Structural Components of “Human Security” in the Conceptualization of National Security: Case of the Republic of Armenia

Abstract

Introduction. The study aims at examining the concept of security from the perspective of a human being as an individual, his/her personal development and chances for the full realization of human potential within the framework of state security. The correlation of the two concepts is the basis upon which we attempt to reveal the extent to which the balance between human and state security is maintained. In the study, we draw upon the example of the Republic of Armenia, its basic national security documents and the specific niche that human security occupies in this context. At this stage we limit the study to the level of documents without referring to the implementation of the basic principles of security reflected in the appropriate documents in real life. Internal changes in the political situation in the country and the fundamental principles underlying and generating these changes call for the necessity of scholarly examination of the concepts in question. The immediate aim of the study is to delineate the concept of “human security” as reflected in the framework of the national security of the Republic of Armenia, namely in the fundamental documents referring to the national securityMethods. Initially in the paper we introduce the theoretical background and expound all those conceptual premises and the definitions of “human security” of various scholars and scholarly schools which precondition the nature of the research. Drawing upon the method of qualitative-quantitative content analysis, we make an attempt to show to which extent the concept of “human security” is conceptualized in the sources mentioned. The following documents served as an empirical material for the study – the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Armenia 2014-2025 Strategic Program of Prospective Development, as well as the National Security Strategy. The representativeness of the material is accounted for by the fact that the state and government are guided act in line with these documents.Results and conclusions. The study permits to conclude that the balance between state security and human security in Armenia is shifted towards the former, with the apparent prevalence of military security sector.