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http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 378378 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 9 / 2017 A third aspect worthy of note is didactic nature. Despite having derived from a doctoral thesis, a non-specialised public will find this book easy to read. In addition to its obvious appeal for the scientific and ‘strategic’ community, there are three other types of readers to whom this book is of interest. In the first instance, the political elite. This is undoubtedly a book that will attract the attention of the members of the Parliamentary Committees for Defence, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Economy and Competitiveness and International Cooperation for Development, as well as advisers specialised in the field within the various political parties. Another audience is that of senior executives and security officers of large Spanish companies, especially those with an international presence. And, finally, the social elite, especially those involved with NGOs and the media. Their contribution is essential for collective reflection on the identity, values, objectives and national interests that give meaning to the NSS, building a consensus in relation to the ways and means employed in these strategies as well as ultimately legitimising them. The book provides a good starting point towards reaching that common ground. The fourth and last aspect to emphasize is that throughout its pages the book is opening doors to future research. It offers a magnificent overview, to which it adds its own proposals, from which new studies are easily derived. For example, on examining the Spanish case, several questions arise: why was the National Security Strategy of May 2013 not followed by a new National Defence Directive? (At the time of writing this review the last one was in 2012). According to the model, the Defence sector policy is at a lower level than the NSS. Other questions might be the following: what kind of follow-up has been carried out by Parliament on the implementation of the NSS? To what extent has the NSS been present in political debate and has it been used as a reference in the exercise of parliamentary control over sectoral policies linked to the Strategy? And finally, what is the relationship between that culture of security and defence promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Defence and a ‘culture of national security’ that, in addition to the first, emphasises the shared project of the national security system? In short, En busca de una Estrategia de Seguridad Nacional is a timely work of reference on security issues in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking community. It is a mandatory reference book for everything related to national security systems and strategies, and a starting point for future works on the subject. Submited: September 19, 2016. Accepted: February 14, 2017.

REVISTA IEEE 9
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