Revisting Security Essay

Revisiting Security Essay

At the beginning of the semester, I believed there was a hierarchal need for security, with national security being at the top. After taking this class, I still find this to be true. I do not deny the importance of human, physical, societal, and ontological security, but I still believe none of those are possible without a stable national government. Without a secure and robust government to protect the health of its citizens, there will be mass hysteria, as seen with the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, and ethnic conflicts, as seen in Bosnia. The government in Liberia and Bosnia were not strong enough to contain the Ebola outbreak and prevent an ethnic conflict, respectively. Due to this, insecurity trickled down into human, physical, ontological and societal security.

The need for a strong government to protect its citizens can be seen in Liberia at the height of the Ebola outbreak. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf attempted to quarantine the town of West Point, in Monrovia, with disastrous results. At first, they tried to put all the infected and those who were in contact with the sick in one building, with little to no medical help. Then when that building was overrun, the sick were on the streets, which caused the virus faster, and the government was ill-prepared to handle it. I stated in my first essay that within a power to keep everyone in awe, people would turn back to their self-interested ways. This self-interest was seen when people began to take matrasses from the sick, without regard to the health risk that it imposed. The government was unable to control the citizens, allowing them to run wild. Human and physical security was impossible during the Ebola breakout, due to the weakness of the government. The sick were running among the healthy and rumors about the virus were running rampant. Had the government been more prepared, the Ebola virus would not have spread so easily and quickly, and mass hysteria could have been prevented. Successful government intervention was seen in the United States during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. The government worked closely with the CDC and scientists to create a vaccine. Before a vaccine was created, officials recommended certain steps to reduce the likelihood of contracting the virus and people listened, because they trusted the government. People were washing their hands more and staying away from crowded areas, unlike citizens in Liberia. Due to the trust in the government and a strong governmental reaction, hysteria was avoided, and no public uproar occurred. Had the government been stronger and more secure in Liberia, the Ebola outbreak might have been contained a lot sooner.

The lack of a strong, unified government leading to a conflict can also be seen in Bosnia in the 1990s. After Yugoslavia dissolved, the country of Bosnia was multi-ethnic, with tensions between the Bosnians, Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croat, Croats, and Serbs. The Bosnian government and President Alija Izetbegović were unable to control the tensions, which resulted in a full-scale conflict and ethnic cleansings. I stated in my previous essay that without the security of the state, every society within that state would not be safe and secure. Since Izetbegović was unable to get the ethnic groups to co-exist peacefully, a major conflict occurred. A person’s ontological and physical security was threatened throughout the conflict due to the ethnic cleansings taking place. A person could not feel safe in their own skin due to the possibility of forced migration or even death. I stated in my first essay, “Once a sovereign state is introduced, conflict will begin to dissipate because there will be a strong force to protect everyone’s interests.” The conflict was finally resolved after the ceasefire, then later the Dayton Agreement. One agreement during the Dayton Accords was a rotating presidency in which a Muslim, a Croat, and a Serb will alternate in power. Therefore, each ethnic group in Bosnia will be represented and can feel safer in their identity. The introduction of this strong, unified government prevented further conflict and death in the country. Had this stable government not been introduced, different ethnic groups would have continued to not feel safe in their identity.

After taking this class, I still believe that without national security, other types of security begin to crumble. Human, physical, and ontological security is important, but not possible without national security. Without a strong, secure government, public hysteria will occur in a time of turmoil or conflict, and ethnic tensions will become uncontrollable. I stated in my first essay that the continuation of the state ensures the continuation of different ways of life and protects people from any force that wishes to harm them. Had the government been trusted in Liberia, the Ebola outbreak would have been handled in a much better way. Similarly, had the government in Bosnia been stable and had good relations with its people, the Bosnian War, and ethnic cleansings may have been avoided.