File:HOMELAND HUMAN SECURITY- A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR AMERICA'S APPROACH TO HOMELAND SECURITY? (IA homelandhumansec1094564060).pdf

The current understanding of the concept of homeland security in the United States—measures taken to protect the United States from terrorist attacks and to recover from natural disasters—has resulted in a practical approach that largely ignores many threats to the security of the average American. A deeper analysis of the insecurities faced by the American people reveals that the security of the homeland is a complex system of interconnected varieties of security including food, health, personal, economic, environmental, community, and political. This thesis suggests an alternate approach to homeland security based on the human security framework—a non-traditional approach to understanding security that seeks to shift the referent object of security from the state to the individual and ensure a world where the individual is free from fear, free from want, and free to live in dignity. This research explored the nexus of homeland security and human security by examining the development of the concept of homeland security, identifying the shortcomings of the current approach, and outlining the applicability of the human security framework to the understanding and practice of homeland security. This thesis finds that an approach to homeland security based on the steps for applying the human security framework is not only plausible, but would result in overall increased security for the American people.

Subjects: homeland security; homeland security theory; department of homeland security; DHS; homeland security framework; human security; reconceptualizing security; human security framework; non-traditional security; economic security; food security; environmental security; health security; personal security; community security; political security; southern border crisis; humanitarian crisis; border wall; asylum seekers; zero tolerance; child separations