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A New Model of Human Security

Between interventionist excesses and tragic cases of inaction, it is clear that the international community still lacks a reliable doctrine of humanitarian intervention. The problem is that current security models are still based on the traditional concept of state sovereignty, rather than focusing on individual dignity.

MADRID – It is becoming increasingly clear that globalization progresses not steadily, but through ups and downs. Currently, it appears to be in a downswing, hindered by a growing number of irresponsible political leaders who describe it as the root of all evil. With the rhetoric of intolerance masquerading as nostalgia, populists such as US President Donald Trump advocate building walls and closing borders to reclaim “sovereignty” and “security.”

Of course, it was always naive to suppose that the nation-state could easily be divested of its central role in human affairs. But it is equally naive to believe that phenomena such as Brexit or Trump’s election augur the return of a world in which the nation-state reigns supreme. At this stage, the world is so interconnected that any talk of reversing globalization is chimerical.

In the realm of security, we need to confront the dark side of this interconnectivity. The legal and institutional mechanisms currently in place are inadequate to counter today’s threats, and this was true even before Brexit and Trump made things worse.

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