Political Science
Textbooks
Boundless Political Science
Civil Liberties
The Right to Privacy
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science Civil Liberties The Right to Privacy
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science Civil Liberties
Political Science Textbooks Boundless Political Science
Political Science Textbooks
Political Science
Concept Version 9
Created by Boundless

Privacy Rights and National Security

National security practices impact privacy rights for the well-being and domestic security of the United States.

Learning Objective

  • Explain the underlying tension between national security and civil liberties, identifying the historical roots and institutionalization of the concept of national security


Key Points

    • The U.S. National Security Act of 1947 was set up to advise the President on the integration of domestic, military and foreign policies relating to national security.
    • The measures adopted to maintain national security has led to ongoing dialectic on the role of authority in matters of civil and human rights.
    • If the exercise of national security laws is not subject to good governance, the rule of law, and strict checks and balances, national security may simply serve as a pretext for suppressing unfavorable political and social views.

Terms

  • rule of law

    The doctrine that no individual is above the law and that everyone must answer to it.

  • dystopia

    A miserable, dysfunctional state or society that has a very poor standard of living.

  • Orwellian

    An over-controlling government that interferes in nearly every aspect of personal life. The term refers to George Orwell, the author of the fictional 1984, written in 1949, which predicted a future with a "big brother" government.


Example

    • In the United States, the controversial USA Patriot Act has raised two main questions - to what extent should individual rights and freedoms be restricted and can the restriction of civil rights for the sake of national security be justified?

Full Text

Background

The concept of national security became an official guiding principle of foreign policy in the United States when U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on July 26, 1947.

Together with its 1949 amendment, this act stood as the precursor to the Department of Defense. It also established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency, while subordinating the military branches to the Secretary of Defense. The Act did not define national security. Its ambiguity made it a powerful phrase to invoke whenever issues threatened by other interests of the state came up for discussion and decision.

The realization that national security encompasses more than just military security was present early on. The U.S. National Security Act of 1947 was set up to advise the President on the integration of domestic, military and foreign policies relating to national security.

Rights and Freedoms Under National Security

The measures adopted to maintain national security in the face of threats to society has led to ongoing dialectic, particularly in liberal democracies, on the appropriate scale and role of authority in matters of civil and human rights.

Tension exists between preservation of rights and freedoms of individuals. Although national security measures are imposed to protect society as a whole, many such measures will restrict the rights and freedoms of all individuals in society. The concern is that where the exercise of national security laws is not subject to good governance, the rule of law, and strict checks and balances, national security may simply serve as a pretext for suppressing unfavorable political and social views. Taken to its logical conclusion, this view contends that measures like mass surveillance and censorship of mass media could ultimately lead to an Orwellian dystopia.

In the United States, the politically controversial USA Patriot Act and other government action has raised two main questions - to what extent should individual rights and freedoms be restricted and can the restriction of civil rights for the sake of national security be justified?

Bush signs USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act

United States President George W. Bush shakes hands with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter after signing H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 in the East Room of the White House

[ edit ]
Edit this content
Prev Concept
Privacy Rights and Abortion
Privacy Rights and the Right to Die
Next Concept
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.