Rethinking Security: The Limits of the Traditional Concept of Security in a World of Non-Traditional Threats

Dawid Aristotelis Fusiek

doi:10.12681/hapscpbs.26500

Abstract

This essay discusses the evolution of the modern conception of security and argues that there is a need for its expansion in order to tackle the rising non-traditional threats. Traditionally, the realist paradigm of national security has dominated the academic debate, while promoting a military and state-centric approach to “doing security”. Despite emergence of non-military and non-state security threats, the paradigm of national security is still figuring at the center of the modern state. However, the proliferation of non-traditional threats combined with the states’ inability to address them have troubled the academia and policymakers. This perception has been further reinforced by the latest Covid-19 pandemic, which demonstrated not only the limitations of national security, but also the dangerous consequences of this new type of threat. As climate change effects become more tangible and destructive, it becomes evident that the coronavirus outbreak is another indication that the security landscape is not equipped to confront rising threats. Therefore, there is a need for the development of a more holistic security concept and the dismantlement of the preexisting strictly state-centric and military approaches.

Highlights

The sovereign state is a quintessential element of the theory and worldview of political scientists and the main source of political authority in the contemporary international system
Cosmopolitanism, and the dramatic increase of multilateralism signalized the arrival of new forms of authority and political entities, which could transcend both statism and the “inherited” dualistic view of national and international
This essay has discussed the evolution of the modern conception of security and argued that there is a need for its expansion

Summary

Introduction

The sovereign state is a quintessential element of the theory and worldview of political scientists and the main source of political authority in the contemporary international system. Since its creation (there is no consensus when this occurred), it has dominated the field to such extent that it is practically impossible to perceive political order beyond or without it (Baumann et al 1998). It has been one of the most debated concepts in the last decades, following the end of the Cold War when a series of new developments challenged the traditional perception of statehood and its boundaries Forces such as globalization, cosmopolitanism, and the dramatic increase of multilateralism signalized the arrival of new forms of authority and political entities, which could transcend both statism and the “inherited” dualistic view of national and international

To cite this paper in APA style

Conclusion