COVID Crisis and National Security

Abstract

   National security has been the top most concern of the nation-states, since their formal inception in 1648, through the treaty of Westphalia. For a long time international relations remained Euro-centric as the European nations had direct control over most parts of the world in the form of colonial rule. After the Second World War the process of decolonization gained momentum and a large number of new nation-states emerged on the international stage. Threats to territorial integrity and internal stability were regarded as the only matters of concern related to national security, but in recent decades non-conventional security threats are increasingly becoming a matter of concern for the nation-states. Manjari Singh writes: “National security has been the buzzword in International Relations since the times of the formation of nation-states. Territorial security in pre-colonial and colonial times got merely translated into national security when nation-states were carved out of the protectorates and colonies. The concept drew majorly from Hans Morgenthau’s understanding of securing national interest by the preservation of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and internal stability from external forces. It did not change much until the 1980s when the non-traditional security aspect was felt to be equally affecting national security if not directly.” (Singh: 2020). The South Korean President Moon Jae-in observes: “The concept of security today has expanded from conventional military security to human security that deals with all factors threatening safety such as disasters, diseases and environmental issues. We can cope with these only when all countries pull together through solidarity and cooperation.”(Jae-in: 2020)

Keywords- COVID Crisis, Nation-states, Territorial security and National Security.