Document Type
Honors Project
Abstract
The NSA’s electronic surveillance program unsettled many Americans as an abuse of government power. In my research I reconcile this program with traditional American civil-military relations and conceptions of national security. I apply these theories to the Cold War and War on Terror, exploring how in both cases the US built a national security state using legislation, bureaucracy, and legitimizing rhetoric to respond to the Soviet and terrorist threats. I find that 9/11 expanded the American conception of national security, which precipitated the NSA surveillance program. Without significant public and Congressional pushback, the current national security state is likely to be permanent.
Advisor: Dr. Andrew Latham, Political Science
Recommended Citation
Waxman, Jacob M., "No more 9/11s: Reconceptualizing national security and the creation of an American garrison state." (2014). Political Science Honors Projects. 45.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/poli_honors/45
Included in
American Politics Commons, Defense and Security Studies Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
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