HUMAN SECURITY (RE)CONSIDERATION BY NATO

NATO has an interesting history in dealing with the Human Security concept and its derivates. In a non-formalized past, we have considered various efforts in planning and conducting operations as proving the spirit of Human Security: the effects-based approach to operations and the comprehensive approach, the counterinsurgency philosophy, civil-military cooperation (CIMIC), and NATO support to civil emergencies. However, this is not close even to the arguments on the "right to intervene", or the "responsibility to protect", allowing the use – as a last resort – of the hard power in extreme cases of people endangered by their governments, failing to protect citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. For this, we have the illustrative case of Libya, where NATO had a major stake in the crisis resolution. Currently, the Human Security paradigm is present in NATO's theory and practice, focused on several main lines of effort, in areas NATO conducts operations, missions, or activities. The paper further inquires about the interpretation of Human Security in NATO and its operationalization perspective.