Attitudes and Values in Local Public Administration – The Need for National Security – The Positioning of Intelligence Services

Objectives: To analyse the link between public attitudes in local administration and the redefinition of national security in post-communist Romania (2000-2006). Methods: An interdisciplinary approach combining quantitative analysis of national surveys (the PHARE-FMAPL project), qualitative focus groups, and legal-doctrinal analysis of security frameworks. Results: Citizen dissatisfaction with corruption and basic services signalled core security vulnerabilities. A personalised trust in leaders coexisted with institutional distrust. The legal concept of national security was successfully redefined from regime survival to a citizen-centric, rule-of-law value, with intelligence services placed under democratic oversight. Conclusion: National security emerged as a social construct shaped by public psychology and institutional response, forming a pact between the state and citizens in a nascent democracy. Public Significance Statement: The study demonstrates that genuine national security in a democracy depends on public trust, effective institutions, and the protection of fundamental rights, not merely on secretive state apparatuses.