Theoretical Foundations of Homeland Security

Strategies, Operations, and Structures

James D. Ramsay, Keith Cozine, John Comiskey, James D. Ramsay, Keith Cozine, John Comiskey

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429535567
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Freedom
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This new textbook outlines the main theories and concepts from a variety of disciplines that support homeland security operations, structures and strategies.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, "homeland security" (HLS) grew in importance within the U.S. government (and around the world) and matured from a concept discussed among a relatively small cadre of policymakers and strategic thinkers to a broadly discussed issue in Congress and society with a growing academic presence. Yet the ability to discern a theory of homeland security that would support overall security strategy has been more elusive to both scholars and policymakers. This textbook aims to elucidate a grand theory of homeland security by leveraging the theoretical underpinnings of the disciplines that comprise the strategies, operations and structures of the HLS enterprise. In this way, each chapter contributes to a grand theory of homeland security as it explores a different discipline that influences or supports a domain of the homeland security enterprise. These chapters cover intelligence systems, terrorism origins and ideologies, emergency management, environmental and human security, cybersecurity policy, crime and security, global governance, risk management, public health, law and policy, technology, interagency collaboration and the sociology of security.

This book will be essential reading for students of Homeland Security and Emergency Response, and recommended reading for students of terrorism, intelligence, cybersecurity, risk management and national security.

1Introduction to security theory

James D. Ramsay, Keith Cozine and John Comiskey

Description. Security is an elusive concept. It is dynamic, value-laden and complex. Ultimately it means different things to different people or governments and can even change in meaning over time to the same people or governments. Modern homeland security overlaps, but not entirely the notion of domestic, national and international security, which necessitates a broad integrated effort at all levels of government, including the private sector, as well as an interagency collaborative capacity. Complicating the structure and operation of homeland security is the terrific variation in security models and laws that are held by our allies internationally. Ultimately, “being secure” is an end state that all national security models pursue. How best to secure the US nation from threats foreign and domestic, including natural threats and hazards from climate change to landslides consumes much of the US federal government’s time and treasury and can be likened to a complex, adaptive system since the “problem set” that homeland security struggles to solve includes more wicked than tame problems. This chapter reviews the origins of theory, levels and models of theory, and will offer a brief overview of the nature of wicked problems.

Upon successful completion of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Describe what a theory is and how theory supports professional disciplines.
2. Distinguish between four levels of theory: grand theory, macro-theory, meso-theory and micro-theory.
3. Offer a working definition of homeland security.
4. Distinguish between wicked and tame problems.
5. Describe how individual disciplines contribute structure, strategy and theory to modern homeland security, thus creating a theoretical underlayment for a “grand theory of homeland security”.

1.1Introduction

The term homeland security first came into the American lexicon ten days after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 when the U.S. President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security. The office was created to “develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks”. (History.com Editors, 2019; White House, 2001). President Bush appointed former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as inaugural director of the office the following month. The idea and concept of homeland security were further solidified with the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a cabinet-level federal department. However, both the term homeland security and the concept of a specific agency dedicated to preserving it predate the September 11 terrorist attacks. The U.S. Commission on National Security in the 21st Century, also known as the Hart-Rudman Commission, under President Clinton, was established in 1998 to provide a comprehensive review of US national security requirements in the 21st century. The commission argued that the United States was facing a radically new security environment in which the threat of a mass casualty attack on the American homeland was real, and called for a “National Homeland Security Agency” to deal with this new (and mostly domestic-facing) threat environment (Roxborough, 2001).

Over the last 18 years, we have witnessed an evolution in both the DHS and its role in preserving and protecting liberty and the free flow of people and commerce. It has grown into something much more than a single government agency. As the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review points out, providing for the safety and security of the American people from a variety of natural and man-made threats requires partnerships between federal departments and agencies; state, local, tribal and territorial governments; nongovernmental and private sector organizations; our foreign allies; and the American public (DHS, 2014).

