COVID-19 as an International Security Threat

Abstract

After the Cold War, a transition occurred in the international relations paradigm; it was necessary to redefine what was considered a threat to international security. As a result, human security doctrine was estab-lished, and suggested that the international security agenda should fo-cus on people and their needs, rather than the state’s. In the globalized and interrelated world we live nowadays, infectious diseases spread rapidly, and their consequences can be catastrophic. Hence, pandem-ics should be considered as an international security threat. This pa-per aims to examine the COVID-19 pandemic as such. We discuss the change from international security towards human security; health security as a theoretical framework; the evolution of COVID-19 in the context of modern international security paradigm and international health security enforcement; and the securitization of the pandemic. As result, based on the evidence presented, it is clear that COVID-19 has a severe effect on the international community, affecting both human lives and the global economy. Consequently, COVID-19 has been securi-tized; and needs to be internationally addressed to serve as a precedent for future health security threats.