HOMELAND SECURITY

Alexis Giannoulis
(RIEAS Research Associate & Security Analyst)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

The definition of National Security is changing. The latter years have seen a rise in multidimensional threats to states and population including both man-made (e.g. terrorism) as well as natural hazards with the two sometimes interacting (shortage of a particular natural resource creating violence or terrorist activity or indeed foreign intervention).

Likewise, unemployment is the source of a series of social and, in extension, political problems a country, any country can face. In addition, unemployment is in itself an indicator of several possible malfunctions and wrongdoings as far as public policy or the very structure of a society and an economy are concerned. Whereas high unemployment rates in parts of Africa, Asia and Central and South America have been so far the norm with relatively high rates of criminal activity and state failure, the recent financial and consequentially social crises in both North America as well as Europe provide an interesting and challenging paradigm of the correlation of unemployment and an increase in the risks to National Security.

Tsirigotis Anthimos Alexander
(Researcher, M.Sc International and European Studies in the University of Piraeus, Greece)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

At the dawn of the 21st century, “cyber” seems to have become the common prefix of every human activity expressing the tendency of people towards networking. Cyber world has emerged in parallel with the real world and its dynamic is so intense that many pundits consider it to be the fifth dimension in addition to land, sea, air and space. States throughout the world have expressed their vested interest in “armoring” their cyber dimension against intruders who intend to harm their vital interests. Networks of any nature (as for instance financial, political and social) have emerged as tools in the hands of anyone willing to take part in them regardless of their country of origin, mother tongue, religious belief or race. They seem to be supranational and many analysts describe networks as virtual societies that exist even though they cannot be defined using real life terms such as land or frontiers. It is interesting to think that many people spend a big part of their day “surfing” the virtual world rather than the real one. They are interlocutors in a worldwide chatting room of a society without borders, without limitations and with free flow of information; citizens of a virtual society with no or limited physical touch. This paper focuses on another aspect of cyber, laying emphasis on its societal dimension and potential to lead to worldwide reordering of power. It is suggested that cyber stems directly from societies and that it involves a different way of international societal organization. Cyber is not considered to be just a technological breakthrough. Instead, it is viewed as the next step to international organization. As chaotic and anarchical as it may be, cyber space is alleged to be the next form of international order. Read more

We have repeatedly warned from this page that illegal migration has shaped itself into a national security threat that unceremoniously pushes aside “humanitarian concerns” and the hypocritical touting of the issue by various “NGOs” and other self-appointed “experts” and ready critics, not to mention the UN itself.

Yet another catastrophic military intervention by the West, this time in Libya, and the widespread internal destabilization of other Arab countries, have created the conditions for the illegal migration threat to assume unprecedented proportions. The developing crisis has finally attracted the attention of “central” European powers to the fast approaching breakdown because of uncontrollable waves of North African undocumented migrants crashing onto European shores.

Intelligence analysis as we address an increasingly uncertain world, devoid of the “stabilities” of the Cold War and bipolarity, demands new ways and a new mindset.

It is not at all certain that the US Intelligence Community is sufficiently prepared for the task looming ahead. The same can be said of Western intelligence agencies in general. The tenor of debate about future requirements and methods is bound to increase, just like the need to device novel ways and methodologies of educating intelligence analysts. An old adage says that an intelligence product is as good as the people who put their brains behind it -- and as simplistic and obvious this might sound, it continues to be one of the toughest equations to tackle and successfully solve to the benefit of sound government decision-making and, ultimately, the defense and promotion of national interests.

On March 1st, in Athens, three heavily armed casual armed robbers opened fire on a Greek Police motorcycle patrol team killing two young officers and wounding two others.

Dr Joseph Fitsanakis
(Department of History and Political Science, King College, USA and Senior Editor at intelNews.org.)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Note: Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis has written this original article specifically for RIEAS. 

The WikiLeaks cablegate revelations appear to be subsiding in the new year, and so is the public debate about their meaning and consequences.