Security in the Contemporary World – AHSEC Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5

Here is the complete guide for AHSEC Class 12 Political Science (Contemporary World Politics), Chapter 5: “Security in the Contemporary World,” written entirely in English. This includes a chapter summary, all textual questions, previous years’ AHSEC questions, and additional important questions.

Chapter 4: Security in the Contemporary World

Summary of the Chapter

What is Security?
At its most basic, security implies freedom from threats. However, not all threats are considered security threats. The study of security focuses on threats that endanger the “core values” of a state or individuals. Security is broadly divided into two notions: Traditional and Non-traditional.

Traditional Notions: External
The traditional concept of security primarily concerns itself with military threats from outside a country’s borders. The greatest danger to a country is from another country’s military action, which threatens its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
A government has three basic choices in responding to the threat of war:

1. To surrender.
2. To deter: This involves building up military power to discourage the other side from attacking.
3. To defend: To defend itself during a war to repel the attacking forces.

Other components of traditional security policy include:

• Balance of Power: A country works to maintain a favourable balance of power with its neighbours and rivals.
• Alliance Building: Forming coalitions with other states to deter or defend against military attack.

Traditional Notions: Internal
Traditional security also acknowledges the importance of internal peace and order. A country cannot effectively deal with external threats if it is not secure within its own borders. Newly independent countries, in particular, often face threats from separatist movements that want to break away.

Traditional Security and Cooperation:
The traditional view of security accepts that cooperation can limit violence. Disarmament, arms control, and confidence-building are key strategies.

• Disarmament: Requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons (e.g., the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention).
• Arms Control: Regulates the acquisition or development of weapons (e.g., the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty).
• Confidence-Building: A process in which countries share ideas and information with their rivals to avoid misunderstanding or misperception.

Non-Traditional Notions:
Non-traditional notions of security go beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats and dangers affecting the conditions of human existence. They refer not just to the state but also to individuals, communities, and all of humankind. This is often called ‘human security’ or ‘global security’.

• Human Security: This focuses on the protection of people rather than the protection of states. It argues that a secure state does not automatically mean secure people. Its primary goal is the protection of individuals from threats like hunger, disease, and natural disasters, as well as from violence.
• Global Security: This emerged in the 1990s and refers to global threats like global warming, international terrorism, and health epidemics (like HIV-AIDS, bird flu, COVID-19) that no single country can resolve alone.

New Sources of Threats:
The new sources of non-traditional threats include:

• Terrorism: The use of political violence targeting civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.
• Human Rights: Violations of political, economic, and social rights.
• Global Poverty: Poverty and income disparity lead to conflict and migration.
• Migration: Large-scale migration due to war, poverty, or disaster creates international political friction.
• Health Epidemics: Diseases like HIV-AIDS, bird flu, and COVID-19 spread across borders and threaten global security.

Cooperative Security:
Dealing with non-traditional threats requires international cooperation rather than military confrontation. This cooperation may involve international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other actors.

India’s Security Strategy:
India faces both traditional and non-traditional threats to its security. Its security strategy has four broad components:

1. Strengthening its military capabilities: This is due to its history of conflicts with neighbours like Pakistan and China.
2. Strengthening international norms and institutions: To protect its security interests.
3. Meeting security challenges within the country: Dealing with separatist movements in a democratic framework.
4. Developing its economy: To lift the vast mass of citizens out of poverty and inequality.

Textbook Exercise Question Answers

1. Match the terms with their meaning:
(i) Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) – (b) A process of exchanging information on defence matters between nations on a regular basis.
(ii) Arms Control – (d) Regulates the acquisition or development of weapons.
(iii) Alliance – (c) A coalition of nations meant to deter or defend against military attacks.
(iv) Disarmament – (a) Giving up certain types of weapons.

2. Which of the following do you consider as a threat to a country’s security?
(a) An outbreak of bird flu in the country. – Non-traditional threat
(b) Inflow of workers from a neighbouring country. – Non-traditional threat
(c) A militant group that wants to break away a region from the country and create a separate nation. – Traditional (internal) threat
(d) A neighbouring country that has a very powerful military. – Traditional (external) threat
(e) A newspaper that is critical of the armed forces in the country. – Not a security threat

3. What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional security? Which category would the creation and sustenance of alliances belong to?
Answer:

• Difference:
  • Referent: The main referent of traditional security is the state. For non-traditional security, the referent is not just the state but also individuals, communities, and humanity.
  • Nature of Threat: Traditional security deals primarily with military threats from other states. Non-traditional security covers a broader range of threats, including terrorism, poverty, disease, and environmental degradation.
  • Response: The response to traditional threats is often military force (deterrence, defence). The response to non-traditional threats requires international cooperation.
• Alliances: The creation and sustenance of alliances belong to the traditional category of security.

