The Relevance of Human Security Approach in Assessing The Causes and Solutions to Food Insecurity in South Sudan (Case Study: South Sudan 2017 Famine)

Abstract

Despite South Sudan’s high potential in agriculture and cultivation, food insecurity brought dire consequences to the people’s well-being throughout 2017. The previous research mostly points to the South Sudan ongoing civil war as the main cause of food insecurity but has yet to sufficiently explore the case study using a human security approach. This paper will attempt to analyze the relevance of the human security approach in explaining the primary factor of food insecurity for the South Sudan people during 2017 and how the approach can be used to mitigate the issue. The author argues that the human security approach can reveal the South Sudan government’s lack of prioritization for their people’s well-being in decision-making as the primary factor of food insecurity, which can be mitigated by a people-centered approach in the future decisions of all the relevant actors. The author utilized Ken Booth’s security as emancipation theory as the main perspective in the study alongside Sabine Alkire’s human security concept and Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food security indicators. The main findings confirm the importance of the human security approach in the decision-making of governments and other relevant actors, especially in the context of ensuring food security.

Keywords: South Sudan; food Security; human Security; emancipation

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