Chapter 5 — Security in the Contemporary World

In the traditional conception, the greatest danger to a country comes from military threats posed by another state that endangers sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. Security policy addresses this through deterrence (preventing war), defence (limiting or ending war), balance of power (maintaining relative military strength), and alliance-building (coordinating with other states to deter attack).

Traditional security is principally concerned with the use or threat of military force; the referent (who is being secured) is the state. Non-traditional security expands both the threat agenda — to include terrorism, poverty, health epidemics, and environmental degradation — and the referent, to include individuals, communities, and all of humankind. Non-traditional views are termed 'human security' or 'global security'.

Human security is about the protection of people more than the protection of states. Proponents of the narrow concept focus on violent threats to individuals — 'protection of communities and individuals from internal violence' (Kofi Annan). Proponents of the broad concept argue that the threat agenda should include hunger, disease, and natural disasters because these kill far more people than war, genocide, and terrorism combined, and the broadest formulation stresses 'freedom from want' and 'freedom from fear'.

Global security emerged in the 1990s in response to global threats such as global warming, international terrorism, and health epidemics like AIDS and bird flu. No country can resolve these problems alone, and in some situations one country may have to disproportionately bear the brunt — for example, a sea level rise of 1.5–2.0 meters from global warming would flood 20 per cent of Bangladesh, inundate most of the Maldives, and threaten nearly half the population of Thailand. International cooperation is therefore vital.

Balance of power refers to maintaining a favourable military and strategic equilibrium with other countries — especially neighbours, countries with whom there are differences, or past adversaries. States achieve it mainly by building up military power, though economic and technological power are also important as they form the basis for military power. Governments are sensitive to the balance even when no immediate threat is visible, because a very powerful neighbour may choose to be aggressive in the future.

An alliance is a coalition of states that coordinate their actions to deter or defend against military attack. Most alliances are formalised in written treaties based on a clear identification of who constitutes the threat. Alliances shift with national interests — for example, the US backed Islamic militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union in the 1980s but later attacked those same groups after Al Qaeda's terrorist strikes on 11 September 2001.

Disarmament requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons entirely. For example, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC, 155+ states) and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC, 193 states) banned production and possession of those weapons. Arms control, by contrast, regulates the acquisition or development of weapons without eliminating them — for instance, the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty limited but did not ban defensive missile systems, and the 1968 NPT limited which countries could have nuclear weapons.

Confidence building is a process in which rival countries share information about their military intentions, the kind of forces they possess, and where those forces are deployed. The aim is to demonstrate that neither side is planning a surprise attack, thereby ensuring that rivals do not go to war through misunderstanding or misperception. It is recognised in traditional security as a means of avoiding violence without resorting to force.

First, strengthening military capabilities — India fought conflicts with Pakistan in 1947–48, 1965, 1971, and 1999, and with China in 1962, and conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998. Second, strengthening international norms and institutions — India supported Asian solidarity, decolonisation, disarmament, the UN, a non-discriminatory non-proliferation regime, and signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Third, addressing internal security challenges through a democratic system that allows communities to articulate grievances, managing separatist movements in regions like Nagaland, Mizoram, Punjab, and Kashmir. Fourth, economic development to lift citizens out of poverty and reduce inequality.

Global poverty is a source of insecurity because world population — then at 760 crore — will grow to nearly 1000 crore by the mid-21st century, with most growth in the poorest countries, reinforcing a cycle where low incomes and high population growth make poor states poorer. Most of the world's armed conflicts now take place in sub-Saharan Africa, the world's poorest region. Poverty has also driven large-scale migration to the North, creating international political frictions and generating millions of refugees — from 1990 to 1995, 93 wars involving 70 states killed about 55 lakh people.

Terrorism is a non-traditional security threat. The chapter defines terrorism as political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately, often across national borders. While terrorism itself is not new, attention to it intensified after terrorists attacked the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001. In the past, most terror attacks occurred in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and South Asia. Military force has a limited role against it; cooperative international responses are emphasised.

Yes, the NCERT PDF is completely free to read and download on cbseprepmaster.com. No sign-up or account is required.