An Evidence-Based Framework for NATO’s Human Security Approach

NATO adopted its Human Security Approach and Guiding Principles at the Madrid Summit of 2022. Whilst NATO identifies human security as an “essential tool” and seeks to integrate it to a degree sufficient to shape its core tasks, the Guiding Principles lack depth; they are underdeveloped, fail to make clear the distinctive nature of the concept of human security, the evidence base on which it is founded, or the difference it can make to the achievement of the organization’s goals. Discussing NATO’s emerging shift to a human security approach, this article provides a framework of human security based on six evidence-based principles that provide additional depth and clarity to NATO’s approach. The framework can be used by NATO and its personnel, such as Human Security Advisors, Military Police and Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) officers, to develop the military contribution to human security (MC2HS).