The Logic of Human Security and Why it Matters

The Logic of Human Security and Why it Matters

From Wavell Room Audio Reads by Wavell Room

April 15, 2026 · 14 min · Episode 57

About this episode

This episode explores the logic of human security and its integration into UK defence policy.

Amongst those countries that have engaged energetically with the concept of human security (HS), the UK has arguably led the way on integrating it into defence. Beyond smatterings of HS-related ideas across various UK defence doctrine publications and concept notes, the UK was the first country to formalise HS within military policy in 2019 (through JSP 1325, which was replaced by JSP 985 in 2021). There are HS-focused groups within various parts of the MoD; HS often features as part of pre-deployment training; the UK Defence Academy runs a Defence Human Security Advisory (DHSA) course, catering to both UK and foreign students; and the UK government announced plans back in 2019 to establish a Centre of Excellence for Human Security (although this has yet to see the light of day). The real-world effectiveness of HS integration and operationalisation is difficult to assess, let alone measure. Nevertheless, it seems that much of the effort around operationalising HS within defence seems to omit an appreciation that the underlying logic of human security appears more inherently relevant to defence — and indeed more operationalisable in principle — than might otherwise be thought…

Topics covered

  • human security
  • defence policy
  • military training
  • operational effectiveness
  • UK military
  • defence integration

Keywords

  • human security
  • UK defence
  • military policy
  • JSP 1325
  • JSP 985
  • MoD
  • defence training
  • Centre of Excellence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UK Defence Academy, MoD, UK government, JSP 1325, JSP 985

Places: UK

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