This thesis examines what Ireland can learn from countries of similar population size in Europe as it attempts to form its long-awaited National Security Strategy. It focuses on what steps or missteps have been taken by Denmark and Finland at Defence Policy level, identifying threats, enabling themselves to counter them, and how involved society is in the protection of the state. Despite recognition of the need for a National Security Strategy for many years, there is not a sense of urgency in creating one. As the war in Ukraine is over three years old, and old alliances Europe had with the US are unstable, there is a new gravity to this lack of such a strategy. A National Security Strategy is there to provide guidance to political policy makers when considering this important area. At the same time, we, as a country, tend to compare ourselves with the UK when we should be comparing ourselves to countries our own size. The methodology is a mixed comparative analysis of Ireland, Denmark and Finland in terms of historical contexts, threat analysis and current defence policies, and how society interacts with the military in the three countries. This has been added to with in depth interviews with a Finnish Brigadier General, Head of Personnel with the Finnish Defence Forces, and author of an analysis of the Comprehensive Security Model, and a second interview with a member of the Royal Danish Defence College. The findings are that for society to become more involved in the protection of the state, there must be an awareness of contemporary threats to the country, and what they could mean to everyday life if some of those threats are carried out.