COVID-19: Projecting the National Security Dimensions of Pandemics

摘要

National security-in its traditional sense-is associated with the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a state, as well as its critical interests abroad. However, the lethal nature of pandemics is increasingly raising scientific awareness about their national security dimensions. To this end, National Academies Press~1 observes that 'national security is not just about protection from state and non-state actors, but also encompasses protection from emerging infectious diseases and other health outcomes that can threaten a nation's economic vitality and its very way of life'. As Evans~2 would want us to accept, 'emerging diseases and their pandemic potential pose perhaps an even greater national security threat, particularly in this era of globalization when disease can spread more rapidly than in previous eras'. The 'frontliners' here, as might be expected, are the human security experts and practitioners who view catastrophic infectious diseases as security concerns because of their destructive and disruptive ability.~3 As will be demonstrated later, diseases threaten national security in different ways. First, they are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality in human populations. Second, lack of pandemic preparedness could increase the vulnerability of a state to bioterrorism and the associated consequences/emergencies. Third, infectious diseases could limit the ability of the armed forces to respond adequately to internal and external security threats.