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National security

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"National defense" redirects here. For other uses, see National defense (disambiguation).

National Defense is only one part of National Security.

For other uses, see National security (disambiguation).

National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attack, national security is widely understood to include also non-military dimensions, such as the security from terrorism, minimization of crime, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, and cyber-security. Similarly, national security risks include, in addition to the actions of other states, action by violent non-state actors, by narcotic cartels, organized crime, by multinational corporations, and also the effects of natural disasters.

Governments rely on a range of measures, including political, economic, and military power, as well as diplomacy, to safeguard the security of a state. They may also act to build the conditions of security regionally and internationally by reducing transnational causes of insecurity, such as climate change, economic inequality, political exclusion, and nuclear proliferation.

Definitions

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The concept of national security remains ambiguous, having evolved from simpler definitions which emphasised freedom from military threat and from political coercion.[1]: 1–6 [2]: 52–54  Among the many definitions proposed to date are the following, which show how the concept has evolved to encompass non-military concerns:

  • "A nation has security when it does not have to sacrifice its legitimate interests to avoid war, and is able, if challenged, to maintain them by war." (Walter Lippmann, 1943).[3]: 5 
  • "The distinctive meaning of national security means freedom from foreign dictation." (Harold Lasswell, 1950)[3]: 79 
  • "National security objectively means the absence of threats to acquired values and subjectively, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked." (Arnold Wolfers, 1960)[4]
  • "National security then is the ability to preserve the nation's physical integrity and territory; to maintain its economic relations with the rest of the world on reasonable terms; to preserve its nature, institution, and governance from disruption from outside; and to control its borders." (Harold Brown, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1977–1981)[5]
  • "National security... is best described as a capacity to control those domestic and foreign conditions that the public opinion of a given community believes necessary to enjoy its own self-determination or autonomy, prosperity, and wellbeing." (Charles Maier, 1990)[6]
  • "National security is an appropriate and aggressive blend of political resilience and maturity, human resources, economic structure and capacity, technological competence, industrial base and availability of natural resources and finally the military might." (National Defence College of India, 1996)[7]
  • "[National security is the] measurable state of the capability of a nation to overcome the multi-dimensional threats to the apparent well-being of its people and its survival as a nation-state at any given time, by balancing all instruments of state policy through governance... and is extendable to global security by variables external to it." (Prabhakaran Paleri, 2008)[2]: 52–54 

Dimensions

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Potential causes of national insecurity include actions by other states (e.g. military or cyber attack), violent non-state actors (e.g. terrorist attack), organised criminal groups such as narcotic cartels, and also the effects of natural disasters (e.g. flooding, earthquakes).[3]: v, 1–8 [8][9] Systemic drivers of insecurity, which may be transnational, include climate change, economic inequality and marginalisation, political exclusion, and nuclear proliferation.[8]: 3 [9]

In view of the wide range of risks, the security of a state has several dimensions, including economic security, energy security, physical security, environmental security, food security, border security, and cyber security. These dimensions correlate closely with elements of national power.

Increasingly, governments organise their security policies into a national security strategy (NSS);[10] as of 2017, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the states to have done so.[11][12][13][14] Some states also appoint a National Security Council and/or a National Security Advisor which is an executive government agency, it feeds the head of the state on topics concerning national security and strategic interest. The national security council/advisor strategies long term, short term, contingency national security plans. India holds one such system in current, which was established on 19 November 1998.

Although states differ in their approach, various forms of coercive power predominate, particularly military capabilities.[8] The scope of these capabilities has developed. Traditionally, military capabilities were mainly land- or sea-based, and in smaller countries, they still are. Elsewhere, the domains of potential warfare now include the air, space, cyberspace, and psychological operations.[15] Military capabilities designed for these domains may be used for national security, or equally for offensive purposes, for example to conquer and annex territory and resources.

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer offers a seven-characteristic definition for 'national security state' as where the military and broader national security establishment, e.g., exert influence over political and economic affairs; hold ultimate power while maintaining an appearance of democracy; are preoccupied with external and/or internal enemies; define policies in secret and implement those policies through covert channels.[16]

Obama administration

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The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff defines national security of the United States in the following manner :[17]

A collective term encompassing both national defense and foreign relations of the United States. Specifically, the condition provided by: a. a military or defense advantage over any foreign nation or group of nations; b. a favorable foreign relations position; or c. a defense posture capable of successfully resisting hostile or destructive action from within or without, overt or covert.

