Beruflich Dokumente
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Advantages of applying
Democratic Values in National
Security Policymaking
National Security Policymaking course - NSPO8006
(approx. 1600 words plus bibliography and 115 words in direct quotes)
On the other hand, the 2015s Lowy Institute Poll recorded the lowest feelings of
safety among Australians in their eleven-year polling history (Lowy Institute for
International Policy, 2015). Moreover, the environment in which the Australian
Government takes decisions on National Security (NS) is increasingly complex
and uncertain. The accumulation of risk to Australias interests is greater than at
any time since the end of the Cold War (Medcalft, 2015).
The question then is how to maximise the security communitys chance of success
of an NS strategy without eroding the cohesion of the society around democracy.
(Medcalft, 2015). Hence, the question that this essay discusses: Should
Government in a democracy allow values and/or public opinion to influence
policy on NS?
The fact that we are asking this question points to the same crisis of democratic
values that the polls cited above showed. However, a partial answer is in the
enunciation of the question itself by including the term democracy (
dmokrata- "rule of the people"). This essay argues that, if a government praises
itself of been democratic, this means that it subscribes a set of beliefs and values
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Carlos Ramos Garcia u5906680
Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
The reflexion does not include what may be call Australian values in a broad
cultural sense (like fair go, tolerance, mateship, etc.). There is no consensus on
what are Australian Values (Gyngell & Wesley, 2007). Also, one in four Australian
(or one in three in the cities) were born overseas, which makes harder to achieve
consensus on this topic. More importantly, focussing on democratic values offers
significative strategic advantages.
1
Sen argues that universal consent is not required for something to be a universal
value. Rather, the claim of a universal value is that people anywhere may have
reason to see it as valuable. (Sen, 1999)
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Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
The acceptance of such values could be a starting point towards debates with
immigrant communities from very different cultures and social/religious views.
Finally yet importantly, a common ground based on democratic values and public
consultation may set a more inclusive space for a national debate on NS and the
role of Parliament in such debate. It will include more actors and more aspects of
the problem that are not sufficiently considered by the executive arm of the
Government. '[I]t is absolutely essential that balancing liberty and security
should not be the exclusive responsibility of the executive and that, as a
representative and guarantor of people's rights, the parliament should exercise
close oversight in this respect' (Born, 2003). NS is just part of a very complex and
interdependent set of problems that the Government need to address.
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Carlos Ramos Garcia u5906680
Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
(like other real and powerful things like language), it is not possible to deny their
power and importance. However, how can we measure that importance? Two
main principles can be taken as starting points to solve this question. One is that,
as explained before, if it is to be a democracy and values/public opinion has to be
taken into account, then the importance of values have to be measured through
consultation and analysis of the impact of decisions in public opinion. The other
aspect to take into account is the dynamic character of values that means that this
process should be reasonably continuous within time and resources constrains.
The international arena is not immune to the changing nature of shared values as
well as how they weight in partnerships. Shared values were a strong factor during
the Cold War but things are different now with the raising of the cyberespionage
and powerful players with different values like China. There is a need for a
dynamic and reasonably flexible approach to measuring the importance of values
for strategic international partnerships. Again, the importance of values in this
area cannot be underestimated. In this context, it is not a matter of balancing
values and interests; it is a matter of integrating both (Notes from week 4 lecture).
Conclusion
Any democratic Government should allow values to influence decisions that
affect a large part of the public, and NS should not be and exception. This is
especially important in the present context where the public perceives some NS
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Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
Policy and intelligence advisers should assess the relative importance of values
and public opinion on bases of public and academics and independent experts
consultation and impact analysis of public perception of the decisions. Mass
surveillance, metadata retention and sending troops to foreign countries should be
considered an unavoidable evil, at its best. If the public is to pay that price, at least
it should be consulted about it. An excessively pragmatic approach to NS may win
many battles against security threats, but if democracy becomes a casualty, we are
losing the strategic war or only achieving a Pyrrhic victory.
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Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
Bibliography
Australian National University, 2014. Governance and democracy. [Online]
Available at:
http://politicsir.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/politicsir.anu.edu.au/files/ANUpoll_Democra
cy_confidence_0.pdf
[Accessed 13 August 2015].
Born, H., 2003. Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector - Principles.
Mechanism and Practices. Geneva, DCAF.
Commonwealth of Australia, 2014. Australian values statement 1281. [Online]
Available at: http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/1281.pdf
[Accessed 11 August 2015].
Department of Defence, 2013. Australian Defence White Paper , Canberra:
Commonwealth of Australia.
Gyngell, A. & Wesley, M., 2007. Values and Australian Foreign Policy. In:
Making Australian Foreign Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.
275.
Lowy Institute for International Policy, 2015. Lowy Institute Poll. [Online]
Available at: http://www.lowyinstitute.org/lowyinstitutepollinteractive/wp-
content/uploads/2015/06/2015-Lowy-Institute-Poll.pdf
[Accessed 13 August 2015].
Medcalft, R., 2015. Towards a new Australian security. Canberra: National
Security College, Australian National University.
Medcalft, R. & Brown, J., 2014. Defence challenges 2035: Securing Australia's
lifelines, Sydney: Lowy Instititue Analysis.
O'Neill, M., 2014. ABC news. [Online]
Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-11/poll-data-reveals-waning-
interest-in-politics/5662568
[Accessed 13 August 2015].
Sen, A., 1999. Democracy as a Universal Value. Journal of Democracy, 10(3), pp.
3-17.
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Democratic values and National Security Policymaking
Bibliography
Born, H., 2003. Porlimentory Owrright of the Secu"ty Seclor - Ptincipler.
Meehonism and Practicer. Geneva, Lntcr-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and
Cenue for the Democratic Canml of Armed Forces.
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