General Description
Definition
"A National Security Policy is defined as a formal description of a country's understanding of its guiding principles, values, interests, goals, strategic environment, threats, risks and challenges in view of promoting national security for the State and its peoples."
SSR Integrated Technical Guidance Notes UN 2012
A National Security Policy is the umbrella policy overarching sectoral policies in defence, internal security, justice and others. This is reinforced by the UN Security Sector Reform Integrated Technical Guidance Notes which state that a National Security Policy is a "formal description of a country's understanding of its guiding principles, values, interests, goals, strategic environment, threats, risks and challenges in view of protecting or promoting national security for the State and its peoples" and that "this understanding is anchored in a vision of security determined through a comprehensive process of dialogue with all national stakeholders...".
RISK: The devil is in the detail
An overly comprehensive policy, which strays into expounding on strategy and dictating action plans, may have a tendency to fall short of due diligence to strategic rigour. Subsequent problems in implementation of security policy can arise from this and from the lack of detail in a poorly thought-out action plan.
Most nations today have an unwritten security policy, made up of practices and precedent, tradition and allegiances, which may even be well documented. Purposefully written policies are still rare. Those written policies which do exist tend more than the sectoral policies to describe a State’s understanding of national values, interests, threats, needs and objectives in view of protecting or promoting national security for the state and its citizens.
Below are the main sub-activities required in order to build a National Security and Justice Policy:
Sub-Activities
- Launch National Dialogue Process
- Set Up Steering Committee Including Secretariat For Operational Support
- Organise National Dialogue Forum On Security, Justice Vision and Future Policy
- Formulate Preliminary Vision and Basic Elements To Be Included In The Security and Justice Policy
- Draft Final National Security and Justice Policy
- Communicate Main Conclusions
Phases and Sub-Activities
Phase A – Assess National Strategic Context, Strategies, Policies and Priorities
Phase B - Build National Security and Justice Vision and Policy
- Launch National Dialogue Process
- Set Up Steering Committee Including Secretariat for Operational Support
- Organise National Dialogue Forum on Security, Justice Vision and Future Policy
- Formulate Preliminary Vision and Basic Elements to be Included in the Security and Justice Policy
- Draft Final National Security and Justice Policy
- Communicate Main Conclusions
Phase C - Build National Security and Justice Strategy
- Undertake Prior Assessment of Strategic Context
- Set Up Steering Committee (if different from National Security Policy Steering Committee)
- Conduct Further National Dialogue on the Means to Meet the Vision and Objectives Outlined in the NSP
- Establish a National Security Forum Composed of Representatives from Government and Academia to Exchange Ideas on Strategy Development
- Decide On Key Priorities, Lead Actors, Coordination Mechanisms, and Human and Financial Resource Needs
- Draft the National Security Strategy