It’s been three decades since the release of the United Nations Human Development Report (HDR), a landmark publication that contemplated security by challenging dominant views of international relations.
The HDR advocated for the connected principles of freedom from fear and freedom from want. It shifted the focus from traditional state-centric and military-oriented security to one that placed the basic protection of people first — human security.
This report came at a transitional moment in world history, at the advent of the post-Cold War period. Observers noted the world had entered a period of uncertainty. The traditional idea of security, which dominated the Cold War, created a precarious balance of power characterized by fear, retribution and violence.
