Security In The Contemporary World

(i) Confidence building measure- A process of exchanging information on defence matters between nations on a regular basis

(ii) Arms Control- Regulates the acquisition or development of weapons

(iii) Alliance- coalition of nations meant to deter or defend against military attacks

(iv) Disarmament- Giving up certain types of weapons

In traditional conception of security concern, the greatest danger to a country is from military threats. The source of this threat is another country which by showing the military powers endangers the core value of sovereignty

Non traditional conception of security go beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats affecting the existence of humans. The threats include hunger, diseases natural disaster.

(a) The spread of chikungunya / dengue fever-Non- traditional (as it is a disease)

(b) Inflow of workers from a neighbouring nation- Non-Traditional (as it too doesn’t include any military threat)

(c) Emergence of a group demanding nationhood for their region-Traditional (Military included)

(d) Emergence of a group demanding autonomy for their region- No Threat

(e) A newspaper that is critical of the armed forces in the country- No threat

The difference between traditional and non traditional security are as follows:

The creation and sustenance of alliance is related to component of traditional security. An alliance is coalition of states that coordinates their action to defend against military attack. Countries form alliances to increase their effective power relative to another country.

1. The first world people had to deal with threats of uncertain war and the weapons used in those war were so much devastating that it’s affect could be sensed even till now. Example the nuclear weapon used upon Heroshima and Nagasaki paralysed the people of Japan. Whereas the present third world people have lesser threat of war and with the norms like arms control prevent usage of nuclear weapon.

2. The first world people faced epidemics that killed lakhs of people whereas this kind of epidemics are preventable in the third world with so many preventable cure available in medical science

3. The major threat the people of third world faces is the environmental threat, the rise in global warming has increased the sea level that some islands faces the threat of being washed off. Whereas the first world people did not face such threat.

Terrorism is non traditional concept. As Non-traditional threats are generally seen as those threats which are emanated by the non-state actors
Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a mean to create terror, or fear, to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim.

It is due to political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately. Terrorist group seeks to change a political context or condition that they do not like by force.

The classical examples of terrorism involve hijacking planes or planting bombs in trains, cafes, markets.

According to traditional notion, in response to a threat of war, a government has three choices to do

1. To surrender when actually confronted by war, but they won’t advertise this policy as their own, so this move is rarely taken

2. To prevent the other side from attacking by promise to raise the cost of war to an unacceptable level, this security policy is called deterrence

3. To defend itself when war actually breaks out so as to deny the attacking country its objectives and to turn back or defeat the attacking forces altogether with limiting or ending war is called defence

Balance of power, in international relations, the posture and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power of the other side.

1. When countries look around them, they see that some countries are bigger and stronger. This is a clue to who might be a threat in the future.

2. There may be no obvious reason for attack. But the fact that this country is very powerful is a sign that at some point in the future it may choose to be aggressive. Governments are, therefore, very sensitive to the balance of power between their country and other countries.

States can pursue a policy of balance of power in two ways:

a. by increasing their own power, as when engaging in an armaments race or in the competitive acquisition of territory;

b. Or by adding to their own power that of other states, as when embarking upon a policy of alliances.

Millitary alliance takes place when the contracting parties promise to support each other in case of a crisis that has not been identified in advance.

The objectives of military alliances:

1. is to protect themselves against threats from other countries. However, states have also entered into alliances to improves ties with a particular nation or to manage conflict with a particular nation

2. to increase their effective power relative to another country or alliance.

Military alliance between India and Russia, Russia is major defence ally of India. The objective of the alliance is:

1. to defence procurements, transfer of dual-use technologies, research and development, and India’s defence industrialisation.

2. Both the nations want to strengthen their forces to respond to disaster situation.

Yes, I agree that the Rapid environmental degradation is causing a serious threat to security.

The pollution level in the air is found to be increasing every day, the global warming, depletion of ozone layer are some of the environmental concerns that need immediate respond from the world front.

For example, the Maldives may feel threatened by global warming because a big part of its territory may be submerged with the rising sea level.

So these sort of security threats couldn’t be resolved by a single nation, it needs cooperation from world wide to keep our Earth secure.

Nuclear weapons usage be it for preventing oneself or for ending war has been reduced due to arms control method of cooperation .

1. The most important of these are disarmament, arms control, and confidence building. Disarmament requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons

2. For example, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) banned the production and possession of these weapons.

3. Arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons. The Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 1972 tried to stop the United States and Soviet Union from using ballistic missiles as a defensive shield to launch a nuclear attack.

India has faced traditional (military) and non-traditional threats to its security that have emerged from within as well as outside its borders.

Its security strategy has four broad components,:

1. The first component was strengthening its military capabilities, as India was engaged in several wars with China and Pakistan. Since it is surrounded by nuclear armed countries in the South Asian region

2. The second component of India’s security strategy has been to strengthen international norms and international institutions to protect its security interests. It used non-alignment to help carve out an area of peace outside the bloc politics of the two superpowers

3. The third component of Indian security strategy is geared towards meeting security challenges within the country. Several militant groups from areas such as the Nagaland, Mizoram, the Punjab, and Kashmir among others have, from time to time, sought to break away from India.

4. Finally, there has been an attempt in India to develop its economy in a way that the vast mass of citizens are lifted out of poverty and misery and huge economic inequalities are not allowed to exist

War and terrorism are inter-related. Whenever two or more nations are involved in war then somewhere this paves way for the terrorism to act and give the terrorist chance to expand their powers and this way terrorism gets strength.