Violence, Terrorism and Human Security in South Asia

How violence and terrorism impact on societies has largely been ignored in mainstream security studies. However, in the post-cold war order, endemic violence has become part of life of people across the world, more so in South Asia. Within the current debates in security studies and efforts to make security conceptions more people-centred, the issue of violence finds some primacy. The concept of "human security" tries to focus on issues related to security of the citizens, and hence on the human costs of violent conflicts. This study tries to understand how violence and terrorism affect people’s security in South Asia. It builds a new framework of security that does not view "human security" as opposed to state security. Rather, it views "human security" as an integrative concept that complements state security. The new framework of security focuses on the threats that organized violence poses to not only states and regimes but also to citizens and society. This book furthers the debate on the concept of "human security" and also unravels the complexities of the impact of terrorism on South Asian societies.