Did Securing an Open Society present adequate responses to existing and emerging threats before and after its publication (i.e. does it still remain a valid framework)?

Securing an Open Society was nothing more than an attempt to outline a National Security Strategy (NSS). And its publication must have been a difficult government decision because articulating an NSS “can be interpreted [by the public] as excessive defence spending at the expense of more popular domestic programs” (Devlin, 2005). However, the benefits of a formal NSS likely outweigh its disadvantages, especially those perceived by the Canadian public. A formal NSS is important for minimizing existing and emerging security threats, as well as giving further credence to Canada’s claim of being a middle power. It “promotes understanding and unity of effort throughout government departments, with a clear articulation of both the direction that the nation is moving, and how the nation intends to move there” (Devlin, 2005).   

Despite doing a good “job of providing the necessary background to underpin a NSS,” Securing an Open Society does a fairly poor job of completing a strategic assessment, and instead presents various unevenly detailed and mostly vague proposals (Devlin, 2005). 

References

Devlin, P. J. (2005). Securing an Open Society - Required and Valid? Strategy Research Project. Available at: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA434647&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf.