Media and the Social Dimension of National Security

According to Barry Buzan (one of the theorists of the Copenhagen School), social security, as one of the five dimensions of national security, is related to a nation’s commitment to shared values and norms. Values and norms are key factors in the solidarity of a nation against external environments. In other words, a nation shapes its national identity through norms and values. If the people of a country move away from the set of shared values and norms, national identity is lost and, as a result, national security is compromised. In the meantime, the media, especially the mass media, such as television and virtual communities, play a very important role in keeping people on a particular opinion and behavior and in shaping or changing the identity of individuals. The present article investigates the impact of the media on social security by examining the characteristics of the social dimension of national security from the perspective of the Copenhagen School as well as the functions of the media and some relevant theories. The hypothesis is that the media, as an intermediate variable, gradually melts and changes the identity of individuals in a community and affects the national security of a given country.