What's on the agenda? Conceptualizing threat to national security

In the two decades since the demise of the Soviet Union, the conceptualization of national security threat has been the topic of much discussion. In the absence of what could be considered an existential threat to Canada and the United States, the national security agendas of both nations have evolved to incorporate such events as natural disasters, and debate continues as to whether or not such concepts as environmental and human security belong on the agenda.While discussion and debate is valuable, there is the possibility that the national security agenda will become so broad and incorporate so many 'threats' that it will no longer serve any useful purpose. As such, a clear understanding of what constitutes a national security threat is needed. Using pre-determined indicators of threat, each threat can then be assessed individually in order to determine how it fits within the parameters of the national security agenda.