Abstract
Internal Security: The Enemy Within
In the past two decades, security has come to be one of the most contested and debated concepts within the domain of international relations. Its state-centred contours interpreted narrowly as security of territory from external aggression, or as protection of national interests in foreign policy or as global security from the threat of nuclear holocaust, have today made way for a new security understanding that includes economic, environmental, cultural sectors and new security referents—societies, non-state actors, individuals. This conceptual widening has been complemented at a practical level by a growing focus on conflicts and security challenges that stem from within states and which trace their roots to non-traditional sources such as drugs, terrorism, small arms, cyber war and trafficking in human beings.
In the past two decades, security has come to be one of the most contested and debated concepts within the domain of international relations. Its state-centred contours interpreted narrowly as security of territory from external aggression, or as protection of national interests in foreign policy or as global security from the threat of nuclear holocaust, have today made way for a new security understanding that includes economic, environmental, cultural sectors and new security referents—societies, non-state actors, individuals. This conceptual widening has been complemented at a practical level by a growing focus on conflicts and security challenges that stem from within states and which trace their roots to non-traditional sources such as drugs, terrorism, small arms, cyber war and trafficking in human beings.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 675 |
| Number of pages | 687 |
| Journal | Strategic Analysis |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
