Law and Security Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Overview

Law and Security at  Universidade Nova de Lisboa  is based on an interdisciplinary and transversal approach, due to the need to address the problems of (in)security, which require a global response.

The importance of this master’s degree lies in acknowledging the growing threats to the security of States and citizens, such as terrorism, organized crime, the fragility of certain States, cyberattacks, among many others – all of which pose a series of challenges to the legality and legitimacy of the action of public powers.  Today, more than ever, Security is intrinsically connected to democracy, citizenship, globalization and development, therefore being a crucial issue for the International Community of States and Citizens.

The course stands out for its strong focus on internationalisation and its balance between theoretical and practical components, thoroughly integrating the political, geostrategic, military, economic and legal dimensions of security. This approach provides students with a solid, up-to-date education and prepares them to respond critically and knowledgeably to the professional and academic challenges of an increasingly complex and competitive world.

Goals

The general objective is to provide specialised training in matters of Law and of Security, from a multidisciplinary, integrated perspective. There are also specific objectives:

• To understand, from a geostrategic perspective, the challenges that the new international configuration brings to the individual and collective security of states – namely by analysing the design of a regional, international and a legal order designed to face the new challenges to security arising from organised crime, particularly with regard to the use of force;

• To promote in-depth discussions about security as a fundamental right and as a limit to other fundamental rights in the light of  national Constitutions and of other normative orders in the international order within which we live, and given a changing international system under ever-increasing stresses – consistently with a focus on the rule of law;

• To systematically examine the internal legal order and the institutional responses, among others,  regarding the domains of national, regional, and international security, and the roles filled by the branches of the increasingly complex, varied, and interconnected Armed Forces, the changing roles of extant police forces, and the various intelligence services;

• To understand the role of research and crime in contemporary socio-political and socio-economic domains, as well as in environmental dynamics, which includes a careful assessment of the importance of other communal and more inclusive security systems, such as civil protection, and cybersecurity or private security, in  developing a sense of security.