Security: national, international, human

Abstract

This chapter discusses the many meanings of security starting with national security because states are the primary actors in the international system and their security claims take priority over international and human security. This states-first ethos has a long historical tradition and is embedded in the present international security architecture as demonstrated in the United Nations system. A critical feature of this ethos is the 'right' of states to use violence with near impunity internally and externally to defend self-defined national security interests. This chapter discusses international security as a system of arrangements designed to protect states and their interests, a system that does not prevent states from this use of violence. Finally, human security develops as a notion that is derivative of national security, requiring human security proponents to work within the constraints of the states-first world. This chapter concludes with a brief consideration of what the changing international landscape and the impact of COVID-19 mean for state, international, and human security.