National Security

National Security, in political science, the concept of safety for the territory and population of a state, and by extension the policies adopted for its preservation. Security is sometimes defined as the assurance of future welfare. In this broad sense national security might be regarded as the whole range of measures affecting the economic and social welfare of a population, as well as provision against aggression from abroad or subversion from within. Usually, however, the term is invoked either when the safety of the nation is thought to be threatened by armed force or when military action offers a possible answer to other dangers, such as a wave of illegal immigration. Some countries, such as the United States and Russia, formalize the highest level of consideration of such problems in a national security council. As in these two cases, federal states usually reserve national security matters to the central federal government. Plausible invocation of national security is often regarded in national constitutions as a proper occasion for the assumption of special emergency legal powers by government and for the imposition of exceptional duties, such as military service or additional taxes, on citizens. Two somewhat notorious examples of this were the Defence of the Realm Act under which, amongst other measures, the British government interned foreign nationals in World War II, and the similar regulations under which the United States interned Americans of Japanese origin during the same conflict.

During the first centuries of the nation-state system, economic welfare was thought to be advanced by extension of national territory in the interests of trade and investment. Thus, during this era of so-called mercantilism the requirements of military security were closely allied to those of economic self-interest. During the latter decades of the 20th century this linkage was largely destroyed by the virtually universal belief that prosperity derived from free trade in global markets. The expense of maintaining military forces could be regarded as an unfortunate distraction from economic efficiency, and some began to regard policies to improve national economic competitiveness as an equally, if not more important contribution to national security. At the same time, concern about ecological issues generated new concepts of danger to national welfare such as the effects of dangerous nuclear installations or the destruction of forests or water supplies. The possibility that military steps might sometimes be taken to prevent such dangers raised the prospect of a new marriage between military and non-military elements in security, to succeed the former one between military power and economic prosperity.