Big picture
Security means freedom from threats. But threats to whom, and from what? The traditional view focuses on threats to the state from military force. The non-traditional view widens the idea to threats to people, from poverty, disease, environmental disasters and terrorism, which no single country can solve alone.
This chapter compares these views, explains how countries try to stay secure, and outlines India's security strategy.
Learning goals
Explain the meaning of security.
Explain the traditional notion of security: external and internal threats.
Explain deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliances.
Explain arms control, disarmament and confidence building.
Explain non-traditional security: human security and global security.
Explain new sources of threats and the need for cooperative security.
Explain India's security strategy.
Core ideas
1. What is security?
At its most basic, security means freedom from threats. But not every danger is a security issue: security threats are those that endanger the core values of a country or people so seriously that they could be irreparably damaged if not dealt with.
2. The traditional notion: external security
The greatest danger to a country is seen as military threat from another country, endangering its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and its citizens' lives.
Responses to a threat of war:
Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
Surrender | Accept the other side's demands without fighting |
Deterrence | Prevent war by making the cost of attack too high for the enemy |
Defence | Limit or end the war if it occurs, protecting oneself |
Balance of power: each country tries to ensure that no other country becomes so powerful that it threatens others, by building its own military and economic strength or by forming alliances.
Alliance building: a coalition of states that coordinate actions to deter or defend against military attack, often formalised in treaties (such as NATO). Alliances are based on national interests and change when interests change.
3. The traditional notion: internal security
Internal security was also important, but after World War II, the established powers (in Europe and North America) faced few internal threats. Newly independent countries in Asia and Africa, however, faced both external threats (often from neighbours) and internal threats (separatist movements, ethnic conflicts and civil wars).
For these countries, internal and external threats were often linked.
4. Traditional security and cooperation
Beyond war, traditional security also involves cooperation to limit violence:
Disarmament: giving up certain kinds of weapons entirely. The Biological Weapons Convention (1972) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1992) banned the production and possession of these weapons.
Arms control: regulating the acquisition or development of weapons. The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty (1972) between the USA and USSR limited missile defence systems; other examples include SALT II and START. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT, 1968) limits the spread of nuclear weapons, allowing only the five countries that had tested them before 1967 to keep them (India considers it discriminatory and hasn't signed it).
Confidence building: countries share information about military intentions, plans and exercises to avoid misunderstandings and accidental war.
5. Non-traditional notions of security
Non-traditional security goes beyond military threats and includes threats to human beings.
Human security:
The primary goal is the protection of individuals, not just states. Even a secure state may have insecure citizens: in many countries, more people have been killed by their own governments than by foreign armies.
Narrow concept: protection from violent threats (war, genocide, terrorism).
Broad concept: includes "freedom from want" (hunger, disease, natural disasters) and "freedom from fear" (violence), and some include protecting human dignity.
Global security:
Threats that are global in nature and can't be handled by any single country: global warming, international terrorism, health epidemics such as AIDS, bird flu and COVID-19.
6. New sources of threats
Threat | Explanation |
|---|---|
Terrorism | Politically motivated violence that targets civilians to create fear and force political change; it often crosses borders (for example, the 9/11 attacks in 2001) |
Human rights violations | Abuses of political, economic, social and cultural rights; debate over whether the international community should intervene (humanitarian intervention) |
Global poverty | Extreme poverty and inequality between rich and poor countries; population growth in poor countries; poverty can lead to migration and conflict |
Migration | People moving within and across countries in search of work or safety; refugees fleeing war and persecution, and internally displaced persons |
Health epidemics | HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, bird flu, SARS and COVID-19 spread rapidly across borders through travel and trade |
Environmental degradation | Climate change, rising sea levels and resource scarcity threaten lives and livelihoods |
7. Cooperative security
Non-traditional threats require cooperation, not military force. Cooperation may be bilateral, regional, continental or global, and may involve international organisations (UN, WHO), NGOs, businesses and eminent persons.
Force may sometimes be necessary (for example, against terrorists), but only as a last resort and with legitimacy from collective action.
8. India's security strategy
India has faced both traditional (military) and non-traditional threats. Its strategy has four broad components:
Strengthening military capabilities: India has fought wars with Pakistan (1947–48, 1965, 1971, 1999) and China (1962), and is surrounded by nuclear-armed neighbours. It conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 to maintain a credible deterrent.
Strengthening international norms and institutions: India has supported decolonisation, disarmament, a universal and non-discriminatory nuclear regime, a stronger UN, and the Non-Aligned Movement; it has signed the Kyoto Protocol and contributed to UN peacekeeping.
Meeting internal security challenges: dealing with militant and separatist groups (in Nagaland, Mizoram, Punjab and Kashmir) through a mix of political and security measures, while preserving national unity through democracy.
Developing the economy: lifting citizens out of poverty, misery and inequality, which is essential for a secure society.
A reliable approach to questions
Distinguish traditional (state, military) from non-traditional (people, broader threats) security.
For traditional security, explain deterrence, defence, balance of power, alliances, and cooperative arms limitations.
For non-traditional security, explain narrow and broad human security, and global security.
List new sources of threats with examples.
For India, explain the four components of its strategy.
Connections that matter
International organisations explains the UN's role in collective security.
Environment and natural resources discusses environmental threats.
Contemporary South Asia discusses regional security tensions.
Common mistakes
Treating security only as military defence.
Confusing disarmament (giving up weapons) with arms control (regulating them).
Saying India has signed the NPT. India considers it discriminatory and hasn't signed it.
Saying alliances are permanent. They change when national interests change.
Revision checklist
I can explain traditional external and internal security.
I can explain deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliances.
I can explain disarmament, arms control and confidence building with examples.
I can explain human security and global security.
I can list new threats and explain cooperative security.
I can explain India's security strategy.