Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security Oct. 2014 | Page 110

politicisation of security instruments, leaves citizens
vulnerable to violence from non-state actors or the
state itself.

T
 he rule of law protects
citizens against external
threats, such as organised
and petty crime, and against
internal threats from the
arbitrary use of state power
against its own citizens.
People’s experiences of the state vary considerably
according to the state’s capacity and structure, and
the identity and histories of communities living
under it. The following section outlines four types
of governance contexts reflected in the respondent
stories: a newly formed democratic constitutional
system, transitional states, indigenous communities
within states, and statelessness. In each of these
contexts, we see the paradoxical role of the state in
both ensuring and undermining human security.
A newly formed democratic constitutional
system: Afghanistan
The importance of an existing state and justice
system is most evident in Afghanistan, where
many respondents refer to the newly established
democratic constitutional system and functioning
government as an important source of security. As
an NGO worker in Kabul notes, “The factor that
contributes to my sense of security is the presence
of a government, even if it’s weak. A few years ago
we didn’t even have a government.” Specifically, the
legal system is seen as an important guarantor of
security – while the courts and police are unreliably
effective or protective, their presence contributes to
a sense of security.
The new democratic constitutional system exists
alongside a political order that many respondents
see as a source of insecurity. Many citizens express
scepticism that political leaders or security forces
110 stories of Human Security | the Citizen-State Relationship

are serving the population, referring to self-interest
and political dynamics. The contrast between
the security derived from a system of law versus
the insecurity from unaccountable leaders and
weak governance was most clearly stated by a
respondent in Kabul who felt that: “The current
government is the most important driver of my
insecurity because it is a collection of warlords. I
fear this country will go back to the old times. But
the presence of a system in Afghanistan makes me
feel secure […] now there is a system in place for
everything even though it doesn’t work.” While
the presence of a new system is better than a total
lack of governance, its incomplete application is a
source of insecurity.

rates as the biggest source of insecurity. Police were
not seen as sources of protection – instead, citizens
felt vulnerable to police abuse of state power and
saw police as threats to security rather than as
protectors. With security forces unaccountable to
citizens or the law, the state was at best negligent
and at worst a predator.
Corruption undermined the legal system and
deepened insecurity. In place of a predictable
system of rules and their enforcement, the state
acted in ways that were perceived as arbitrary and
personality-dependent: “When you see people
wearing uniforms, you a priori perceive them as a
[source] of danger. You don’t know what to expect
from them.” As a result, citizens had very low trust
in state institutions, and fell back on themselves and
their personal networks for security. In some cases,
citizens had withdrawn all social trust: “Count on
yourself. That’s all.”

The ability of the government to provide
protection against direct violence remains a key
source of citizen security or insecurity. Those
who do not feel protected by the government will
seek physical protection where they can find it.
According to another respondent, people were
often heard saying that life under the Taliban
regime, though it was difficult, was physically
safer.

While many Ukrainian respondents seemed to
express resignation in the low performance of the
state, some respondents believed the state’s duty
was to provide security. One respondent explicitly
called for regime change, which is indicative of
the mass unrest in Kyiv at the time. While the
state was maligned as a source of insecurity, the
expectation that it should provide security still
prevailed.

Citizens in Afghanistan highlight the central
role that the existence of a state plays in their
experiences of security. Most essentially, citizens
refer to the rule of law and provision of physical
protection as the basis for their perceptions of
security or insecurity. When political leaders and
security forces are not accountable to the law,
ordinary people are more vulnerable.

In Mexico, respondents similarly describe a state
in which weak and corrupt law enforcement and
justice systems have resulted in citizen insecurity
and violence perpetrated by both non-state and
state actors. The weakness of the justice system
and law enforcement capacities, compounded by
corruption and collusion of the state apparatus in
illegal activities, leaves the state unable to protect
citizens against the twofold threat of drug cartels or
predatory state behaviour.

Rule of law: Ukraine and Mexico
In Ukrainea and Mexico, two states with a history
of one-party rule, people’s concerns about
insecurity stem largely from a perceived lack of
state ability or political will to establish and enforce
the rule of law. The rule of law protects citizens
against external threats, such as organised and
petty crime, and against internal threats from the
arbitrary use of state power against its own citizens.

Insecurities resulting from the weak rule of
law intensified when the Mexican government
initiated a militarised campaign to stop drug
violence in 2006. Devastating violence against
citizens grew exponentially. According to an
interviewee of Nuevo León in northern Mexico,
“[a militarised approach] led to more fear and the
suppression of activities in the public space.” With
the rule of law already weak, the militarisation of
the conflict left citizens with few avenues for state
protection or redress.

In Ukraine, respondents in late 2013 described
weak rule of law as a key source of insecurity.
A lack of police accountability resulted in lax
enforcement of laws, impunity, and rising crime. A
majority of Kyiv respondents reported high crime
a Interviews were conducted in Kyiv and the Crimean capital of
Simferopol in the period preceding and during escalating street protests
that resulted in the removal of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

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A citizen security approach developed by civil
society in collaboration with government has
proven more effective in protecting citizens from
violence. By aiming to strengthen the accountability
of local officials to their communities, many of the
reforms that have been instituted to address the
violence have focused on rule of law reforms. This
has included reform of the legal framework, the
judicial system, and strengthening law enforcement
mechanisms. Strengthening citizen voices in security
policymaking helped to demilitarise the conflict in
Mexico, increasing human security.
In both Ukraine and Mexico, the absence of state
services and state protection has left citizens
vulnerable to violence from crime, and the
impunity and negligence of police forces and
the ineffectiveness of the justice system are also
significant threats to security. Citizens’ efforts to
develop greater security involve strengthening the
rule of law and making the state more accountable
and responsive to citizen s.

Strengthening citizen voices in
security policymaking helped
to demilitarise the conflict in
Mexico, increasing human
security.
Indigenous societies and the state: the
Philippines and Zimbabwe
In Mindanao, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe,
the existence of traditional tribes presents a
different relationship between the rule of law
and human security. The role of the state vis-àvis indigenous governance structures is complex
and simultaneously a driver of conflict as well as a
potential source of security. In traditional societies,
establishing contemporary rule of law can impose a
foreign and sometimes hostile system of governance
that complicates or destroys traditional customs
and identities. Yet if used to carve out legal space
for traditional governance structures and leadership
within the state, it can be a source of community
security.
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