The Contribution of the Concept of Human Security to the Western Balkans

This article evaluates the usefulness that stems from adopting the concept of human security for analysing the situation of the Western Balkan societies affected by the dismemberment of the former Yugoslavia. While accepting that the argument of the lack of consensus on the definition of human security hampers its study, this work sustains that incorporating a perspective influenced by this concept aids in understanding two specific aspects. On the one hand, the form that the international response adopted during the 1990s and early 21st century, and, on the other hand, the complexity of the problems and challenges that continue to hinder progress toward the political and socio-economic stability of this region. At the same time, this work illustrates with examples from police reform in Bosnia that beyond the identifying of problems, it is still difficult to take the concept of human security to the formulation of policies that could resolve the complex situation existing in this region.