A Practical Introduction to Homeland Security

This text provides students with a practical introduction to the concepts, structure, politics, law, hazards, threats, and practices of homeland security everywhere, focusing on US “homeland security,” Canadian “public safety,” and European “domestic security.” It is a conceptual and practical textbook, not a theoretical work. It is focused on the knowledge and skills that will allow the reader to understand how homeland security is and should be practiced.

Globalization, population growth, migration, technology, aging infrastructure, and the simple trend to higher expectations are making homeland security more challenging. Yes, homeland security really is a global problem. The hyperconnectivity of today’s world has reduced the capacity of the United States to act unilaterally or to solve homeland risks from within the borders alone.

Newsome and Jarmon explain the relevant concepts, the structural authorities and responsibilities that policymakers struggle with and within which practitioners must work, the processes that practitioners and professionals choose between or are obliged to use, the actual activities, and the end-states and outputs of these activities.

Moreover, this book presents the concept of homeland security as an evolving experience rather than an artifact of life since 2001. It is a profession that requires some forming from the ground up as well as the top down.