Between Borders and Bodies: Rethinking National and Human Security – Psychiatry AI: Real-Time AI Scoping Review

AI Summary

National defence must be integrated with human security, grounded in justice, equity and primacy of human rights, not outsourced to military preparedness alone.
Border regimes, securitisation practices and selective legal enforcement reproduce racialised violence and erode humanitarian norms and protections.
Fragile multilateral alliances and potential American ambivalence push Canada toward ad hoc coalitions, total defence models and stronger domestic resilience.

AI Summary

Drawing on insights from experts in defence studies, foreign policy, international law, and human rights, it explores the financial and institutional costs of sovereignty, the fragility of multilateral alliances, and the prospect of American ambivalence or aggression.

The article argues that Canada's security cannot be outsourced or pursued solely through military preparedness; it must be grounded in justice, equity, and the primacy of human rights.

Protecting the state, it contends, is meaningless if people within its borders are not safe and free, and security policy must therefore integrate national defence with robust commitments to human security.

Basic summary

Int J. 2026 Jun 19;81(2):321-326. doi: 10.1177/00207020261452704. eCollection 2026 Jun.

ABSTRACT

This conversation piece examines how Canada navigates the challenges of national and human security. Drawing on insights from experts in defence studies, foreign policy, international law, and human rights, it explores the financial and institutional costs of sovereignty, the fragility of multilateral alliances, and the prospect of American ambivalence or aggression. Shifts toward ad hoc coalitions, total defence models, and domestic resilience are highlighted, while showing how border regimes, securitization practices, and selective legal enforcement reproduce racialized violence and erode humanitarian norms. The article argues that Canada’s security cannot be outsourced or pursued solely through military preparedness; it must be grounded in justice, equity, and the primacy of human rights. Protecting the state, it contends, is meaningless if people within its borders are not safe and free, and security policy must therefore integrate national defence with robust commitments to human security.

PMID:42375465 | PMC:PMC13313525 | DOI:10.1177/00207020261452704

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