On Tuesday, April 27, 2010, The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) hosted a Policy & Research Forum examining Israel’s movement from a concept of homeland security predicated on the threat of terrorism, to an integrated approach designed to respond to a range of hazards and emphasizing resilience. The event featured Brigadier-General (ret.) Meir Elran, of The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University. Frank Cilluffo, HSPI’s Director, moderated the event and roundtable discussion which brought together academic, government, and private sector leaders.
Elran began his remarks by noting two key points. First, that societal resilience plays a vital role in how democracies respond to crises. Second, that it is only in the last few years that resiliency has begun to receive serious attention in both Israel and the United States, and to challenge previous views of homeland security based upon civil defense. Elran then discussed how terrorism, potential natural disasters, and the realization that none of Israel’s enemies are prepared to engage its defense forces directly, have illuminated the fact that national security is more than physical defense. According to Elran, the primary issue is the defense of society from a mental, social, cultural, and political perspective—
According to Elran, societal resilience consists of the capacity to contain major traumas; the capability of the public to ”bounce back”; and the ability of the system to return quickly to (perhaps even exceed) previous functions. Because “an active public is a resilient public, and a passive public is a vulnerable public,” Elran argued for the need to engage civilian populations in disaster response. To accomplish this, he stated that more needs to be done to educate, involve, and connect the public to issues of preparedness—
During the roundtable discussion, audience members raised a range of questions, from how resiliency is coordinated, to the role of the military, to how social science informs policies designed to enhance crisis response efforts. Richard Ben-Veniste, of the 9-11 Commission, asked if different populations respond differently to resilience issues. Elran indicated that they do, noting that such differences inform the proposed emphasis on community-level resilience, because communities tend to be more homogenous. Cilluffo in turn stressed the importance of considering the scholarly, policy, and military dimensions of resilience; and of grounding that examination in both “the hard and soft sciences.” He observed further that societal resilience offers a clear method for empowering our populations;
See HSPI’s event page for Elran’s presentation, an audio recording of the event, and other resources related to resilience: http://www.gwumc.edu/
About HSPI’s Policy & Research Forum Series:
HSPI's Policy & Research Forum Series spotlights cutting-edge security policy solutions and innovative research. The Series is designed to provide thought leaders in the United States and abroad with a uniquely constructive venue in which to discuss current and future security issues and challenges.
