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Taylor Owen

 

  • 2006 Trudeau Scholar

    taylor.owen@trudeaufoundation.net

    Current Research

    Banting Post-doctorate Fellow, Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia

    Profile

    "The success of human security shows that ideas do matter, and that they can make a difference" says Taylor Owen of a concept of which he is both a student and an advocate. Time in Africa, Central America and Cambodia opened his eyes to both the realities of daily life outside the relatively safe confines of Canada, as well as the dire need for new ideas for addressing global vulnerability. However, it was the introduction to the concept of human security and the possibility that it might help bridge the problematic divide between local insecurity and international responses, that led to his fundamental focus on the idea that people rather than states should be at the centre of security research and policy.

    Since then, based at the International Peace Research Institute, Yale, and now Oxford, he has worked to advance both the theory and the practice of human security. Recently, UNESCO adopted his definition (critical and pervasive threats to the vital core of individuals) in their latest regional human security assessment. He hopes other UN agencies and governments will soon follow suit.

    Taylor sees human security as cutting across all four themes of the Foundation. "Part of what I am trying to do is figure out where harms falling under each of the four themes cross a threshold and become something significantly and substantially different than just environmental, health or human rights concerns. When do they become so serious that they warrant the resources and prescience of the security label"

    "I am truly excited to engage with this incredible network of people. The Foundation is building a remarkable cumulative body of work that is humbling to be a part of."

    Trudeau Foundation Themes

    Human Rights and Social Justice » 

  • Current Residence

    Oxford, UK, and Toronto, Ontario

    Languages

    English, French, Spanish

    Degrees

    • D.Phil. Geography, University of Oxford
    • M.A. Geography, University of British Columbia
    • B.A. Geography and Philosophy, Bishop's University

    Current Research

    Operationalizing Human Security: from local vulnerability to international policy

    This project seeks to overcome the theoretical and practical difficulties surrounding the concept of human security using a new definition and measuring methodology. A threshold-based conceptualization is proposed as a means of reconciling the realities of local vulnerability with the practicalities of international action. A GIS-based assessment methodology is used to analyze sub-national vulnerability and coping strategies and link them to the emerging norms on humanitarian intervention and a broadly defined Responsibility to Protect. Case studies of Cambodia and Afghanistanwill provide the empirical base for a model to be used by the international research and policy communities.

    Past Research

    • The History of the UN and Human Security
    • Modelling Transboundary Rivers and Conflict
    • The Consequences of War: The Political and Human Impacts of the US Bombing of Cambodia
    • Correlates of Violence: Modeling Post-Conflict Human Security in Cambodia
    • The Development Impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons
    • Human Security Mapping: Measuring Cambodian Vulnerability

    Awards

    • Doctoral Scholarship, Social Science and Humanities Research Council
    • Post-Graduate Fellow, Genocide Studies Program, Yale University
    • CIDA Innovative Graduate Student Research Award
    • Canadian Consortium on Asia Pacific Security, Junior Scholar Travel Award
    • Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Graduate Student Consultant

    Social Engagement

    • Associate Editor, St. Anthony's International Review
    • International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC), emergency earthquake relief volunteer
    • Volunteer for a village environmental education project
    • Model United Nations
    • Competitive squash, rugby and scuba diving instructor

    Work Experience

    • Past Co-Editor and current Book Review Editor, Security Dialogue
    • Researcher, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
    • External Research Associate, Liu Institute for Global Issues
    • Full Time Teaching Assistant, Geography Department, UBC
    • Internship, International Development Research Center

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