Bridging theory and practice, the panel welcomes contributions addressing related issues, from case studies to policy analysis. The panel will build on three decades of human security scholarship while encouraging fresh perspectives from diverse geographies and contexts, including innovations such as adaptive social protection, climate financing, and cross-sectoral crisis responses. Aligning with the Conference's focus on crisis and uncertainty, the panel encourages critical examination of both challenges and opportunities as we navigate an increasingly unstable world.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
This paper addresses three challenges to intersectoral governance aspirations: universality/relativism, silos, and top-down rather than bottom-up human-centric foci. It advocates an overlapping consensus holistic approach, with a human security-focused lower case hdpn.
Paper long abstract:
Global intersectoral governance has faced three challenges. First, universal aspirations have been challenged on the grounds of cultural relativism, exceptionalism, and exclusion. Certain groups and actors are seen as being excluded from the “universal” narrative, are forced to occupy a subaltern position, or hail from a different epistemological background, and are, therefore, marginalized by the dominant discourse. Second, despite an ongoing and growing recognition of the interdependencies between the different manifestations of global governance aimed at reconciling conflicting interests, generating (and distributing) collective good, and providing security for all, policy communities have shown reluctance to engage across thematic and operational divides, or at best have engaged across only two of the three pillars of the UN or the HDPN. Third, international humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding initiatives have tended to be top-down, donor or international actor driven, and reliant upon aggregate measurements of governance success.
In response, this paper explores an “overlapping consensus” approach that better reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the global community than does a one size fits all universalist approach and considers the potential for hybridity between perspectives. Furthermore, bearing in mind the significant spillover between sectors, it demonstrates the need for a holistic approach simultaneously embracing security, development, and rights governance perspectives, and humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding communities. Finally, it incorporates human-centered global governance initiatives in a re-imagining of the HDPN as a lower-case hdpn. Top-down and bottom-up initiatives are both important, but in a further imagining of hybridity, must be pursued simultaneously through a multi-stakeholder approach.
Paper short abstract:
I aim to bring insights on integrating Indigenous security systems into Nigeria's criminal justice framework, highlighting their role in enhancing community resilience and addressing complex crises effectively.
Paper long abstract:
This study explores the role of Indigenous security systems within Nigeria's criminal justice framework, particularly in the context of the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding (HDP) triple nexus. As Nigeria grapples with complex crises, including armed conflict, economic instability, and social unrest, traditional policing methods often fall short in addressing the root causes of insecurity. This research highlights how Indigenous security mechanisms, rooted in local customs and community engagement, can complement formal justice systems and enhance resilience against ongoing crises. Through qualitative fieldwork and case studies, the study identifies effective practices and challenges faced by Indigenous systems in promoting peace and security. It argues that integrating these local approaches into broader development strategies can foster community ownership and improve the effectiveness of interventions aimed at mitigating violence and insecurity. Additionally, the research examines the interplay between remittance flows and crime control, suggesting that economic factors significantly influence community dynamics and security perceptions. By rethinking the nexus between Indigenous practices and formal justice systems, this study aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of security in Nigeria, advocating for policies that recognize and leverage local knowledge and practices to build a more resilient society. This research seeks to inform policymakers and practitioners about the potential of Indigenous security systems as vital components in addressing Nigeria's multifaceted crises.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the characteristics, challenges, and considerations of social protection programs in the Philippines to strengthen disaster and climate resilience. It addresses a critical research gap by examining how these programs are utilised to support overall resilience efforts.
Paper long abstract:
The Philippines has introduced over sixty social protection programs over the years. highlight persistent issues such as limited coverage (Orbeta, 2011; Gonzalez and Manasan, 2002), targeting inefficiencies (Dadap-Cantal, Fisher, and Ramos, 2021), program fragmentation, and incoherent social policies (Diokno-Sicat and Mariano, 2018, 2021). However, there is limited research on how these programs are utilised for disaster and climate resilience. This paper examines the characteristics, challenges, and considerations of social protection programs in the Philippines to enhance resilience. Data were collected through desk reviews and in-depth interviews with stakeholders at the national, sub-national, and local levels who are involved in implementing social protection programs. The analysis revealed that while the Philippine government has launched numerous programs aimed at poverty reduction, well-being, and overall resilience, their effectiveness in addressing disaster and climate risks remains limited. Many of these programs were not originally designed with disaster and climate resilience in mind. Although some initiatives incorporate risk assessments and prioritize high-risk populations in areas prone to climate shocks and stresses, further improvements are required to make these programs genuinely risk-informed. Moreover, while some programs show potential to support long-term adaptive strategies and reduce vulnerability, they often remain focused on short-term measures and lack sustained funding. The findings underscore the urgent need for robust programs that mitigate current risks, prevent new vulnerabilities, and foster household resilience. Strengthening these initiatives is essential to ensure rapid recovery from shocks, prevent individuals from falling back into poverty, and discourage reliance on harmful coping strategies.
Paper short abstract:
Multiple threats affect Filipinos' daily lives. This project uses human instead of state-centric security to map Philippine regional vulnerabilities. Using its own assessment tool (HSAT), it will build a web data platform, eSECURE, aiming to inform policy decisions and improve Filipinos' well-being.
Paper long abstract:
Despite recent improvements in reducing violence and extremism, the Philippines continues to grapple with significant challenges to its people's quality of life. Marginalization based on ethnicity, religion, and ideology, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted existing vulnerabilities.
Traditional security concepts focus on state-centric concerns and do not fully address the well-being of Filipinos. The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) framework of seven human security areas provides a more comprehensive alternative lens better suited to addressing multifaceted threats.
This project, in response, seeks to use a human-centered “human security” rather than state-centered approach. It will evaluate the state of Philippine vulnerabilities guided by the UNDP seven areas and focusing on regional variance. To build a data-driven index stakeholders like government can use to better align programs to people’s needs, this project will:
• Gather new baseline data on regional human security; and
• Create a web-based application for data storage, distribution, and analysis.
The project will generate data using a mixed method, stratified random sampling approach (KIIs, FGDs, and a Likert survey). The main tool for this initiative, the Human Security Assessment Tool (HSAT), was developed with the research council’s experts to ensure a thorough multidimensional assessment in the regions. The compiled data will be uploaded to a web-based platform, eSECURE, that will have practical applications in setting research priorities, shaping policies, mitigating disaster risks, and making informed decisions.
Through its data-driven social technology approach, this project aims to minimize the daily insecurities faced by Filipinos in the post-pandemic era.
Paper short abstract:
Philippine insurgency demands governance-centric solutions. This study analyzes how RCSP integrates human security principles through local empowerment and development. Using Negros as a case study, we show sustainable peace requires institutionalized resilience frameworks within military planning.
Paper long abstract:
The persistence of insurgency in the Philippines stems from endemic socioeconomic disparities, institutional fragility, and systemic political marginalization. This study critically analyzes the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) as a counterinsurgency framework that integrates security imperatives with human security principles. Transcending conventional militarized paradigms, the RCSP operationalizes a Whole-of-Nation approach through three interdependent pillars: empowering local governance structures, catalyzing inclusive economic development, and fostering multi-stakeholder peace infrastructures. Through empirical analysis of Negros’ conflict ecology, this research demonstrates how the RCSP’s governance-centric model enhances community resilience by addressing root causes of insecurity while creating adaptive capacities and resilience.
The findings underscore the strategic imperative of aligning counterinsurgency operations with sustainable development objectives, particularly given unstable USAID allocations, climate change pressures, and evolving Asia-Pacific security dynamics. The paper contends that effective counterinsurgency requires institutionalizing the humanitarian-development-peace nexus within military doctrine, arguing for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) transition from territorial pacification to conflict-sensitive governance partnerships. Specific policy prescriptions include decentralizing resource allocation to LGUs, mainstreaming social cohesion metrics in security evaluations, and establishing civil-military development task forces.
By demonstrating how security actors can operationalize resilience frameworks in contested territories, this research advances theoretical debates on post-liberal peacebuilding. It provides empirical evidence for conflict transformation models that prioritize participatory governance over kinetic dominance, offering replicable insights for hybrid warfare contexts across the globe.
Paper short abstract:
This paper argues for the integration of Responsibility to Protect within the Triple Nexus to address polycrisis contexts.By aligning R2P’s preventive and protective principles with the nexus's cross-sectoral synergies,this approach enhances coherence,resilience,and human security in fragile states.
Paper long abstract:
The intensification of overlapping crises - climate change, conflict, and socio-economic instability - demands innovative frameworks to protect vulnerable populations. This paper critically examines the integration of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) within the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (Triple Nexus) to address systemic challenges in polycrisis contexts. While the Triple Nexus advocates for integrated, cross-sectoral interventions, operationalizing these synergies remains constrained by institutional silos, fragmented mandates, and competing priorities (Hanatani et al., 2018; Lie, 2020).
