Civil societies emerge as new warfare areas, says Ajit Doval

National security advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday said the new areas of warfare have shifted from territorial frontiers to civil societies, adding that factors like people's health, their sense of well-being and security, and their perception of government impact the will of a nation.

Speaking on 'national security preparedness in the age of disasters and pandemics', at the Pune Dialogue on National Security 2021 organised by Pune International Centre in Pune, Doval said disasters and pandemics cannot be tackled in insolation.

"You are all aware of the changes taking place in the global security landscape. Wars are increasingly becoming cost-ineffective instruments of achieving the nation's political and military objectives," he said.

"The new areas of warfare have shifted from merely territorial frontiers to the civil societies. The common people's thinking, their perception, health, sense of well-being and their perception of their government have assumed new importance," Doval said.

All these elements cumulatively impact the will of the nation, he added.

Protecting people from false and motivated propaganda also becomes 'absolutely necessary' in the age of information revolution, Doval said. National security planning needs to factor in all these challenges and strategies to maximum international cooperation, he added.

The coronavirus pandemic and devastating natural disasters have the potential to impact the collective psyche of the people, their economic well-being, and instill fears about their survival, Doval said.

“It generates social imbalance that can threaten the political stability, economic growth, and even the capacity of a nation to resolutely meet its external and internal threats," he said.

These new genres of security threats present multi-level dilemma on a massive scale, he said. At the micro-level, they include saving individual lives, providing medical care and supporting people, ensuring the supplies of food and essential commodities, and maintaining law and order, he added.

The issues include finding effective preventive and curative medicines and administering them to combat the ever-evolving new strains of viruses, and ensuring smooth supply chains, he said.