INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & STRATEGIC
STUDIES – SUMMARY + NOTES
Prof. Alexander Mattelaer
Academic year: 2020-2021
,2
, CLASS 1: INTRODUCTION
Ultimately everything hinges on everything else
Confidence of citizens that their interests are being looked after
- Security come us pretty high on the ladder of priorities
We have a reasonable degree of confidence that public authorities are sort of managing things
- Perhaps with some chaos/incompetence
- But by enlarge there is a more or less functioning system in place
By enlarge we thing that there is a system in place of managing security risks on behalf of all of us
Security system à at the heart of government
Explore this theme in much greater detail next week
- We tend to look at a political entity (the state) to provide national security for its citizens
o State is primary actor
o States tend to have this sovereign apparatus for security gov
§ On its territory, the state provides a legal framework
§ The rules governing soc
§ To make sure that this rule of law exists in practice, you have the ministries …
for internal security
® Ministry of justice (courts, judges, magistrates) and police to make
sure the law is abided by ; ministry of the interior
Internal security
External security
- Province of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Defence à positive and negative
security
o What is the job of diplomats à to ensure that their state gets along with the wider
world
o Maintaining external security on a positive footing (negotiation, agreements, treaties,
international law
o They shield the rule of law within a MS from the external world with positive
instruments
- Job of Defence
o Sometimes diplomacy fails and international disputes get settled by armed forces
The state is an organization that concentrates power
The state says, usually citizens don’t have the right to carry guns, the legitimate use of violence is only
reserved for defense purposes
- You’re not allowed to walk around with guns
- The state enforces a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence in the soc
o Not all states are eqully capable of enforcing that monopoly
3
, o Bc the states concentrates both political and material power, states are also the
largest security threat to one another, because they harness control over violence
o Tend to be rather important in the matter of security affairs
All international security problems seem to be rather modest compared to the prospect of a conflict
with another state
- Gets very ugly very fast
- One exception to that rule
o All-out conflict within a society, civil war
§ When the state loses all control over that monopoly on violence and you get
physical conflict within soc, with everyone who gets their hands on weapons
à States are the primary players I security gov, are always the end responsible for national security
- Doesn’t mean that int org play no role in security gov (especially when it comes to external
sec)
- They can provide frameworks for collective security
- UN is good example
- If nothing can be agreed upon, no collective action is undertaken à happens often
- Providers of collective security à weak in practice, but great as an ideal type
- Also int org that can provide for collective defense
o Collective defense organization à alliance to govern external sec policy among
themselves and tying together of mutual security agreement
o Art. 5 of NATO à attack against one, is attack against all
§ Sorts many things out
States are at the core of security gov
- Have toolkit
Ministries of foreign affairs (see course on Modern Diplomacy)
Ministries of defense à are responsible for whatever crap may emerge
Prison guards (ministry of justice)
- They strike
- Police can go on strike
- Army can never go on strike
o Ministry of defense
o They have to do whatever gov tells them to do
§ Eg armed forces taking care of elderly during corona crisis
§ When everything is collapsing, the armed forces are the final things the gov
has at its disposal
Pic: control over violence in the soc is the final instrument of politics
- What holds the entire system together and distinguished the system from the state of anarchy
when there is no gov in place in the first place
4
STUDIES – SUMMARY + NOTES
Prof. Alexander Mattelaer
Academic year: 2020-2021
,2
, CLASS 1: INTRODUCTION
Ultimately everything hinges on everything else
Confidence of citizens that their interests are being looked after
- Security come us pretty high on the ladder of priorities
We have a reasonable degree of confidence that public authorities are sort of managing things
- Perhaps with some chaos/incompetence
- But by enlarge there is a more or less functioning system in place
By enlarge we thing that there is a system in place of managing security risks on behalf of all of us
Security system à at the heart of government
Explore this theme in much greater detail next week
- We tend to look at a political entity (the state) to provide national security for its citizens
o State is primary actor
o States tend to have this sovereign apparatus for security gov
§ On its territory, the state provides a legal framework
§ The rules governing soc
§ To make sure that this rule of law exists in practice, you have the ministries …
for internal security
® Ministry of justice (courts, judges, magistrates) and police to make
sure the law is abided by ; ministry of the interior
Internal security
External security
- Province of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Defence à positive and negative
security
o What is the job of diplomats à to ensure that their state gets along with the wider
world
o Maintaining external security on a positive footing (negotiation, agreements, treaties,
international law
o They shield the rule of law within a MS from the external world with positive
instruments
- Job of Defence
o Sometimes diplomacy fails and international disputes get settled by armed forces
The state is an organization that concentrates power
The state says, usually citizens don’t have the right to carry guns, the legitimate use of violence is only
reserved for defense purposes
- You’re not allowed to walk around with guns
- The state enforces a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence in the soc
o Not all states are eqully capable of enforcing that monopoly
3
, o Bc the states concentrates both political and material power, states are also the
largest security threat to one another, because they harness control over violence
o Tend to be rather important in the matter of security affairs
All international security problems seem to be rather modest compared to the prospect of a conflict
with another state
- Gets very ugly very fast
- One exception to that rule
o All-out conflict within a society, civil war
§ When the state loses all control over that monopoly on violence and you get
physical conflict within soc, with everyone who gets their hands on weapons
à States are the primary players I security gov, are always the end responsible for national security
- Doesn’t mean that int org play no role in security gov (especially when it comes to external
sec)
- They can provide frameworks for collective security
- UN is good example
- If nothing can be agreed upon, no collective action is undertaken à happens often
- Providers of collective security à weak in practice, but great as an ideal type
- Also int org that can provide for collective defense
o Collective defense organization à alliance to govern external sec policy among
themselves and tying together of mutual security agreement
o Art. 5 of NATO à attack against one, is attack against all
§ Sorts many things out
States are at the core of security gov
- Have toolkit
Ministries of foreign affairs (see course on Modern Diplomacy)
Ministries of defense à are responsible for whatever crap may emerge
Prison guards (ministry of justice)
- They strike
- Police can go on strike
- Army can never go on strike
o Ministry of defense
o They have to do whatever gov tells them to do
§ Eg armed forces taking care of elderly during corona crisis
§ When everything is collapsing, the armed forces are the final things the gov
has at its disposal
Pic: control over violence in the soc is the final instrument of politics
- What holds the entire system together and distinguished the system from the state of anarchy
when there is no gov in place in the first place
4