R2P’s normative framework, with its focus on prevention, reaction, and rebuilding, offers a valuable tool for aligning humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts (Shusterman, 2021; Barakat et al., 2023). By embedding R2P principles into Triple Nexus programming, this study emphasizes their potential to address immediate humanitarian needs while fostering long-term resilience. Case studies, such as UNICEF’s Yemen Emergency Cash Transfer Project, highlight the challenges of linking these dimensions in fragile states, where peacebuilding often remains underexplored (Mena & Hilhorst, 2022; Taylor, 2022). Conflict-sensitive and participatory designs are essential for fostering local resilience and mitigating unintended consequences (Ginty, 2011; Kavalski, 2010).
Findings underscore the importance of adaptive governance and context-specific strategies to overcome structural limitations (Hilhorst, 2018; Slim, 2002). Integrating R2P within the Triple Nexus not only enhances coherence across sectors but also advances accountability in addressing systemic drivers of crises (Vaux, 2006; Seybolt, 2008). This paper provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to operationalize R2P and the Triple Nexus, reimagining human security in an age of polycrisis.
Paper short abstract:
The hybrid nature of today's conflicts is one of the defining features of the twenty-first century's security environment. Hybrid warfare, therefore, has gained immense implications for any country’s national security as defined by environmental, human, economic and law and order dimensions.
Paper long abstract:
Hybrid warfare is an emerging but ill-defined notion in conflict studies. Its significance is rapidly increasing as it plays a significant role in any country’s national security. The term "Hybrid Warfare" is used to describe a military tactic that combines elements of traditional conflict, "irregular warfare," and cyberattacks with other means of influence, including propaganda, diplomacy, and direct political intervention (Weissmann, Nilsson, & Thunholm, 2021). Similarly, the concept of national security in today's world goes beyond the traditional security and includes political, economic, environmental, and human considerations. This study empirically investigates the impact of hybrid warfare on national security. It defines hybrid warfare index by combining the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Development Index (IDI), the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), the Network Readiness Index (NRI), and the National Cyber Security Index (NCSI). Whereas, our dependent variable of national security index includes four dimensions of national security i.e. law and order, economic, human and environmental. For quantitative analysis, this paper, therefore, seeks to investigate the impact of hybrid warfare on national security while controlling for country’s GDP per Capita, Geography, World Bank Governance Indicator (WBGI), Globalization Index. This panel data study employs Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, Fixed/Random effects model and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for approximately 120 countries from year 2015-2023. Further, the analysis will be desegregated by income classifications of countries and regions. Last but not the least, based on the findings, the implications will be drawn for the developing countries by taking Pakistan as a case study.
Paper short abstract:
This paper shares insights from the RACPA project on climate-induced displacement in Southeast Asia, highlighting how communities navigate insecurities. It emphasises the role of local knowledge in resilience and advocates for integrated approaches to policy, adaptation, and institutional reforms.
Paper long abstract:
Coastal and island communities in Southeast Asia face compounding crises that threaten their resilience and human security. Climate change, socio-economic inequality, and poor urban planning intensify displacement, disrupting livelihoods and deepening vulnerabilities. Rising sea levels, land subsidence, and extreme weather events drive forced (im)mobility, making planned relocation an increasingly recognized adaptation strategy. Yet, how do communities navigate these insecurities while fostering resilience? What role should local knowledge systems play in reimagining human security? How can institutional architecture better support integrated approaches across humanitarian aid, development, and peacebuilding?
Through the Research and Advocacy for Climate Policy and Action (RACPA) project, this paper examines climate-induced displacement in Indonesia and the Philippines, focusing on Tambakrejo (Semarang City) and Wonoagung (Demak) in Indonesia, and Nocnocan Island (Bohol) in the Philippines. Findings reveal that despite severe environmental threats, many residents remain due to cultural ties and economic constraints. Adaptation strategies vary—from coastal defenses to livelihood diversification—yet institutional responses remain reactive and fragmented. Women’s roles, mental health, and the socio-economic dimensions of displacement emerge as critical yet often overlooked factors.
To reimagine human security, this study highlights the need for locally driven, multi-stakeholder solutions, including participatory climate governance, gender-sensitive resilience programs, and integrated disaster risk financing. Institutional reforms must move from short-term relief to long-term adaptation by embedding community knowledge in policy, ensuring equitable relocation support, and strengthening financial mechanisms like the Loss and Damage Fund. Grounded in participatory action research, this study advocates for inclusive governance, proactive adaptation, and equitable climate action to strengthen resilience.