HUMAN SECURITY FROM THE CRITICAL THEORY PERSPECTIVE: EU AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS

Abstract

The notion of Human Security is the result of an attempt to conceptualise new under-standings and practices of security that are alternative to the realist thought. This search for a new security notion views the nation states are unable to provide security for people. However, this claim does not prevent usage of this concept as a foreign policy instrument in the conven-tional sense. In this context, Critical Theory, another alternative approach to Realism, helps to evaluate the human security in such a critical manner. This article firstly deals with the issue of security with a special focus on the developments in security studies after the end of the Cold War. In this sense, the main differences of realist and critical notions of security will be com-pared and the basic premises of Human Security will be highlighted. Secondly, Critical Theory, which is another alternative paradigm to realism in security studies, will be discussed in relation with Human Security. Finally, with the help of Critical Theory, it will be argued that how Hu-man Security can be used as leverage for conventional foreign policy goals. In order to evaluate to what extent content this is true, this paper will focus on the European Union’s response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. The directives and actions in response to the refugee crisis will be analysed in order to answer the question of whether a Human Security approach could be a viable model for the European Union in international relations.