Japan’s Global Engagement:Human Security, Development Assistance, and Strategic Postures in Africa and Southeast Asia

[2F207] Problematizing State-centrism in Human Security: A Critical Analysis of Japan’s Human Security Discourse at Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Documents

*Merve OZTURK ASIL¹ (1. PhD Student at Ristumeikan University, Graduate School of International Relations)

キーワード：Human Security, State-centrism, Human Agency, Japan, The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)

The concept of human security has been a pivotal concern in International Relations since the late twentieth century. Although the discourse and extensive theoretical debates on human security have produced an important body of knowledge, there remains a notable gap in the development of human agency in human security practice. This study contends that the persistence of a state-centric approach is the primary obstacle to progress. Addressing human security without prioritizing human agency undermines the transformative potential of the concept. Despite the considerable advancements, contemporary knowledge production in the field of human security continues to be predominantly state-centric reflecting and reinforcing global international order. To critically examine this tendency within the human security field, this paper analyzes documents from the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) organized by Japan, with a focus on human security discourse. Japan serves as a pertinent case study due to its global recognition as a norm entrepreneur and champion of human security, advocating for a human-centered approach. In addition, Japan's human security policy is noteworthy for its approach that “places people front and center,” as expressed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. By analyzing Japan's human security discourse in TICAD documents, this study seeks to unveil the state-centric nature of its policy and highlight the necessity of an emancipatory approach within human security studies, which genuinely centers on the human experience. Ultimately, this paper aims to propose a rethinking and reorientation of the human security concept, prioritizing human agency to free individuals from their insecurities by problematizing the dominant state-centric paradigm that is often accepted as a taken-for-granted reality in human security praxis.