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:
Surrender
Deterrence — raising costs of war to unacceptable levels
Defence — defeating the attacker after war begins
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.
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.