Asian Journal of Political Science Volume 11 Number 2 (December 2003) The Utility of the Human Security Agenda for Policy- makers Pauline Kerr, William T. Tow and Marianne Hanson The idea of "human security" is gaining attention among policy-makers and security analysts. Little scholarly attention has been given to the questions of why states accept (or reject) a human security agenda or how such an agenda is incorporated into policy practices. The article suggests that a human security approach is most likely to be applied when both humanitarian and national interests combine. Yet when states or organisations adopt a human security approach, they often misjudge the complex and long-term commitment required of such an approach. There is also the potential for such an agenda to be manipulated to justify questionable courses of action. These issues frame an analysis of six recent case studies. Introduction T he chaotic post-invasion period in Afghanistan and Iraq is a stark reminder of James Rosenau's reference in the opening lines of this volume to the "ever-greater messiness of the world". 1 As Rosenau implied, this "messiness" extends to much of contemporary world politics. The early 21 st century presents us with a sobering picture of on-going poverty, malnutrition and risk of disease for the majority of the world's inhabitants and continuing violence and death as a result of on-going civil wars or ethnic conflicts linked to the easy acquisition of small arms and light weapons. The new century also sees environmental imbalances threatening the well-being of populations in numerous parts of the globe, and Pauline Kerr is Research Fellow, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. William T. Tow is Professor, School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Marianne Hanson is Senior Lecturer, School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The authors would like to thank Dr. Matthew Sussex for his assistance during the preparation of this article.