National security threats range from terrorist acts and other violent actions by non-state actors, natural disasters and unsustainable debt levels, which necessitate international cooperation to address effectively.
Policies designed to oversee or promote specific technologies must demonstrate their connection to national security; otherwise they risk producing unexpected side-effects.
National Security
National security is an umbrella term encompassing the ability of governments and their people to live safely in terms of economy, politics, law enforcement, society in general and foreign threats or coercion from foreigners. While military defense may come to mind when people discuss national security, the term has also been applied to global governance arrangements as well as international aid or diplomacy programs.
Misunderstandings about national security often revolve around the belief that perceived social inequities pose an immediate danger to the country, such as when some refer to income inequality as a national security concern. This shifts attention away from what truly matters while conflating domestic and international issues that don’t necessarily need to be separated out.
Environmental concerns should not be seen as national security threats. Though climate change may cause natural disasters and escalate conflict, its root cause lies elsewhere – politics and militarism.
The National Security Strategy
National security strategies must consider threats from states hostile to American interests and global stability as a basic requirement of national security plans, but transnational threats like terrorism, illegal drugs trafficking and arms sales trafficking, international organized crime, uncontrolled refugee flows and climate change should also be included in such strategies.
Traditional national security strategy documents have typically focused on great-power competition and non-traditional, “shared” challenges to American interests, yet since Russia and China’s improved relations, their focus has shifted back towards great-power competition and rising non-traditional threats.
At its core, modern national security strategies remain similar in principle; the difference lies in how they’re implemented. Modern strategies don’t rely on policy memos and letters – instead, each strategy includes six pillars with accompanying “National Security Implementation Plans,” including projects to meet strategic objectives that list specific initiatives to do so and assign responsible agencies and contributors; each initiative specifies completion dates – for instance in order to Defend Critical Infrastructure the NCSIP contains an initiative working with regulators to harmonize baseline cybersecurity requirements with completion date set for 1Q 2024!
The Geopolitical Landscape
National security is threatened by various interconnected global issues and events, including Russia’s recent military escalation in Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflict – two major hotspots that impact international relations globally.
States are expanding their boundaries and using foreign and defense policies to expand both economic and military power. Commercial information’s increasing relevance provides states with incentives for conducting cyberattacks against rival nations’ companies through industrial espionage activities or sponsoring cyberattacks against them.
Middle powers that waver between America and China without clearly taking sides continue to fracture global organizations and networks, creating tensions which GSAM strategists anticipate leading to trade restrictions and economic fragmentation.
The Role of Allies and Partners
At a time of global power competition, allies and partners are an indispensable asset when it comes to meeting national security challenges. To be most effective, the US should allow their partnership agreements to guide decisions regarding capability and capacity decisions for security cooperation activities.
Allies and partners are essential to succeeding in emerging technology realms. When facing threats to global order that span cyber, Arctic, and space domains, such as cyber, Finland and Norway are two great allies with powerful abilities that could prove instrumental.
Due to rapid technological development and shifting geopolitical realities, the current model for security cooperation must be revised. To do so successfully will require a fundamental examination of what the United States wants partners to contribute towards its security efforts, as well as an examination of tools required for that contribution. It’s essential that dialogue be conducted from an informed threat perspective while taking into account partner capabilities gaps and needs.
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