Security is a concept that needs to be specified regarding the context it is used in. It implies the absence of or freedom from threats in its broadest sense. However, security can’t be as generalized as the act of eliminating threats or we would be engulfed in security issues as soon as we step out of our homes. Hence we consider the most extreme threats that might damage our core values beyond repair.
The traditional notions of security are mainly external. In this traditional conception of the security of a country, we are referring to military threats to a country. Military actions of a country against another harms the core values of independence and sovereignty. Military activities and endeavors also harm the lives of military personnel as well as ordinary people.
In case there is the threat of war over a country, the government of that particular country has three courses of action that can be undertaken: to defend itself from the attacking force, to surrender, and to prevent the rivaling side from ambushing by raising the costs of war to an unacceptable level.
Thus the security policy of a country is also concerned with preventing such external threats. This is known as the “logic of deterrence”. Two rivaling parties avoid war despite being equally capable of fighting against each other. This is done by one of the parties appealing to the conscience of the other to the consequences that will be caused by war. The fear of these consequences that will ensue prevents the loss of life and property.
Deterrence is a strategy implemented by countries to combine two competing goals; countering the enemy and preventing war. The mechanisms of deterrence are threats that are posed as adverse consequences should there be a war and calculations that both parties apply to weigh the costs of the conflict. The best example of the application of this logic of restraint is during the Cold War era between the rival powers USSR and the USA.
Governments are very sensitive to the balance of power between their country and the other countries and most governments work hard to strike a favorable balance of power with neighboring and other countries.
An important component of traditional security policies is alliance building. An alliance refers to an arrangement of a coalition between two or more states to defend or deter any common rival state or state by coordinating actions. Alliances increase a country’s effective power and are based on the national interest of the country. Alliances are generally formalized and written but can be changed as the country’s national interest and policy change.
In world politics, there is consensus that there should be a regulatory body that can act as a central authority to combat and control violence to make international politics less uncertain and less brutal. At present, however, there is no such organization in place. The UN could be such an institution but it does not have any kind of a central authority without its member since it is constituted only by its member countries. The authority of the UN is only to the extent that the member countries allow it to have.
Security issues also arise due to internal disturbances and security depends on the internal peace and order of a country. After the Second World War, internal security challenges were faced by the newly independent formerly colonized Asian and African countries. They faced threats not only from their neighboring rival states but also from separatist governments from within their state who wanted to form independent nations. There was a new fold rise in the number of civil wars from after the end of the Second World war to 1991. Internal wars make up almost all of the armed conflicts fought in the world.
The non-traditional notions of security go beyond physical and military threats and include a wider range of tangible and intangible threats affecting human lives. Non-traditional notions of security question what is being secured, what kinds of threats and which approach to security.
Traditional notions of security consider security for the boundaries of the states and conflicts between countries whereas non-traditional notions consider individual and community security. Non-traditional views of security have proposed notions of ‘human security and ‘global security.
Human security considers the protection from all threats that endanger human lives which includes hunger, poverty, disease as well as violence.
Global security emerged as a response to the growing unprecedented threats of global warming, epidemics, international terrorism, etc. No country can resolve global issues like these and the elimination of global threats requires the participation of everyone and not just a select few countries.
India’s security strategy has four broad components which have been applied in varied compilations depending on the situation.
- The first component was strengthening its military capabilities due to hassles with its neighbors. These include China (1962) and Pakistan.
- The second component is to strengthen international norms and institutions like the policies of disarmament and the causes of decolonization and the UN.
- The third component of the Indian security strategy is towards ensuring internal security and combating internal security challenges and simultaneously preserving national security.
- The final component is to develop the economy to combat poverty and remove economic inequalities.
Thus the idea of security is much more complex than the basic principles that define it.