Home / Summaries / Politics / security-international-military

4 questions on "Security: domestic and international - Security beyond boundaries?"

What does domestic security refer to?

Refers to the state's capacity to maintain order within its own border, using the instruments of the coercive state, the police and the military.
Security deals with the relationship between the state and non-state actors (criminal gangs, protest movements).

What does international security refer to?

To the capacity of the state to provide protection against threats from beyond its own borders, especially the ability of its armed forces to fight ward and resist military attack.

Why does state sovereignty support the maintenance of domestic order, but makes the maintenance of international order problematic?

Sovereign power of the state allows it to stand above all other associations and groups in society (legitimate violence, Max Weber).

Because sovereignty means that there is no authority higher than the state, international politics is conducted in an environment that is anarchical (lacks enforceable rules) --> argued that this creates a bias in international affairs in favour of insecurity rather than security.

Why has the inside/outside divide in security become more difficult to sustain?

State borders have become more fragile, because of the technological age (shown by 9/11 attacks). More transnational movement.