The Societal Security Understanding Through the Contemporary Risks and Threats

Abstract

The expansion and deepening of the security concept, has initiated emergence and increase of the importance of new types of security, new security actors, new reference security objects, etc., in the past 30 years. As a result, there is a consensus among the research and academic community today, about the fact that security is a variable category whose understanding and interpretation is dependent on a number of different aspects and point of views. Within the framework of the new expanded and deepened understanding of security, the concept of the so-called societal security occupies a significant place. The focus of the paper is specifically directed to the analysis of the characteristics and essence of societal security, as well as to the analysis of contemporary risks and threats to this type of security. In this regard, the purpose of the paper analysis is aimed in detection of the (structural) risks and threats to societal security and in investigating whether and how they can become a national security issue, especially in multi-ethnic or on various other grounds divided societies.