ABSTRACT
Security consists in the state of affairs that renders people free from such anxieties; a general state of safety. Sometimes it is claimed that there are two kinds of security at which government aims, external and internal, internal security being achieved by the maintenance of public order through the administration of justice. On democratic principles only a political organisation appropriately controlled by its people will be entitled to discharge the security functions of a state. Any state, whether democratic or not, has a general duty to protect the people in its care against the hazards of strife and disorder. The people of a democratic state have an interest in preserving its security because they have an interest in their relationships being regulated by laws to which they have themselves agreed. In this case they have a responsibility for maintaining their security against external aggression or internal faction, if necessary by taking up arms themselves.
