United Nations National Security Strategy From A Geopolitical Perspective

Geopolitical Theory and the NSS 2015

Describe about the United Nations National Security Strategy from a Geopolitical Perspective.

In the recent times many opportunities awaits America, however, the risk to the security remains. The National Security Strategy (NSS 2015) deals with the strategies that The United States have to structure to safeguard their national interests through sustainable and strong leadership. It contained the details that America shall use in the near future to influence the world in a positive way (Robert 2012). Furthermore, the NSS also contained the model of American leadership that is based on America’s technological and economic strength and the values of the American citizens. It laid the direction as to how the American administration shall work in partnership with the Congress, making America a durable place for peace and prosperity (Rowman & Littlefield 2014). This report includes the geopolitical theory that is reflected in the NSS 2015, the challenges that are identified in the NSS 2015 and the ways of addressing the challenges identified (Jason 2013). The thesis of this report is that the geopolitical changes can be addressed appropriately with land, air and sea power.

The most relevant geopolitical theory that is reflected in the NSS 2015 is Mackinder and Landpower. Mackinder was the protagonist of the theory of land power and he laid emphasis on the importance of geography as both an object of politics and an influence of international politics. Mackinder stated the theory of “heartland” and laid emphasis on the importance of land as a main feature of influencing international politics (Simon 2014). In my opinion, the NSS of 2015 is a reflection of the same theory as the President of the United States has also focused on security issues in America especially related to terrorism associated with land control. Prior to 19^th century Sea and air powers were considered important, however, this is no longer true, as most of the world has been conquered and brought under human control (Simon 2013). The NSS 2015 contains a reflection of the similar view as it constantly focuses on maintaining and procuring international security with the help of appropriate leadership skills. According to the “heartland” theory of Mackinder whoever, controlled the pivot area or the heartland shall control the international system as the wealth of resources with the help of the transportation technology Jennifer 2012). Unlike Mahan’s arguments related to sea power, the focus of Mackinder was on the heartland and the control over it. The contemporary political power resonated to this theory and followed Mackinder (Roland 2014). Conclusively, the NSS 2015 also contains a similar reflection of the Mackinder theory.

Geopolitical Challenges identified in the NSS 2015

The following geopolitical challenges are identified in the NSS 2015:

The possible propagation of weapons for destruction of the people, primarily, nuclear weapons, posed a serious risk.

Though America has destroyed the core leadership of Al Qaida, however, the co related networks of ISIL and Al Qaida and other groups continued to threaten the citizens of the United States, partners and allies.

Extremists continued to develop disturbance acros the North Africa and Middle East.

Conflict influenced states protect infectious disease, unlawful weapons and people who smuggle drugs and destabilize the flow of the refugees.

Failure on the part of the governance and unending corruption hold back the possibility of the development of the nation like the United States.

The growing threat of cyber attack and cyber crime is continuing and the possibility of global economic crash continues.

The steadfastness of the allies of the United Nations has hindered the growth and development of the nation as a whole.

The spread of “ebola” virus and its foundation and.

The spread of nuclear weapon materials, and;

The environment by controlling the rate of emission of the carbon monoxide (National Security Strategy 2015)

The President of the United States have stated the most important challenges and have also stated the ways of addressing the challenges as part of the NSS 2015. The United Nations shall seize the opportunities available so that economic order is prevailed and generation of new associations with emerging economic power shall lead to creation of democratic change within the country. The focus of the United Nations also remained on eliminating poverty so that America could establish on their competitive advantage in science, technology and innovation. The focus of the nation shall be on improving strength, security and prosperity of the nation at large.

Over the past few years, the threats to the United Nations security have multiplied, though the nation believed that after 14 years of war the threats would decrease. Rather than expanding the area of peace, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continued. ISIL is an evolution of the Syrian War that destabilized force in an existing part of the world (Colin 2012). Hence, with respect to the NSS 2015, the following challenges are not addressed sufficiently as part of the scheme:

The frustration with the United States is growing, because of the growing problems in the Middle East. It has been observed, that the problems of the Middle East are not addressed sufficiently in the NSS 2015 (Colin 2012). There is a widespread belief that the government of the United States does not understand the problem and fails to address the issue that prevails in the Middle East.

Threats not addressed sufficiently

The NSS 2015 has failed to identify the main features and trends that are associated in the international security environment.

The NSS has not addressed the criteria for qualification for linking results with the means, ways and strategies laid in the article for addressing security issues.

The NSS report has neglected the importance of European Security environment due to the annexation of Crimea.

The report failed to address the importance of consensus with the European allies so that military readiness can be addressed easily and at the same time America’s role to security can be enhanced (National Security Strategy 2015).

In my opinion, the reason why these challenges have not been addressed sufficiently is lack of time and association with priority assessments that made the United Nations focus less on the challenges mentioned above. Additionally, in the NSS 2015, America seems to focus more on the improvement of its economic power rather than its security power and hence, it has failed to address important issues relating to security with its allies.

The least important threats identified in the NSS 2015 are:

The climatic change and;

Ancient Regime

Climatic change is the matter of national security issue; however, climatic change is a matter of weather patterns that have existed over the periods of many years. To control and stabilize the same, the nation has to first focus on the region that is affected by it and the reasons for the change in the climatic condition. The NSS 2015 has focused on the climatic change and its importance from the perspective of national security; however, it is not that important as the unidentified threat mentioned in the above section as climatic change is not directly the responsibility of one nation rather than important for the universe (National Security Strategy 2015)        

It was noted during the end of Cold War that many military action took place as part of the ancient regime. Many of these conflicts have resulted in victory. The national security apparatus that was built for meeting challenges during the cold war is still in place and the United Nation cannot afford a change in this measure in terms of money or military. Hence, this challenge could have been easily ignored as part of the NSS 2015.

Yes, the geopolitical challenges identified in the NSS 2015 can be best addressed with air, land or sea power. The reason behind this is that the objectives that are laid in the NSS 2015 require redress of security issues pertaining to air, land or sea power. From the perspective of land power, America has the responsibility of international security as it serves the best interest of its allies and partners and addresses global issues of threat. From the perspective of sea and air power, the United States has an interest in freedom of “navigation” and “overflight” along with the safety of the air and sea environments (Robert 2012).

Conclusion:

Conclusively, it may be stated that though the NSS provides a strategy for sustaining and strengthening American leadership in the coming century, however, it fails to address some of the most important factors pertaining to security issues. This report has identified the challenges as stated in the NSS 2015 along with the least important challenges and the ways to address the issues pertaining to land, sea or air security. The NSS 2015 is regarded as the core element of the strength of the nation and it contains details about the ways that the country continues to be indispensible.

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