Journal of Human Security

Abstract:

Over the last five years, violent non-state actors have acquired armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and have been using them extensively. This paper presents the main non-state actors involved and the areas in which they have used this tool, as well as how UAVs are used and procured. To date, armed UAVs have mainly been used by non-state actors in the Middle East and Central Asia. They have also been used in the conflict zones of Ukraine, Myanmar, Mexico, and Ecuador. While this is worrisome, limited evidence suggests that violent non-state actors use armed UAVs intentionally in areas where mostly civilians are present. The paper details the state of UAV usage by non-state actors and develops a thesis of cyclic adaptation between state and non-state actors. Not only do non-state actors learn from state actors, so does state and state-backed actors learn from non-state actors in conflict zones.

This process have been visible on the battlefield in Ukraine, where state-backed actors on both sides have incorporated smaller consumer style UAVs into their repertoire. As the use of armed UAVs developed substantially following Hezbollah’s early UAV operations in 2004 and spread to many regions of the world, the adaptation of non-state cleverness and ingenuity can be harnessed by state actors in times of poor or limited access to weaponry and support systems.

Abstract:

The precariat is a new social category that exists in all countries around the world and consists of people who work in the gig economy and/or are employed under civil law contracts. One of the key factors that determines membership of the precariat is the uncertainty felt by individuals in the labour market as a result of, inter alia, being employed on flexible forms. The research aim of this article is to define the specificity of the Polish precariat and their sense of social security in the context of the current employment support and social policy of the Polish government. The utilitarian goal is to evaluate the “Polish Deal” programme currently proposed by the Polish government in terms of its strengths and weaknesses in order to reduce the precariat phenomenon and boost the Polish precariat’s sense of social security. The article also attempts to demonstrate the effects of actions taken by the Polish government since 2015, which were aimed at improving the situation on the precariat labour market.

In order to determine the extent to which the current government in Poland affects the social security of the precariat and satisfies their needs by taking social welfare action and implementing indirect operations related to education, a questionnaire was used, conducted via the Internet, involving a survey panel of respondents. In this study, a stratified-quota sample selection was used, corresponding to the proportions of people working on the basis of various flexible forms of fixed-term employment and self-employment.

One thousand respondents employed on flexible terms participated in the study. The study was carried out at the turn of March/April 2021.

 

Abstract:

Within vivacious international relations, human rights dictums developed whilst racing to advance offensive and defensive capacities. Lately, artificial intelligence (AI) systems have been utilized in the spectrum of these advancements. This has led to a new form of arms race and human rights abuses whilst resisting any attempt to conclude a binding regulation in developing or using AI technology, and although AI has been a frontline issue in many disciplines from various angles, it nonetheless has not been as much in the legal profession, and specifically in international law.

The unprecedented AI technology changes, despite the many advantages, alarms the need to continuously explore its impact within various aspects of international law. The absence of a conclusive international threshold for AI development and use might cause hindering international relations if international law orthodoxies in humanitarian law and human rights become improperly effected. Accordingly, this paper examines whether there is a need to develop the existing international legal order, whether directly or indirectly, and suggest establishing an IGO entity with a mandate to reshape rules and embedded values in the face of a rapid AI technological advancement.

Abstract: Using descriptive and analytical legal research, this study analyses the relationship between the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and sustainable human security. It involves critically analysing the rules on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and what has been written and argued regarding human security and sustainable human security. The findings indicate that the TPNW consists of legal obligations for all state parties to abolish nuclear weapons as a prerequisite to permanent human security. It also comprises provisions for achieving sustainable human security. Therefore, the total ban on nuclear weapons is meant to protect human security and sustain it by eliminating the factors of insecurity of human beings due to the threat of using nuclear weapons.

Abstract: Elections have generally been recognized as the most democratic means of establishing governments. However, whereas Ghana has seen a remarkable increase in the occurrence of elections in the post-third wave period, this democratic gain has been battered by a corresponding proliferation in the incidence of electoral-related violence in certain parts of the country before, during and after elections. This study intends to contribute to the existing literature on the intersection between democracy, electoral violence and human security in Ghana and Africa at large by exploring the effect of such violence on human security in the Odododioidio constituency in the Greater Region of Ghana. Drawing mainly on qualitative data generated through group discussions and in-depth interviews, the study revealed seven key human security concerns that are undermined by electoral violence in the study location. The paper proposes interventions that could contribute significantly to avert the situation.