4. What are the differences in the threats that a citizen in a rich country faces and a citizen in a poor country faces?
Answer:

• Rich Country Citizen: Citizens in rich countries primarily face non-traditional threats like terrorism, cyber-attacks, and the effects of global warming. They are generally secure from traditional threats like external military invasion or internal civil war.
• Poor Country Citizen: Citizens in poor countries face both traditional threats (like border conflicts with neighbours, civil war) and a wider, more immediate range of non-traditional threats (like poverty, hunger, epidemics, and natural disasters). The scope of threats is much broader and more immediate for them.

5. Is terrorism a traditional or non-traditional threat to security?
Answer: Terrorism is a non-traditional threat to security because it is typically carried out by non-state actors and deliberately targets civilians, which is outside the rules of traditional warfare.

6. What are the choices available to a state when its security is threatened, according to the traditional security perspective?
Answer: According to the traditional security perspective, a state has three main choices:

1. Deterrence: To prevent war by building up its military capability to discourage an attacker.
2. Defence: To defend itself and repel the attack if war does break out.
3. Alliance Building: To form a coalition with other states to increase its collective power.
   (Surrender is also a choice, but it is not considered a security policy).

7. What is ‘Balance of Power’? How could a state achieve this?
Answer: ‘Balance of Power’ is a policy where a state tries to maintain a favourable distribution of military and economic power relative to its neighbours or rivals, so that no single state becomes so powerful that it can dominate others. A state can achieve this by building up its own military and economic strength, and by forming alliances with other countries.

8. What are the objectives of military alliances? Give an example of a functioning military alliance with its specific objectives.
Answer:

• Objectives: The main objective of a military alliance is to provide collective security to its member states, deterring or defending against military attacks.
• Example: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
• Specific Objectives: NATO’s original objective during the Cold War was to provide collective defence against the military threat from the Soviet Union. Its current objectives include crisis management and promoting security through partnerships.

9. Rapid environmental degradation is causing a serious threat to security. Do you agree with the statement? Substantiate your arguments.
Answer: Yes, I agree with the statement. Rapid environmental degradation, particularly climate change, poses a serious threat to security. Global warming is causing a rise in sea levels, which threatens the very existence of island nations like the Maldives and coastal countries like Bangladesh. This can lead to mass migration and a refugee crisis, creating international conflict. Furthermore, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters can cause food and water shortages, leading to social and political instability and conflict within and between states.

10. Nuclear weapons as deterrence or defence have limited utility against contemporary security threats to states. Explain.
Answer: This statement is correct. The destructive power of nuclear weapons is so immense that their use in actual warfare is almost unthinkable. Their primary utility is deterrence—preventing another nuclear-armed state from launching an attack. However, they have very limited utility against many contemporary, non-traditional security threats. For instance, they are useless against terrorist groups, which have no defined territory to retaliate against. They are also ineffective in dealing with civil war, genocide, poverty, or health epidemics. Therefore, in the face of many contemporary security threats, the utility of nuclear weapons is severely limited.

11. Looking at the Indian scenario, what type of security has been given priority in India, traditional or non-traditional? Give examples to prove your arguments.
Answer: In the Indian scenario, priority has been given to both traditional and non-traditional security.

• Traditional: India has historically focused on strengthening its military capabilities due to border disputes and wars with its neighbours, Pakistan and China. Its nuclear programme is also a part of this traditional security strategy.
• Non-traditional: India also faces significant non-traditional threats like terrorism, poverty, and health challenges. Therefore, India has been a vocal advocate for international cooperation against terrorism and has focused on its economic development to alleviate poverty.
  Thus, India has adopted a mixed strategy, addressing both types of security threats, rather than prioritising one over the other.

12. Read the cartoon on the next page and write a short note in favour or against the connection between war and terrorism shown in it.
Answer: The cartoon depicts war and terrorism as two faces of the same monster, suggesting they are fundamentally similar destructive forces.

