Operationalizing Human Security in NATO: The Blurring of Police and Military Boundaries and the Rise of Stability Policing

This paper examines the operationalization of human security within NATO, addressing the concept’s ambiguous definition and focusing on its implications for the blurring of police and military roles. Arguing that the lack of a concrete analytical framework permits the concept to be strategically redefined to serve institutional interests, the paper analyzes the case of the NATO Stability Policing Centre of Excellence (NSPCoE). The NSPCoE advocates for a broad interpretation of human security, necessitating hybrid security mechanisms; doing so, it legitimizes its own role as an intermediary between police and military forces. Through a document-based analysis of NATO, NSPCoE publications and social media, this research demonstrates how the imprecise nature of human security leads to a blurring of traditional security sector boundaries. The paper contributes to the literature on police-military relations and human security by illustrating the specific mechanisms through which this concept influences doctrinal development and operational practices within a major security institution, ultimately raising questions about the potential reconfiguration of power and resource allocation within the NATO Alliance.