October 9, 2012
Our long term vision is that of a world without boundaries. You might think that the greatest obstacle to this vision is the fact that most nations approach national security by building walls and strengthening border controls – boundaries – to keep people out. But a change may be coming.
In a magnificent TED Talk earlier this year, NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis argued that that the future of keeping citizens safe – the first and ultimate responsibility of every national government – is going to come less from erecting walls than from building bridges. He introduces the concept of “open-source security” and urges governments to take a leaf from the books of the technology and academic communities. The Admiral further elaborates his thinking in this Op-Ed on the NATO website.
When someone with possibly the best job title in the world says we should take down our borders, it’s worth a listen. Watch the TED Talk (below) or read a summary of it here.