In 2010, the White House included an all-encompassing world-view in a national security strategy which identified "security" as one of the country's "four enduring national interests" that were "inexorably intertwined":[18]

"To achieve the world we seek, the United States must apply our strategic approach in pursuit of four enduring national interests:

  • Security:  The security of the United States, its citizens, and U.S. allies and partners.
  • Prosperity:  A strong, innovative, and growing U.S. economy in an open international economic system that promotes opportunity and prosperity.
  • Values: Respect for universal values at home and around the world.
  • International Order:  An international order advanced by U.S. leadership that promotes peace, security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges.

Each of these interests is inextricably linked to the others: no single interest can be pursued in isolation, but at the same time, positive action in one area will help advance all four."

— National Security Strategy, Executive Office of the President of the United States (May 2010)

Empowerment of women

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Main article: Hillary Doctrine

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that, "The countries that threaten regional and global peace are the very places where women and girls are deprived of dignity and opportunity".[19] She has noted that countries, where women are oppressed, are places where the "rule of law and democracy are struggling to take root",[19] and that, when women's rights as equals in society are upheld, the society as a whole changes and improves, which in turn enhances stability in that society, which in turn contributes to global society.[19]

Cyber

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The Bush administration in January 2008 initiated the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). It introduced a differentiated approach, such as identifying existing and emerging cybersecurity threats, finding and plugging existing cyber vulnerabilities and apprehending those trying to access federal information systems.[20]

President Obama said the "cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation" and that "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity".[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Romm, Joseph J. (1993). Defining national security: the nonmilitary aspects. Pew Project on America's Task in a Changed World (Pew Project Series). Council on Foreign Relations. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-87609-135-7. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b Paleri, Prabhakaran (2008). National Security: Imperatives And Challenges. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. p. 521. ISBN 978-0-07-065686-4. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Romm, Joseph J. (1993). Defining national security: the nonmilitary aspects. Pew Project on America's Task in a Changed World (Pew Project Series). Council on Foreign Relations. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-87609-135-7. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  4. ^ Quoted in Paleri (2008) ibid. Pg 52.
  5. ^ Brown, Harold (1983) Thinking about national security: defense and foreign policy in a dangerous world. As quoted in Watson, Cynthia Ann (2008). U.S. national security: a reference handbook. Contemporary world issues (2 (revised) ed.). ABC-CLIO. pp. 281. ISBN 978-1-59884-041-4. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  6. ^ Maier, Charles S. Peace and security for the 1990s. Unpublished paper for the MacArthur Fellowship Program, Social Science Research Council, 12 Jun 1990. As quoted in Romm 1993, p.5
  7. ^ Definition from "Proceedings of Seminar on "A Maritime Strategy for India" (1996). National Defence College, Tees January Marg, New Delhi, India. quoted in Paleri 2008 (ibid).
  8. ^ a b c Ammerdown Group (2016). "Rethinking Security: A discussion paper" (PDF). rethinkingsecurity.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  9. ^ a b Rogers, P (2010). Losing control : global security in the twenty-first century (3rd ed.). London: Pluto Press. ISBN 9780745329376. OCLC 658007519.
  10. ^ "National Security Strategy". Office of the Security of Defense.
  11. ^ Spanish Government (2013). "The National Security Strategy: Sharing a common project" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  12. ^ Sweden, Prime Minister's Office (2017). "National Security Strategy" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  13. ^ UK, Cabinet Office (2015). "National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015". Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  14. ^ US, White House (2015). "National Security Strategy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  15. ^ "War in the fifth domain". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  16. ^ Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jack (2017). Brave New World Order: Must We Pledge Allegiance?. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 34–41. ISBN 9781532617010.
  17. ^ US NATO Military Terminology Group (2010). JP 1 (02) "Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms", 2001 (As amended through 31 July 2010) (PDF). Pentagon, Washington: Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Department of Defense. p. 361. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  18. ^ Obama, Barack. National Security Strategy, May 2010 Archived 2017-01-20 at the Wayback Machine. Office of the President of the United States, White House, p. 17. Accessed 23 September 2010.
  19. ^ a b c Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach (2013). "The Hillary Doctrine: Women's Rights Are a National Security Issue". the Atlantic.
  20. ^ Rollins, John, and Anna C. Henning. Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Legal Authorities and Policy Considerations. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2009.
  21. ^ "White House: Cybersecurity". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.

Further reading

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Library resources about
National security
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