While the term “homeland security” is somewhat uniquely American, the underlying concepts, strategies and structures constituting the homeland security enterprise are not. Indeed, a Federal Department whose mission is squarely focused on a coordinated and seamless effort involving all levels of government to confront the complex and wicked threat environment of the 21st Century as outlined in the Hart-Rudman Commission is not only logical, but present in most developed nations. After the events of September 11, 2001, the United States as well as several other peer nations especially within the Anglosphere, strategically restructured their government at the national level in order to be better situated to protect its populations. In a post “9/11” world, domestic security suddenly seemed more dynamic, asymmetric, transnational, complex and pernicious. In 2003, Public Safety Canada was created to “ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians” and included the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the Department. (Public Safety Canada, 2015). Since 2001, the United Kingdom has periodically restructured several of its security agencies to now include the UK Border Force, the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) office and the Immigration Enforcement (IE) office all within the Home Office. In addition to the Home Office, there are other security and safety agencies such as HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, National Counter Terrorism Security Office and UK Security Service (MI5). In 2013, the National Crime Agency (NCA) was established to combat organized crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and international borders (Cozine, 2016). In December of 2017, Australia created the Department of Home Affairs with the responsibilities for immigration and customs border policy; national security and law enforcement policy; emergency management, including crisis management and disaster recovery; countering terrorism; cyber-security policy; countering foreign interference; critical infrastructure protection; and transportation security. Agencies within Home Affairs include the Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Border Force, Australian Federal Police, AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) and Australian Intelligence and Security Organizations (Home Affairs, 2019).

Along with the development of federal “homeland security” organizations within the Anglosphere, a tremendous growth of homeland security academic programs at colleges and universities has occurred, particularly in the United States. As of 2019, the University Agency Partnership Program administered by the Naval Post Graduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security lists 460 homeland security-related academic programs, including programs at the Associate, Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral levels (UAPP, 2019). While some of these programs emerged from existing criminal justice or emergency management programs, others were built from the ground up drawing academic content from existing fields such as criminal justice, emergency management, political science, public administration and security studies to name but a few. Over the past decade and a half, homeland security programs have evolved core topics and curricula centered on all-hazard threats, critical infrastructure, critical thinking, collaboration, cyber security, emergency management, intelligence, law and policy, leadership, preparedness, risk management, strategy and terrorism (Comiskey, 2018). Another recent development in the maturation of homeland security as an academic discipline was the International Society for Preparedness, Resiliency, and Security (INSPRS) identification of nine knowledge domains, which should be part of undergraduate homeland security curricula. These include critical infrastructure and resilience, emergency management, human and environmental security, intelligence, law and policy, professionalism, risk management, strategic planning and terrorism. Knowledge domains refer to the knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors that should be part of a discipline’s curricula (Ramsay & Renda-Tanali, 2018).

Despite these steps and initiatives to move homeland security forward as an academic discipline, no grand theory or overarching framework of homeland security has evolved. As Comiskey (2018) points out, “homeland security academics as well as practitioners have an obligation to the evolving discipline to identify, develop, and test theories and methodologies that will prepare practitioners for the field and to address homeland security problems”. He continues, “they must introduce, explain, analyze, test, develop and generate theory and other methodologies that will grow and mature the field”. (Comiskey, 2018) A profession uses its underlying theory to establish best practices and legitimacy of practice. As knowledge evolves, theory evolves, and vice versa. It turns out that theory, though a critical underlayment to all disciplines, is not static. As in all disciplines, theory is both dynamic and foundational and continues to evolve as research, changes in technology, best practices, lessons learned all contribute to the body of knowledge of the field. Theory also subsequently serves as a guide for ongoing research and scientific inquiry. In short, theories are the pillars of any academic discipline, and ultimately, any profession. But what exactly is theory?

1.2What is a theory?

In everyday use, the word “theory” often means an untested hunch, or a guess without supporting evidence. However, for the academic, the scholar or the scientist, a theory has nearly the opposite meaning and is nearly always accompanied by observation and other data to support the relationships theorized. To these professionals, theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws, hypotheses and facts (American Museum of Natural History, 2005). A theory provides reasoning (or suspected logic) for why something may occur the way it does, or why things may be related the way they appear to be, or it may attempt to explain observed patterns in behavior. Theories appear from many sources with varying quantities (and quality) of evidence that reinforces an observed relationship. Some theories have little to no evidence, and seem mostly constituted by observation while others are supported by considerably more empirical evidence. Components of a definition of theory should include a set of assumptions, propositions or accepted facts that attempt to provide a plausible or rational explanation of cause-and-effect (causal) relationships among a group of observed phenomena. One of the major functions of a theory is to provide an answer to the question “why?”. Asking “why?” is central to our need to understand how the world works, to increase our knowledge of a subject area or to predict what might happen next, or to realign thoughts and opinions. Asking “why?”, therefore, is an essential skill for anybody who wants to learn and develop and grow. Defining “theory”, therefore, must consider the “why?” question. But a more complete theory is necessarily deeper than merely asking “why?”. A more robust theory also includes an attempt to explain why and so to provide understanding. A theory is not just “any” explanation—a theory comes into being when a series of ideas or observations come to be held and accepted by a wider community of people as being factual. Moreover, a theory is not only factually based, but how we understand and provide explanations about real-world phenomena also involves one’s cultural background as well as one’s worldview.

What then is a theory? Put simply, a theory not only is a logical attempt to explain ob...