Human security in Ecuador: calibrating ideas through conceptual mapping

Abstract

Since it was proposed by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1994, conceptualizations about human security have encompassed a variety of threats. During the first decades of the 21st century in Ecuador, there was a political use of the human security approach. Given that human security is a rough concept to define, the question that guides this article is: what ideas and notions of human security were spread in Ecuador between 2001 and 2016? The objective is to analyse the ideas and notions of human security that were disseminated through the construction of a conceptual cartography (see Figure 1) that allows us to analyse the trends that the incorporation of the human security approach meant in Ecuadorian normative and political instruments. This seeks to deploy a practical guide to understand how actors understand the meaning of human security in all its magnitude based on the notion, categorization, characterization, differentiation, subdivision, linking and exemplification of the term and identifying the differences that exist in the understanding of the term. In Ecuador, the concept of human security is a notion that was initially promoted by actors from the academic sector and the Armed Forces and to a lesser extent by international organizations. However, the lack of conceptual development of the term and the difficulties in its operationalization led to Ecuadorian decision makers focusing on its restricted version: human security linked to citizen security. Finally, in addition to reflecting on the current situation of human security, under a foresight view, possible futures for this security paradigm are raised.