The primacy of national security

Question 1

What is National Interest

Answer 1

Rooted in a country’s identity broad goals and ambitions that a state seeks to achieve in the international arena: Raison d’Etat.

Question 2

What does National Interest encompass

Answer 2

It encompasses economic prosperity, political stability, cultural influence, protection of citizens abroad, promotion of values and ideologies …

Question 3

Can national interest evolve over time ?

Answer 3

Yes, through a change of leadership for example

Question 4

Machiavelli was the first to do what ?

Answer 4

To promote national interest over morality and religion (16th century)

Question 5

What is National Security

Answer 5

Narrower than national interest, it can be defined as the measures to protect a state from threats, to ensure its survival, integrity and the safety of its citizens.

Question 6

What is National Security

Answer 6

A Multidimensional strategy to protect national interests from percieved threats and ensure they prevail in a highly competitive international arena

Question 7

Bock and Berkowitz’s (1966) definition of NS

Answer 7

NS is the ability of a nation to protect its internal values from external threats

Question 7

What does national security encompass ?

Answer 7

It encompasses military defense, intel ops, border control…

Question 8

Nordlinger’s (1995) definition of NS

Answer 8

NS refers to the preservation of the country’s highest values as these are purposefully threatened from abroad, primarily by other states, but by other external actors as well.

Question 9

Leffer’s (2004) definition of NS

Answer 9

National security is about …the
identification of threats and the adoption of
policies to protect core values.

Question 10

When is National Security achieved?

Answer 10

The absence of threats to acquired values (territorial integrity, political stability, economic prosperity

Question 11

How to ensure national security?

Answer 11

1st : Define core national interests
2nd : Identify threats - internal and external.
3rd: Outline a national security strategy to prevent threats from realising.

Question 12

Where does the ambiguity of NS lie?

Answer 12

It lies in what constitutes a referrent object? and what constitutes a threat ?

Contemporary debate: What constitutes most significant threats but also sources of threats?

Question 13

How does realism view NS ?

Answer 13

focuses on the external sources of national security threats from perspective of the state (threats outside the boundaries of sovereign state, from the anarchical system)

Dominance of realism in IR > Quest for survival > primacy of national security in FP

Question 14

How does Critical theory view NS ?

Answer 14

It focuses not only on the external threats (ex: military attacks) but also on the internal threats (ex: threat of poverty)

Question 15

How does constructivism view NS?

Answer 15

It views security and threats as social constructions - how we understand these concepts, it focuses on processes that can change our understanding and perception of security (building of security communities > share collective sense of identity and security)

Question 16

Integrative approaches

Answer 16

Combines multiple levels of analysis and bridges internal and external factors into a comprehensive national security policy (Leffler 2004)

Question 17

What is Leffler’s integrative approach (1st point)

Answer 17

To determine core values, analyst must
examine domestic factors (actors, ideas,
interests and processes that determine core values)

Question 18

What is Leffler’s integrative approach (2nd point)

Answer 18

External threats are defined in terms of
risks they pose to internal core values +
influenced by changes in international
system

Question 19

What is Leffler’s integrative approach (3rd point)

Answer 19

Policy makers perceptions matter to how core values are defined and how external threats are perceived and constructed