From State-Centred Security to Civic Resilience: Social Stability and Civil Society in Contemporary Security Theory
Shohinurbek Muhammadjonov 
Abstract. Contemporary security cannot be explained adequately as the defence of state territory alone. This article develops a conceptual account of the relationship among widened security, social stability, and civil society. It asks how public institutions can protect society without turning security into a justification for unlimited control. A structured qualitative review was conducted across twelve foundational works in political philosophy, security studies, human security, and civil-society theory. The sources were compared through five analytical dimensions: the referent of security, the conception of threat, the role of law, the place of civic participation, and the treatment of liberty. The analysis identifies three major shifts: from territorial defence to multidimensional human protection; from static order to adaptive social stability; and from civil society as an external critic of the state to civil society as part of society’s security capacity. On this basis, the article proposes a four-link civic-resilience model consisting of protection, institutional trust, meaningful participation, and adaptive capacity. The model clarifies that coercive capability may be necessary but cannot independently produce durable stability. Legitimate law, accountable institutions, reliable public information, and autonomous civic association are mutually reinforcing conditions. The article concludes that security policy should be assessed not only by the suppression of immediate threats but also by whether it preserves rights, sustains trust, and increases society’s capacity to identify and address risks.
Keywords: security theory, social stability, civil society, human security, civic resilience, institutional trust, rule of law