Pakistan Afghanistan tension through the lens of international law
- Blog, National Security
- December 11, 2025
National security refers to the government’s capacity to use different avenues to safeguard and defend a sovereign state, including its inhabitants, economy, and institutions, as a duty of government. Originally envisaged as a defence against military assault, national security is now commonly recognised to encompass non-military components such as terrorism prevention, crime reduction, border security, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, and cyber-security. Similarly, in addition to the acts of other nation states, national security concerns include the actions of violent non-state actors, drug cartels, and multinational businesses, as well as the consequences of natural disasters.
Although nations’ approaches vary, with some beginning to prioritise non-military action to address structural sources of insecurity, different types of coercive force, notably Military Capabilities, predominate. The extent of these skills has grown. Military capabilities have always been mostly land- or sea-based, and in smaller nations, they remain so. Other possible warfare domains today include the law, air, space, the internet, and psychological operations. Military capabilities built for these areas can be utilised for defensive and offensive goals, such as conquering and annexing land and resources.
