Management of nontraditional security for Vietnam’s sustainable development: an integrated approach

Abstract In recent years, nontraditional security (NTS) studies have been the focus of growing interest in the security literature. However, this work only focuses on conceptualization and associated risks and makes only limited connections between nontraditional security and sustainability. Furthermore, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been threatened by NTS concerns such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this article is to contribute to the current debate about NTS and to formulate an integrated approach with sustainable development. We devote attention to sustainability and security studies to understand the challenges and opportunities for achieving sustainable outcomes. To highlight the role of the management of NTS in achieving the SDGs, we review the literature and analyze the main threats of NTS in Vietnam. This article shows that sustainability studies should not be separated from nontraditional issues. By analyzing case studies of NTS threats in Vietnam, we find that the economic, social, and environmental pillars of Vietnam’s sustainable development are threatened despite the country’s great success in economic growth in recent decades. We conclude by noting that the lack of integrated linkages between NTS and sustainability creates obstacles for Vietnam’s sustainable development and nontraditional sources of insecurity pose a serious threat to the development prospects of the country. Therefore, in the context of an integrated approach, countries should incorporate certain aspects of the human-security agenda as nontraditional matters into their national development policies.