Originally appeared in the magazine ' 22 '
Freedom and security are two desiderata that social tensions and heated debates arise when designing their democracies national security policies. Political science teaches that the main purpose of a liberal democratic State is to protect citizens ' rights and freedoms. In the vision of Hobbes, end with a State citizen social contract: he assigns a portion of the rights in Exchange for the protection provided by the State. Therefore, the State has the obligation to maintain a security system (army, police, gendarmerie and information services) in order to comply with the contractual obligation towards the citizens.
There is, however, concern that these institutions can trigger coups or may infringe on citizens ' rights and freedoms. Consequently, in the process of consolidation of democracy there has been a tendency to restrict the powers of the institutions through the establishment of militarized areas of civilian control mechanisms. Thus, citizens ' rights and freedoms have been codified in international documents such as the Universal Declaration of human rights or the European Charter of human rights and taken in nearly all constitutions and national legislation. However, the decortication civil rights represent a desideratum that should be carried out on a daily basis.
Romania has come, in the last two decades, a profound process of democratization, liberalization and institutional transformation. The process included the institutionalization of mechanisms of democratic civilian control of national security institutions, but there is no guarantee the observance of human rights in the context of the fight against terrorism through effective. Thus, determination of national security institutions to work effectively and responsibly, while expanding or maintaining civil liberties, is an ambitious and challenging task.
On the other hand, if the process of integration in NATO and the EU has assumed a set of criteria for evaluating the reform focused rather on defense, security sector transformation took a pace less brisk, public opinion being interested in issues, such as the unveiling of the lustratia, Security, or listening to cell phones. The set of laws for the Organization and functioning of the intelligence services or the management of emergency situations was adopted under the pressure of events and is today obsolescent. Trials of perfecting security legislation occurred in each legislature after 1997, laws proposed in the 2004-2008 legislature being, yet, to debate in the Senate.
Today, not only the civil society, but also the national security institutions advertise a number of problems that hinder the efficiency of the activity of the security institutions, but also the improvement of mechanisms of democratic civilian control. Geopolitical phenomena, such as globalization, bring extraordinary challenges and risks for the system of national security (terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime networks) challenges that require legislative flexibility to allow the national security institutions to fulfil its tasks, without violating civil rights. In the same vein, the technological development allows not only the miniaturization and niversalization interceptarilor of information services of the State, but also by private security firms or their use by terrorist groups. Therefore, public policy ongoing rights and citizens ' freedoms while achieving national security require a paradigm shift and reshape the national security system.
Starting from these challenges and of the conviction that the security of the person representing the fundamental condition for good governance and prosperity, Center of analysis and institutional development (CADI) has reopened a debate on reform of the security sector and a rewrite of laws, security in the wider context of institutional reform. Civil society has an opportunity and a responsibility to participate in establishing the formal agenda. The opportunity is created by forming a new Government following recent elections in November 2008, and the responsibility is justified based on the long history of the tradition of liberal thought and civilization. Where politics failed, a consistent input on the part of civil society may pursue a new trial.
Collection of articles made available to readers of the magazine 22 represents a step in a process of coordination of the efforts of civil society with regard to the formulation of a strategy for institutional transformation. I have provided a platform for dialogue between specialists from the security institutions, academia and civil society to present their opinions on the usefulness of a homework strategies for reforming the national security system, to design mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of the security sector, the main shortcomings of security laws which hinder the efficiency of the activity of the security sector and civilian democratic control over the security institutions. The first step was made at a round table hosted CADI everything in March 2006 when for the first time a draft national security strategy has undergone public consultation of civil society, before getting its President. The next step will be a public hearing on the theme of national security reform, prepared for the month of January 2009. You are welcome to debate!
