National Defense as a constitutional imperative in the Dominican Republic after the reform of 2010This essay focuses on analyzing the configuration of the constitutional imperative of National Defense in the Dominican legal system after the constitutional reform of 2010, evaluating its normative articulation, how this mandate materializes, as well as the perception of citizens regarding the change of constitutional model. National defense as a constitutional imperative refers to the obligation established in the Dominican Constitution for the State to guarantee the protection of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and institutional stability. It implies that national defense is not only a government policy, but a state policy, with a long-term vision and that involves all sectors of society. This study, of non- experimental design, with exploratory-documentary scope, with a qualitative approach, whose social science research is a discipline that is responsible for studying social phenomena and their relationship with society and that uses hermeneutics as a method of legal interpretation that addresses how the constitutional imperative of national defense is concretized in the Dominican legal system after the constitutional reform of 2010, through the main services that the Armed Forces provide to the nation. Among the findings, the absence of a law on National Security and Defense stands out as a failure of the system. As recommendations to continue strengthening this constitutional mandate, it is proposed to draft the National Security and Defense Law under the paradigm of human security, where state protection prioritizes fundamental rights over traditional approaches to national security without detriment to the latter.
Keywords:
National defense; armed forces; constitutional imperative; national security