Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. The safety of a country as managed through the exercise of economic and political power, intelligence agency and diplomacy.
Wikipedia
National security is a concept that a government, along with its parliaments, should protect the state and its citizens against all kind of "national" crises through a variety of power projections, such as political power, diplomacy, economic power, military might, and so on.
The concept developed mostly in the United States after World War II. Initially focusing on military might, it now encompasses a broad range of facets, all of which impinge on the non-military or economic security of the nation and the values espoused by the national society. Accordingly, in order to possess national security, a nation needs to possess economic security, energy security, environmental security, etc. Security threats involve not only conventional foes such as other nation-states but also non-state actors such as violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations; some authorities include natural disasters and events causing severe environmental damage in this category.
Measures taken to ensure national security include:
- using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats
- marshalling economic power to facilitate or compel cooperation
- maintaining effective armed forces
- implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures (including anti-terrorism legislation)
- ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure
- using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information
- using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats
National Security is a 2003 action comedy film, directed by Dennis Dugan, starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn. In addition to Lawrence and Zahn, National Security boasts an additional cast of Bill Duke, Eric Roberts, Colm Feore, Matt McCoy, and others.
The film was released in January 2003 and went on to gross over $50 million worldwide at the box office. The film was shot at various locations in Greater Los Angeles, including Long Beach and Santa Clarita.
National Security is a 2012 South Korean prison drama film based on the memoir by Kim Geun-tae, a democracy activist who was kidnapped and tortured by national police inspector Lee Geun-an for 22 days in 1985 during the Chun Doo-hwan regime.
Calling the film "the most painful experience in my 30 years as a filmmaker," director Chung Ji-young wanted the audience to reflect on the theme of torture. He said he found the courage to make the film so that Korean viewers will "engage with our sad history and the sacrifices of great people like Kim Geun-tae in a concrete, meaningful way. If we triumph over the past, we can move forward with unity and reconciliation."
Usage examples of "national security".
When it comes to the national security and things like this, the public does not have to know….
I am the President's National Security Advisor, and my job description is to help President Durling safeguard this country first of all.
Soon thereafter the President's National Security Advisor, Jim Cutter, is accidentally run down by a D.
He was also short-circuiting his own National Security Advisor, but as loyal and clever as Ben Goodley was, Jack Ryan still wanted to hear it directly when he could.
It's a sense of patriotism, it's a sense of accomplishment, it's a sense of protecting national security.
The National Security Advisor had been conferring with the Press Secretary in the background.
And it is up to the men and women at the top of the national security hierarchy to prioritize among them.
I told him our National Security Council was meeting right now and we'd let him know precisely what we would do within the hour.
The president had just taken his advice, against the counsel of his own National Security Advisor and CIA director.