Security in the Contemporary World (Part - 1)

Security in the Contemporary World

CONCEPT AND TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF SECURITY

1. Meaning and Nature of Security

• Security, at its most basic level, implies freedom from threats affecting human existence and the life of a country.

• Not every threat qualifies as a security threat; only those that endanger core values beyond repair are treated as security concerns.

• Security remains a slippery and context-dependent idea, varying across societies, historical periods, and political perspectives.

• Debate arises regarding:

  • Whose core values are to be protected—state or individuals.

  • Intensity of threat necessary to classify an issue as security.

• Excessively broad definitions would paralyse governance by turning all dangers into security issues.

2. Two Broad Conceptions of Security

• Security thinking is divided into:

  • Traditional (state-centric, military-focused)

  • Non-traditional (human-centric, multidimensional)

• This distinction reflects changing global realities and experiences of different societies.

3. Traditional Security: External Dimension

(a) Military Threat as Primary Danger

• Greatest threat arises from other states capable of military attack, endangering:

  • Sovereignty

  • Independence

  • Territorial integrity

  • Lives of citizens

• War rarely affects only soldiers; civilians often become targets.

(b) State Responses to War Threat

Governments possess three strategic choices:

1. Surrender

2. Deterrence — raising costs of war to unacceptable levels

3. Defence — defeating the attacker after war begins

4. Security policy thus focuses on preventing war and limiting its consequences.

(c) Balance of Power

• States monitor relative power of neighbours and rivals.

• Maintaining favourable balance involves:

  • Military build-up

  • Economic strength

  • Technological capability

• Power asymmetry signals potential future aggression.

(d) Alliances

• Alliances are coalitions of states for deterrence or defence.

• Based on national interest, hence changeable.

• Example: U.S. support to Afghan militants in the 1980s followed by conflict after the September 11 attacks.

(e) Absence of World Government

• International politics lacks a central authority controlling violence.

• Even the United Nations depends on member consent.

• Therefore, self-help remains central to state security.

INTERNAL SECURITY, COOPERATION, AND NON-TRADITIONAL SECURITY

4. Traditional Security: Internal Dimension

• Security also requires internal peace and order.

• After World War II, powerful states faced few internal threats, shifting focus outward.

• Cold War rivalry produced:

  • External military tensions

  • Proxy wars in the Third World

• Newly independent states faced dual threats:

  • External wars with neighbours

  • Internal conflicts and separatist movements

• Internal wars now constitute over 95% of armed conflicts, with a dramatic rise in civil wars after 1945.

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5. Traditional Security and Limited Cooperation

(a) Norms Governing War

• War justified mainly for:

  • Self-defence

  • Preventing genocide

• Ethical limits:

  • Protect non-combatants

  • Avoid excessive violence

  • Use force only as last resort.

(b) Disarmament, Arms Control, Confidence Building

• Disarmament: elimination of specific weapons (Biological & Chemical Weapons Conventions).

• Arms control: regulation rather than elimination (ABM, SALT, START, NPT).

• Confidence-building measures: transparency about military plans to prevent misperception and accidental war.

• Traditional security ultimately relies on military force as both threat and protection.

6. Non-Traditional Security: Expanding the Referent

• Moves beyond state-centric military focus.

• Asks: Security for whom?

  • Individuals

  • Communities

  • Humanity as a whole

• Known as human security or global security.

• Secure states do not automatically ensure secure people.

• Over the last century, governments have killed more people than foreign armies.

(a) Narrow vs Broad Human Security

• Narrow: protection from violence.

• Broad: includes hunger, disease, disasters, poverty, and dignity.

• Expressed as:

  • Freedom from fear

  • Freedom from want.

(b) Global Security Logic

• Threats like:

  • Climate change

  • Terrorism

  • Epidemics

• Cannot be solved by any single country.

• Require international cooperation.

NEW THREATS, COOPERATIVE SECURITY, AND INDIA’S STRATEGY

7. Major Non-Traditional Threats

(a) Terrorism

• Deliberate political violence against civilians.

• International in scope; intensified attention after 11 September 2001.

(b) Human Rights Violations

• Three categories:

  • Political rights

  • Economic & social rights

  • Rights of minorities and colonised peoples

• Debate over international intervention vs state sovereignty.

(c) Global Poverty and Inequality

• Population growth concentrated in poorer countries.

• Reinforces North–South divide and internal disparities.

• Closely linked with conflict and instability, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

(d) Migration, Refugees, and Internal Displacement

• Wars and disasters create mass displacement.

• Distinction between:

  • Migrants

  • Refugees

  • Internally displaced persons.

(e) Health Epidemics

• HIV-AIDS, SARS, bird flu, and emerging diseases show global interdependence.

• Spread intensified by travel, trade, and migration.

8. Cooperative Security

• Non-traditional threats require cooperation rather than military confrontation.

• Actors involved:

  • States

  • International organisations (UN, WHO, World Bank, IMF)

  • NGOs and civil society

  • Corporations and global personalities

• Force may be used collectively as last resort, especially against:

  • Genocide

  • Terrorism

9. India’s Security Strategy

(a) Military Preparedness

• Wars with Pakistan and China; nuclear tests justified as security measures.

(b) Strengthening International Norms

• Support for:

  • Decolonisation

  • Disarmament

  • Non-alignment

  • UN peacekeeping

  • Kyoto Protocol

(c) Internal Security through Democracy

• Managing separatism via:

  • Federalism

  • Political participation

  • Democratic grievance redressal

(d) Economic Development and Social Justice

• Reducing poverty and inequality is seen as essential to security.

• Democracy links human development with national stability.

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