About Sustainable Security

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Sustainable security redefines how we think about national security in today’s shifting, globalized world. Instead of focusing solely on traditional threats, we also need to help spur greater prosperity, encourage effective international development, and work to protect innocent civilians. Such an approach is good for us and good for others. While we need to maintain a highly capable military, diplomacy and development can often be more cost-effective investments that create new opportunities, prevent crises before military force is required, and better manage our shared challenges. In short, sustainable security is thinking long term about America and the world by focusing on:

  • National security: the safety of the United States
  • Human security: the well-being and safety of people
  • Collective security: the shared interests of the entire world

Read Sustainable Security 101, which gives the basics on what sustainable security is and why we need this new model to protect U.S. national security and further our foreign policy objectives.

Watch John Norris discuss how to build a budget that supports sustainable security in this Ask the Expert video.

Read In Search of Sustainable Security by Gayle Smith, which provides a very good primer on the fundamental concepts behind security.

Read The Y Article by two senior officers at the Pentagon arguing for a much more sustainable approach to security and John Norris’ response in Foreign Policy.