“The world can never be at peace unless people have security in their daily lives. Future conflicts may often be within nations rather than between them-with their origins buried deep in growing socio-economic deprivation and disparities. The search for security in such a milieu lies in development, not in arms.” UNDP-HDR 1994

Over 20 year ago, Mahbub ul Haq drew global attention to the concept of human security in the United Nations Development Programme's 1994 Human Development Report which aimed to influence the UN's 1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen. A Human Security (HS) analysis encompasses a people-centred, multi-disciplinary comprehension of security, and involves a variety of research fields, including development studies, sociology, economics, international relations, environmental studies, and human rights.

This thematic group aims to revive the interest of Human Security studies within the Human Development and Capabilities paradigms, while pulling in other works that have been conducted in this area over the past twenty-five years. Additionally, it seeks to enrich the Human Security academic debate in human development circles by including new developments in sister fields, including from humanitarian studies, feminist security studies, and environmental change studies to name a few.