The DHS is consistent with the larger social trend on a global scale concerning institutional security measures insofar as Risley (2006) reports that "the securitization of an ever-expanding number of realms is a distinguishing feature of the contemporary political landscape." (1) This is to argue that in addition to the events such as 9/11 which can be seen as a clear catalyst to the changes in structure which have been underway since the end of 2001, there is also something of a broader sociological pattern which is reflected in the merger undertaken in the national security sector. The diminishing lines between commerce, governance and military engagement are perhaps best reflected in this parallel between the security community and the corporate world. The sociological implications are therefore rather significant in coming to understand why certain changes have been sought and in producing reasonable expectations as to what these changes may produce. At present, evidence suggests that these changes have produced social upheaval both in terms of the...

As the DHS comes into its own identity, these are problems that may either be resolved through a refinement of internal cultural or compounded by a disregard for the sociological impact of the security community as a whole.
Works Cited:

Ball, H. (2005). U.S. Homeland Security. ABC-CLIO.

LeClerc, P. (2006). Review: The New Politics of Surveillance and Visibility. Canadian Journal of Sociology Online.

Noakes, J.A. (2000). Official Frames in Social Movement Theory: The FBI, HUAC, and the Communist Threat Hollywood. The Sociological Quarterly, 41(4), 657-680.

Risley, S.H. (2006). The Sociology of Security: Sociological Approaches to Contemporary and Historical Securitization. Annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Online at http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p105192_index.html