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Towards an Australian National Security Strategy: A Conceptual Analysis
Author: Michael Evans
Volume 3, Number 4 (November 2007), pp. 113-130.
Abstract
This article argues that the complex demands of the new globalised security environment of the 21st century suggest that Australia needs to consider the formal adoption of a national security strategy. Obstacles to developing a national security ‘whole-of-government’ approach are, in the first instance, conceptual and revolve around contested definitional parameters and the ambiguous relationship between theory and practice. Reconceptualising national security for use in an Australian milieu can be accomplished based around the key notion of protecting the social contract between the state, society and the citizen. The role of theory in Australian national security needs to be conceived as a vital component of policy-analysis. Policy-relevant theory should provide a ’visionary beam’ to support national security practice to ameliorate any ‘knowing-doing’ gap and to ensure that long-term objectives can be integrated with short-term decision making. Finally, the article recommends that the Australian Government of the day should formally review the subject of a national security strategy through the appointment of an official and bipartisan Commission of Inquiry on 21st Century National Security requirements.
About the Author
Dr Michael Evans is a Fellow at the Australian Defence College. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Australian Defence College or the Department of Defence. drme@ozemail.com.au.
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