COVID-19 threat projection and Its influence toward national defense system

Abstract

The covid-19 pandemic that is currently experienced throughout the world has led to great uncertainty upon public health and the national economy. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has shaped the strategic environment landscape with four distinct attributes that might threaten a nation’s survival, namely volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). Thus, the government is expected to be able to make a swift and timely decision in responding to various threats in the VUCA era. Against the background, this paper discusses issues on global threat projection (especially the Covid-19 pandemic) and its influence on the national defense system, the re-actualization of the Total Defense System in the VUCA era, and the implementation of the Total Defense System in responding to the threats dynamic. To discuss the topic, this study analyzed the influence of global threats resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic on the national defense system, and how the Total Defense System is re-actualized and implemented in the VUCA era. The theoretical foundations employed in this study are securitization, neo-Malthusian, food security, dan society empowerment theories. The changing shape of threats has to be paid careful attention in formulating policy on the national defense system. In line with the complexity of threat characteristics in the VUCA era, the “re-actualization” of the Total Defense System has become an urgency given the current context. Against the dynamics of the current threats, the implementation of the Total Defense System could be examined from national food resilience and society empowerment factors. Total Defense System has to put people's roles at the forefront by guaranteeing the availability of necessities. By doing so, the people's loyalty in both national defense and the Total Defense System will improve along with people’s welfare improvement.