Exclusive Preview: How National Security Became Everything

What Is or Isn’t a Threat to the United States? [Subscribe now for unlimited access to the upcoming issue.]( [How Everything Became National Security]( [And National Security Became Everything]( [By Daniel W. Drezner]( [How Everything Became National Security]( [And National Security Became Everything]( [By Daniel W. Drezner]( Since when did everything become a matter of national security? “From climate change to ransomware to personal protective equipment to critical minerals to artificial intelligence, everything is national security now,” [writes]( the political scientist Daniel Drezner in the upcoming issue of Foreign Affairs. But while it is true that the number of unconventional threats to the United States has grown, the accumulation of paramount concerns has made the concept of national security “increasingly meaningless.” If “everything is defined as national security,” Drezner warns, “nothing is a national security priority.” And if U.S. policymakers don’t start thinking more carefully about what constitutes a valid national security concern, they “risk falling into a pattern of trying to do everything, ensuring that they will do nothing well.” [Read the essay]( Prefer to listen? Look for the play button on the article page. Prefer to listen? Look for the play button on the article page. © 2024 Council on Foreign Relations | 58 East 68th Street, New York NY | 10065 To ensure we can contact you, please add us to your email address book or safe list.This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Receiving too many emails? Unsubscribe and manage your email preferences [here.]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube](