Citation

MacLean G. J. Hum. Secur. 2009; 5(3): 58-71.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Librello Publishing)

DOI

10.3316/JHS0503058

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the Canadian context, human security descended from a grand design of foreign policy premised on national values and interests, and an internationalist approach. However, human security became immersed in an unnecessary struggle to distinguish a new 'paradigm', alienating many who may otherwise have come to see the term as useful and constructive. It became a polarising theme in Canadian foreign policy as the government presented it as a novel approach, rather than one grounded firmly in the strategy of Canada's foreign relations. Despite the ensuing controversy over its use, and the current Conservative government's attempt to set itself apart from the Liberal legacy, the human security agenda remains largely intact, though without explicit reference to the term.