Towards a policy for human security: psychosocial contributions

Inspired by the correspondence between Einstein and Freud in 1936, this paper focuses on the multidimensional aspect of security, exploring its implications within the psychosocial approach. Reflections are therefore centred on the psychological aspects of conflict, on bio-psychic responses to violent solicitation and on ways in which individual emotions are managed and controlled by the State. Some social and economic mechanisms comprising the present global social scenario are explored: the intermesh between economic/industrial organisations and Security Institutions, and the consumerist economic model and its individual/collective consequences, ultimately environmental destruction. As suggested by Einstein, the creation of a supranational organisation would be an essential step towards an effective and economically sustainable international system. This can be achieved through a process that implies the evolution of cultural parameters and the transformation of national institutions. In this sense, the author suggests a decisive role for civil society organisations such as the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW).