Security’s Multidimensionality. Societal Security in the Age of Information Technology Cover Image

Security’s Multidimensionality. Societal Security in the Age of Information Technology
Security’s Multidimensionality. Societal Security in the Age of Information Technology

Author(s): Laurentiu-Paul Mandras
Subject(s): Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: Centrul tehnic-editorial al armatei
Keywords: societal security; society; information technology; threats; civil society;
Summary/Abstract: Traditionally, security has been associated with the military field, and setting nationalinterests, triggering war and settling for peace have been the responsibility of the state, anexclusive actor in international relations. Starting in the mid-20th century, security studieshave extended the dimension of security to its objective side, mainly military, related to theexistence of a threat, and its subjective, societal side, related to the perceptions of society.The modern vision of security has enhanced these two sides, and the European Security Schoolin Copenhagen has conceptualised the societal society, debating on the reduced role of thestate and increased role of society in security, manifested in five key areas – military, political,economic, societal and environmental, security being assimilated with the social mechanism. Inthis contemporary context, the explosive digitization of information and its effects on securityand society – globalisation, artificial intelligence, internet, automation, social networks,social engineering, data mining, fake news, cyberwar, cyber psychology – make militarysuperiority inadequate for ensuring peace and security in the 21st century. Therefore, may weassess information technology as the new “nuclear bomb” of the 21st century? Is informationtechnology a new field or a feature of societal security?