Justifications for the State as an agent of citizen security and wellbeing—Limits & Possibilities

Limits and Possibilities of a State’s Role in Citizens’ Security Author’s Name The Institutional Affiliation Course Number and Name Instructor Name Assignment Due Date Introduction Unlike the common perception that states are responsible for defending the country and citizens from external threats, a state’s responsibilities encompass a much larger domain of public life. A state’s responsibility to protect its citizens has more to do with the concept of human security, especially in the context of change in geopolitical and socioeconomic conditions of the modern world (Trobbiani, 2013). However, a state’s domestic responsibility as the provider and protection of all forms of human security has not been a subject of interest for scholars. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), human security involves protection from several threats, including economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political (Trobbiani, 2013). This definition explains the broader context of a state’s responsibility as an agent of its citizens’ security. Therefore, the following discussion compares a state’s role in providing its citizens the security they need with the role of non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations in the globalized world. Role of a Sovereign State and Inter-governmental Organizations in Providing Security to Citizens Scholars have provided various arguments highlighting a state’s extensive role in providing extended security to its citizens. To illustrate, one may posit that since the probability of interstate wars has subsided substantially in the modern world, the idea of national security has become a part of a broader term of human security in the modern world (Trobbiani, 2013). Another significant argument that provides the rationale for a state’s extended responsibility toward its citizens’ security is that states can influence and control social, political, and economic activities (Anonymous, n.d.). This power occurs in various forms, such as natural resources, geographical size, and population. The presence of natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals confers a state with the capacity to sway its economic and political influence on neighboring countries and in international forums. Therefore, this power enables a state to provide greater human security to its citizens (Anonymous, n.d.). For instance, states such as Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries have rich resources of crude oil, and due to this economic potential, they are in a better position to provide human security, especially economic security, to their people. In the same way, China, with its rich sources of rare earth metals, is in a position to provide better economic and social security to its citizens (Anonymous, n.d.). Likewise, industrial development, military power, and the popularity of national ideology are other factors that enhance a state’s ability to provide extended protection to its citizens. These arguments clarify that a state’s role in providing security to its citizens is far greater than protecting them from external threats. However, the role of institutions such as the legislature and independent courts supplement a government’s power to shape its citizens’ lives for their better and more secure future (Besley et al., 2023). Moreover, aligned interests between state institutions and people further reinforce a state’s capacity to develop multiple policies and incentives to support a rich array of welfare-enhancing policy interventions and a flourishing market economy (Besley et al., 2023). In this way, these aspects further enhance a state’s capacity to promote greater peace, social, economic, and political stability, and general happiness of its people. In comparison with the state’s responsibility and ability to provide its citizens with comprehensive security, changing global social and political norms in the wake of globalization has introduced the role of inter-government and non-government organizations in promoting peace and economic and social stability. Therefore, compared with a state’s capacity to provide security to its citizens, these organizations have shown greater control over global citizens’ well-being (Anonymous (a), n.d.). According to one scholar, the new wars affect societies across the states. For the same reason, transnational or global management of economic, social, physical, and political security has emerged. This new form of citizens’ security paradigm involves the extensive role of inter-government and non-government organizations in establishing global security using military or non-military and humanitarian interventions (Trobbiani, 2013). One may quote several examples of these inter-governmental organizations and their role in citizens’ security. For instance, organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union facilitate individual states’ endeavors to provide various forms of security to their citizens. In the same way, some forms of inter-government organizations, such as the International Atomic Agency, coordinate with different states for information gathering and protecting citizens from the hazards of nuclear energy (Anonymous (a), n.d.). One of the core principles of the United Nations is to promote global peace and security. T...