National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomatic, military and political power.
Initially focused on military might, it now encompasses a broad range of facets, all of which impinge on the non military or economic security of the nation and the values it espouses.
Definitions
There is no single universally accepted definition of "National Security". The variety of definitions provide an overview of the many usages of this concept. The concept still remains ambigious, having originated from simpler definitions which intially emphasised the freedom from military threat and political coercion to later increase in sophistication and include other forms of non-military security as suited the circumstances of the time. Here are a few samples:
It is interesting to note a dichotomy in the discussion on national security. The measures adopted to maintain national security in the face of threats to society has led to ongoing diaelectic, particularly in liberal democracies, on the appropriate scale and role of authority in matters of civil and human rights.
Tension exists between the preservation of the state and the rights and freedoms of individuals. Although national security measures are imposed to protect the society as a whole, many such measures will restrict the rights and freedoms of all individuals in society.
The concern is that where the exercise of national security laws and powers is not subject to good governance, the rule of law, and strict checks and balances, there is a risk that "national security" may simply serve as a pretext for suppressing unfavourable political and social views. Taken to its logical conclusion, this view contends that measures which may ostensibly serve a national security purpose could untimately lead to an Orwellian dystopia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Wikipedia: National Security
Initially focused on military might, it now encompasses a broad range of facets, all of which impinge on the non military or economic security of the nation and the values it espouses.
Definitions
There is no single universally accepted definition of "National Security". The variety of definitions provide an overview of the many usages of this concept. The concept still remains ambigious, having originated from simpler definitions which intially emphasised the freedom from military threat and political coercion to later increase in sophistication and include other forms of non-military security as suited the circumstances of the time. Here are a few samples:
- Early: "the protection or the safety of a country's secrets and its citizens"
- 1943: "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"
- 1950: The distinctive meaning of national security means freedom from foreign dictation
- 1960: An ambigious symbol meaning different things to different people. National security objectively means the absence of threats to acquired values and subjectively, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked"
- 1977: "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."
- 1990: "National security...is bet described as the 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 well being"
It is interesting to note a dichotomy in the discussion on national security. The measures adopted to maintain national security in the face of threats to society has led to ongoing diaelectic, particularly in liberal democracies, on the appropriate scale and role of authority in matters of civil and human rights.
Tension exists between the preservation of the state and the rights and freedoms of individuals. Although national security measures are imposed to protect the society as a whole, many such measures will restrict the rights and freedoms of all individuals in society.
The concern is that where the exercise of national security laws and powers is not subject to good governance, the rule of law, and strict checks and balances, there is a risk that "national security" may simply serve as a pretext for suppressing unfavourable political and social views. Taken to its logical conclusion, this view contends that measures which may ostensibly serve a national security purpose could untimately lead to an Orwellian dystopia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Wikipedia: National Security
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