http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 248 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 8 / 2016 service of constitutional order. This latter aspect -their image and how they are judged- is one that we must underscore, since it is essential to understanding the meaning and the distinctive uniqueness that the culture of defence possesses with respect to other potential expressions of this public policy: its efforts made vis-à-vis the recognition and support expressed for the work of the army70. We can observe that all of these standpoints tally with the meaning given to the cul-ture of security and defence as part of political culture that we put forward in the ear-lier sections of this article. This is perhaps why the most developed and disseminated definition of the culture of defence is that put forward by Ballesteros, who enrichingly defines it as: “the system of expressions, knowledge, lifestyles and degree of develop-ment regarding collective defence with a society, and the part of political culture that refers to how a society conceives its protection against external threats and risks”71. A definition that could also serve as a summary of what has been stated above and which allows us to appreciate the premises that underpin this public policy. In conclusion, the culture of defence is action aimed at improving general knowl-edge -understanding knowledge, not just as an accumulation of information, but instead also as the affiliations and positions towards political subjects that we described in the second section- among the population of national defence issues, supporting the mis-sions and new characteristics that the AF are currently developing, as well as the effort that this entails at all levels -politically, strategically, economically and socially-. It will also seek to ensure that the population places special value on the work that armies do at the service of national defence. Culture of security and defence: extended concept and approach It was exactly this wider dimension of the role of the AF and their inevitable visibil-ity in the international arena that soon called for a rethink regarding the design of this policy. Just a few years after the arrival of the’culture of defence’, people are beginning to talk about the culture of security and defence, since international security has direct 70 This was what the Minister of Defence, Carme Chacón, highlighted when she wrote that the culture of defence has the specific purpose of providing societal support for the armed forces. Al-though we must warn that, conversely, the culture of defence should not exclusively be identified with knowledge of the armed forces, according to Tamarit, but that instead, as we explain, this must refer to both aspects: to summarise this in a few words, national defence and the army. CHACÓN, Carme, «Prólogo de la ministra de Defensa», in LÓPEZ MORA, F. and BALLESTEROS, M.A. (eds.) Ensayos sobre la cultura de defensa y la paz en la España actual, Cordoba-Madrid, University of Cordoba-Gen-eral Directorate-General of Defence Institutional Relations, 2011; TAMARIT, op. cit., 320. 71 BALLESTEROS, op. cit., p. 53.
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