Human Security with Chinese characteristics? Sinicisation of the concept

Stekić, Nenad (2022) Human Security with Chinese characteristics? Sinicisation of the concept. In: Book of abstracts: The 5th International Conference on Human Security: Innovation, Research, and Knowledge in the (Re)configuration of Human Security. University, Faculty of Security Studies, Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, p. 34. ISBN 978-86-80144-54-2

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Abstract

In nearly three decades of its existence, the theory underlying the concept of human security has undergone minimal theoretical adjustments. The concept has frequently been criticized for being overly abstract and "alienated" from reality. Furthermore, the concept's components have been examined in the context of several existing theoretical frameworks within the field of international relations, which both aided and hindered the integration of human security into predominately Western scholarly narratives. Counterintuitively, certain academic works, particularly those which did not a priori embrace the theoretical investigations of Western-centric authors, only needed around ten years to grasp the significance of this notion and its postulates in other regions of the world. In China, for example, the country's particular polity has recently finished a large process of opening up to the outside world while preserving a strong sense of responsibility for its own population in a Sinocentric manner. Chinese President Xi Jinping's philosophy, communism with Chinese characteristics, prioritizes the person over the benefits that the state as a whole may offer (among other things). This paper is an attempt to demonstrate the distinctiveness of the application of the idea of human security in the Chinese context – its so-called Sinicisation. The discussion is centered on the inconsistencies that arise in the definition (but also in the application) of the postulate of human security and the explanation provided by the Chinese school of political science regarding the function of the individual in maintaining security. The final objective of the article is to ascertain how personal and national security are related under centralized political systems.

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