Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Preparedness and the War of the Future.

Dr Muhammad Danial bin Azman (Department of International and Strategic Studies. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya)

 

In the era of globalization and tremendouse technology advancement, the defence of a country goes beyond military aspects.

Non-traditional security is a recognized phenomenon grounded on issues of human security, health crisis, environmental degradation, cyber-warfare and the increment of non-state actors’ influences. It also includes uncontainable issues such as illegal migration due to the intra- or inter-state crisis, human trafficking, climate change, famines, diseases and the rapid development of cyber-technology advancement.

Each country should have its own mould of defence and security framework, based on differences of its state system and structure, and society’s cultures and norms as well as its perceived place in the world. Whichever the mould, a country’s defence and security should always be the top priority not for offensive purposes but for defensive ones, aimed at securing the national’s interests.

A country’s security framework ranges from domestic to international issues, covering as many aspects of national defence as possible. Why should this be so? A good example is the case in 2016 of the Ransomware virus. This managed to shake nations by targeting their economic system. The spread of the virus had a domino effect in many areas. There were no military troops involved, but panic was caused. Once a country’s financial system collapses, a new relationship of dependency by a government on the demander would have been created.

A country’s security framework should consider the aspect of borderless communities and the tremendous technological advancement that has taken place, and also the flexibility of the approaches it decides to adopt. The basic principles of this preparedness are how fast can we prepare, evolve and adapt to the changes surrounding us, and what aspects do we prioritise? The answer always goes back to the defence and security framework being incorporated into the normal routine of the state's administrative procedure and process. This is no longer an optional approach. It is imperative.

A national government should always collaborate with other governments to ease the challenges it faces. After all, globalization works with a snowball effect where it begins small but it expands to bring harm to every state it encroaches upon. The issues may be unavoidable, but recognizing the hard challenges and overcoming them through mutual understanding between states will help reduce negative impacts.