School of People Environment and Planning

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    Greed, grievances and anarchy at sea : human security and Somali piracy : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Rees, Aaron
    In recent years there has been a dramatic upsurge in piracy off the Somali coast. In 2009 alone, there were 217 reported incidences of Somali piracy, with 857 seafarers being held hostage. This piracy clearly has significant ramifications for global security and development, and must therefore be addressed. It is often stated that piracy is little more than a ‘symptom’ of greater problems on land. However, current counter-­‐piracy measures have largely been dominated by naval fixes, while failing to address the underlying issues driving piracy. This thesis adopts a human security framework to analyze the underlying economic, social, cultural, political and environmental conditions on land that are contributing to the causation of Somali piracy. This analysis is intended to evaluate economic rationalist (greed) and grievance-­‐based understandings of piracy, and thus shed light on the root causes of Somali piracy, revealing possible avenues to address these causes. To achieve this aim, a qualitative analysis of media interviews with Somali pirates, and other key actors, has been conducted in combination with a critical review of available information on Somali piracy and human security in Somalia. Overall, this study finds that weak human security and external violations of human security in Somalia underpin many of the factors driving piracy off the Somali coast, suggesting that Somali piracy is a human security issue, which requires integrated development and security solutions. Therefore, this thesis proposes that ensuring human freedoms in Somalia is the only sustainable means of addressing Somali piracy.
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    Human security for humanitarian and development practitioners : the experience of aid workers from New Zealand Red Cross : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Davy, Aaron James
    This thesis aims to investigate the application of human security to informing and reflecting the experience of New Zealand Red Cross (NZRC) aid workers, particularly those delivering health and medical assistance in highly ‘militarised’ locations. It is claimed by some that the roots of human security are actually found in the nineteenth-century establishment of the Red Cross and it’s operational mandate since that time. Contemporary case-studies of NZRC aid worker experience of personal security will assist in elucidating this claim, particularly in reference to the organisation’s record of working in situations of conflict and insecurity, and its association with military frameworks. With its focus upon a broad range of risks to the individual or community, human security may appear as an ambiguous or dissociated framework for the application to a single organisational occupation or individual. Additionally, a broad scan of academic literature suggests that existing human security dialogue retains a focus on the recipients of humanitarian or developmental aid, as opposed to the aid workers themselves. At the core of human security, however, there may be framing elements that can adequately inform and reflect the context and experience of personal security of development and humanitarian aid workers, such as those from the Red Cross. Red Cross aid workers, deployed through the New Zealand Red Cross, are often located in field environments that include some type of military (or informal militia) presence. The coexistence of such militarised influences within a humanitarian operation or development programme can complicate the aid worker’s experience of security. This thesis investigates the basis of these experiences, and uses a human security discourse to review the frameworks application to the personal security of Red Cross aid workers themselves. This will provide an opportunity to analyse how the operational security of the Red Cross as an organisation can be further informed by a human security analysis.