Comprehensive Security Dialogue The Delhi Policy Group has been in the lead to expand the meaning of security beyond its military connotation. Based on this conviction, DPG launched a four-year programme called the Comprehensive Security Dialogue project. This Ford Foundation-funded project was conducted from 2001 to 2004. It created a dialogue on the expanded nature of security which impacted states and examined the ideas and needs of security in the framework of an inter-disciplinary matrix in South Asia. The Comprehensive Security phraseology was deliberately chosen. There has been for sometime a questioning of the primacy of the state-led military element in the conceptualisation of security. This has resulted in the widening of the security agenda by claiming status for a range of issues beyond the purely military realm. The wider range includes economic, environmental and societal issues apart from the political and military factors that have traditionally defined security. The military dimension of security was deliberately separated from the non-military aspect. These were examined as two distinct entities, consequently widening the security debate in a comprehensive outlook. There has been a long felt need to examine the relationship between the security needs of the state and its peoples. The former has traditionally viewed security through the military and international relations lens, while the latter uses a broadband prism to view security and its impact on peoples and societies. The Comprehensive Security Dialogue combined the competing perspectives of the 'narrow' and 'wide' streams of security thought with a view to obtain a constructive and interactive outlook involving the state and its people. This effort required a contemporary and relevant understanding of what security means in an era where economical, environmental, societal and governance factors strongly impact state policies. To maintain coherence, there was a special need to disaggregate the security notion into its relevant components and distinguish it from other aspects - economical, environmental, societal and governance affairs. These were identified as the economic, environmental, societal and political sectors, which, together with the military dimension formed the integrated and comprehensive security matrix. The project explored the idea of security within the states of South Asia and in its regional context based on the assumption that these states share substantial commonality in threats to their security in its comprehensive form. Commonly shared threats in the different security sectors are as much a factor in bringing the states together as they have been in keeping them from cooperating. This particularly applies to environmental, energy and economic activities that are individually and collectively capable of inculcating collective action. Environmental Security Some describe this sector as the ultimate security. Certainly for a state like the Maldives a change in environment would mean the extinction of the state itself. On the other hand, soil erosion, forest cover depletion and loss of agricultural land have led to migration of populations across borders in South Asia. This has heightened security risks and brought about responses from state players on the military dimension. What are essentially human security issues have thus become securitised. There are two agendas which drive the environmental security sector. The scientific agenda is part of the scientific and non-governmental set of activities; the political agenda forms a part of the governmental and intergovernmental domain. They often intersect in public debates, but the security aspect of the sector is always dealt with by the state as its preserve. The issues involved in the environmental sector are numerous: ecosystem disruption, energy problems, population issues, food related problems, economic issues of unsustainable modes of production and civil strife related to environmental issues. The fallout of each of these sub-themes is felt in the security response to which the state responds by virtue of its power to determine which interest group to support. The Project attempted to find the space necessary for a better response to environmental challenges from the perspectives of both, the state and its peoples. Economic Security The traditional argument in this field was between the political structure of anarchy and the economic structure of the market forces. However, the economic security dilemma has, in fact, been one of relative economic growth as a determinant of state power. Certainly in South Asia the major dilemma is coping with globalisation and ensuring the economic security of the poor. Economic activity always triggers survival issues in other sectors. Even economic success can lead to a security crisis in some parts of the societal sector. The security of economic resources and supply, fears of economic loss in the global markets, the security dimensions of drugs and weapons linkages form part of both economics of security and security of economics. The project explored the effect of globalisation and rapid economic reform. Societal Security Societal security is not only related to but simultaneously distinct from political and military security. The boundaries of the state and society are not always co-terminous in South Asia. The notions of societal identities of large self-sustaining segments of society, smaller groups and ethnic segments have serious security ramifications. South Asian states have been affected by this, both on intra-state and inter-state levels. The project analysed issues of migration, social and ethnic cleansing, economic competition amongst societal groups and of societal conflicts and their impact on the security of state and society. Political Security This sector comprises of threats from political-ideological factors, security against supra-national integration, threats to international society and law and order from fundamental forces. These must be examined in their local, regional and global security contexts. Is there a possibility in South Asia of such threats getting out of hand and becoming a security risk of high order? Can regional mobilisation take place against the threats of a state's destabilisation through political subversion? This section of the project examined these crucial questions and assessed the role of the military in influencing the political security of a state and its people. To meet the project objectives, a series of seminars, workshops, outreaches and round-tables were conducted in India and South Asia. The South Asian dimension was covered through international seminars conducted in New Delhi, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Colombo. The message was taken to the policy establishments, academia and also to the youth through a university outreach programme. Attendees have asked for a continuation of the Comprehensive Security programme and as the project developed, a number of publications came out. These publications have been well received and continue to be in demand. Papers written for this project are being extensively referred to in writings on human and comprehensive security related issues. The phrase "Comprehensive Security" is a consequence of this project and has become a part of the security discourse. We find in the last few years "Comprehensive Security" is being used more frequently by scholars and even political leaders at the level of the Prime Minister and President. The project made a special attempt to encourage participation of young scholars and women. Our Presenters 2001-2005