• In Favour: Both war and terrorism are based on violence and result in the death and suffering of civilians. Both are used to achieve political ends through force. Sometimes, states use terrorism as a tool of their foreign policy (state-sponsored terrorism), blurring the lines between the two.
• Against: However, there are differences. War is generally conducted between the armed forces of states and has certain accepted rules (even if often violated). Terrorism, on the other hand, is usually perpetrated by non-state groups and deliberately targets innocent civilians to create fear.

Previous Year AHSEC Exam Question Answers (2015-2024)

Short Questions

• 2015: What is Disarmament? (2 Marks)
  Ans: Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing certain types of weapons. It requires states to give up these weapons through treaties or agreements.
• 2016: Mention one non-traditional notion of security. (1 Mark)
  Ans: Human Security.
• 2017: Write one component of India’s security strategy. (2 Marks)
  Ans: Strengthening its military capabilities.
• 2018: What is ‘Balance of Power’? (2 Marks)
  Ans: ‘Balance of Power’ is a policy where a state tries to maintain a favourable distribution of military power relative to its neighbours, so that no single state becomes so powerful that it can dominate others.
• 2019: Mention one traditional notion of security. (1 Mark)
  Ans: Protection of the state from external military threats.
• 2020: When was the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) signed? (1 Mark)
  Ans: 1972.
• 2022: What is terrorism? (2 Marks)
  Ans: Terrorism is the use of political violence, targeting civilians deliberately and indiscriminately, to create an atmosphere of fear to achieve a political objective.
• 2023: Mention one component of ‘Human Security’. (1 Mark)
  Ans: ‘Freedom from want’, which means protection from hunger and poverty.
• 2024: What is Arms Control? (2 Marks)
  Ans: Arms control refers to agreements between states to regulate the acquisition or development of weapons, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Long Questions

• Question: What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional notions of security? (4/6 Marks)
  Ans:
  1. Source of Threat: Traditional security focuses on military threats from other states. Non-traditional security includes a broader range of threats like terrorism, poverty, epidemics, and environmental degradation.
  2. Referent Object: The main referent (who is to be secured) in traditional security is the state. In non-traditional security, the referent is not just the state but also individuals, communities, and humanity as a whole.
  3. Nature of Threat: In traditional security, the threat is usually external (from another country). In non-traditional security, the threat can be internal or global.
  4. Means of Solution: Traditional security relies on military force (deterrence, defence, alliances). Non-traditional security requires international cooperation instead of military force.
• Question: Discuss the components of India’s security strategy. (4/6 Marks)
  Ans: India’s security strategy has four main components:
  1. Strengthening Military Capabilities: India has focused on strengthening its military because it has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours, Pakistan and China. The nuclear tests of 1998 were also part of this strategy.
  2. Strengthening International Norms and Institutions: India has worked to strengthen international institutions like the UN to protect its security interests. It has advocated for a non-discriminatory global order.
  3. Meeting Internal Security Challenges: India has faced separatist movements in states like Nagaland, Punjab, and Kashmir. It has tried to resolve these issues within a democratic framework.
  4. Economic Development: India believes that economic development is crucial to lift its citizens out of poverty, which in turn will reduce internal security threats and improve the quality of life.

10 Additional Important Questions and Answers

1. What is meant by ‘core values’ in the context of security?
   Ans: In the context of a state, core values refer to its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
2. Give an example of ‘confidence-building’.
   Ans: Two rival countries regularly exchanging information about their military plans and capabilities to prevent a war based on misunderstanding.
3. What is the significance of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)?
   Ans: It banned the production and possession of biological weapons.
4. What are the two main aspects of ‘human security’?
   Ans: ‘Freedom from fear’ and ‘freedom from want’.
5. How does global poverty create a security threat?
   Ans: Poverty can lead to large-scale migration in search of a better life, which can cause international political friction. It also increases the likelihood of civil war and conflict.
6. Who are ‘internally displaced people’?
   Ans: People who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict or disaster but remain within their country’s borders.
7. What is the Kyoto Protocol?
   Ans: It is an international agreement that sets targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to control global warming.
8. What is the core idea of ‘Cooperative Security’?
   Ans: The core idea is that non-traditional threats require international cooperation rather than military confrontation.
9. When did India conduct its first nuclear test?
   Ans: In 1974.
10. Give one example of a non-traditional security threat.
    Ans: International terrorism.