Redefining national security: Why and how
Past Event
Defining national security
From climate change to public health to migration, global trends formerly considered separate from national security are increasingly understood to shape American security interests at home and abroad. Drawing connections to U.S. national security has also become a key means to attract attention and resources to otherwise marginalized foreign policy issues. Yet, as some see a need to expand the traditional definition of national security, others see dangers in widening this framework too far. These considerations underline the need to more deeply reflect on how national security is defined.
On May 11, Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security and the Foreign Policy program at Brookings co-hosted a discussion of the conceptual and practical questions facing those who seek to better define American national security interests. Speakers included Heather Hurlburt, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, Grace Choi, Tausi Suedi, Mireya Solis, and Elizabeth Ferris. Following the discussions, panelists took questions from the audience.
Agenda
Welcoming remarks
Defining national security
Michael E. O’Hanlon
Director of Research - Foreign Policy
Director - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley
Member of Advisory Board - Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security
Former Ambassador - U.S. Department of State
Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini
Co-Founder and Executive Director - International Civil Society Action Network
Perspectives on national security
Tausi Suedi
Co-Founder, CEO, and Senior Technical Adviser - Childbirth Survival International
Adjunct Professor of Global Health - Towson University
Mireya Solís
Director - Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies
Elizabeth Ferris
Former Brookings Expert
Research Professor, Institute for the Study of International Migration - Georgetown University
Closing remarks
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