Telemedicine as a tool for improving human security - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 156

be analyzed or resolved apart from one another. The formative dynamics
and structure of a security complex are normally generated by the units
within it - their security perceptions of, and interaction with, each other.
But they may also arise from collective securitizations of outside pressures
arising from the operation of complex metasystems, such as the planetary
environment or the global economy.
(1998:201)
The low likelihood of war occurring in the Arctic does not prevent the consid-
eration of the Arctic region as a security complex. Various Arctic states share
common security problems, from ensuring sovereignty, to environmental pol-
itics stemming from issues such as pollution and climate change, the rights of
indigenous people to live their lives according to cultural traditions and issues
of access to employment and healthcare. The Arctic can be characterized by
extremes in population, where it is a vast area with 'crowded' cities and rural
areas that are scarcely populated. This pattern of population distribution can
result in centralizing pressures that force people to migrate to the cities. By
centralizing pressures I mean that access to social goods such as schooling,
healthcare and employment is better (and becomes increasingly centralized)
in these urban rather than rural areas.
The Arctic is unique as a security complex. It is a region itself, but it is
also a region of many regions, each of which is a part of a different security
complex. The Scandinavian countries are in the European security complex,
while the US and Canada can be seen as part of the North American security
complex. Russia is part of the European security complex and is a security
complex itself, while at the same time being composed of many different
nations and regions. Additionally, some Arctic regions of Russia are in Asia.
Different Arctic states may therefore have common security challenges in sev-
eral sectors and they may also have security challenges (threats) coming from
other parts than the Arctic. How one applies either of Buzan et al .'s (1998)
definitions depends on what we are analysing. It can also lead one to lose
focus, and forget what a core objective should be - the security of citizens
within a region.
Human security and the need for a wider approach
to the study of security
The outline of the Report of the Commission on Human Security (CHS)
states that 'as security challenges become more complex and various new
actors attempt to play a role, we need a shift in paradigm. The focus must
broaden from the state to the security of people - to human security' (CHS
Outline 2003:1). The CHS report requests that all suggestions made in sup-
port of a human security approach be accepted by the member states. These
states are the core actors, able to suggest measures, and accept and implement