Internal Security: The Encroachment of State Security on Global Liberty in a Multipolar World

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the impact of the changing international order on the subjugation of state citizens. The increased need for security brought on by great power competition has led states to become more authoritarian. Citizen freedom may decrease as states seek security. With the advancement of facial recognition software, data collection and censorship, the state is encroaching on the rights and freedoms of citizens right to privacy. Authoritarianism is a significant part of a state’s motivation to remain independent and secure as the international order changes from American unipolarity to a multipolar one given the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia. The three traits described, absolutism, organicism, and irrationalism, point to rising authoritarianism providing useful analysis to understand the zero-sum relationship between liberty and security.