International Relations

Dynamics of International Security

“International security, as an area of inquiry, takes organized violence as its focus, and the steps
individuals and aggregations of individuals can take to both employ organized violence effectively
and to protect themselves from organized violence.”
Thus, range from the micro-weapons types, effectiveness, tactics, human-weapons interfaces,
individual and group motivations-to the macro; including the causes of war, nuclear strategy,
military doctrine, defense spending, and conventional and unconventional warfare strategies.
 Traditional concepts of international security
International security is traditionally held to be an academic sub-field of the wider discipline
of international relations. The field rapidly developed within international relations during the Cold
War and examples from the era can be considered to include the academic works of mid-20th
century Realist political scientists such as Thomas Schelling and Henry Kissinger whose works
focused primarily on nuclear deterrence.
 Focus was on the security at the national level
 Focus was on national security largely defined in military terms. Military capabilities that
states need to deal with the threats coming from outside.
Why? Because of high frequency of interstate wars.

But many argue that wars between major industrialized countries are becoming a relic of the past.
Frequency of interstate wars has decreased dramatically.
Although domestic armed conflicts and civil wars continue to increase, warfare is becoming
increasingly ‘communalized’. Individuals and groups are making wars i.e., war-making entities
are individuals and groups of individuals
 Absence of war between leading powers
The US, Japan, and Western Europe have formed security community, i.e., a group of people
believing that they have come to agreement on at least this one point that common social problems
must and can be resolved by processes of ‘peaceful change’
Whereas, the major concern of International relations is the war and its possibility among great
powers
This does not mean that there won’t be any conflicts between these leading countries.
Churchill: “People talked a lot of nonsense when they said nothing was ever settled by war.
Nothing in history was ever settled except by war.”
 Explaining obsolescence of war among major powers
Realist Explanations – some realists are skeptical of this claim; “temporary deviation”
1. Hegemonic stability theory i.e., peace is due to American hegemony.
2. Principle of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) i.e., Nuclear weapons.

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Liberalist Answers
1. Democracy.
2. Economic interdependence
Frederick Bastiat: “If goods cannot cross borders, armies will.”
3. International organizations and international law.

 The Multi Sum Security Principle

A comprehensive definition of security that includes the emerging effects of globalization was
proposed by Nayef-Al-Rodhan. According to his assumption,
"In a globalized world, security can no longer be thought of as a zero-sum game involving states
alone. Global security, instead, has five dimensions that include human, environmental,
national, transnational, and transcultural security, and, therefore, global security and the
security of any state or culture cannot be achieved without good governance at all levels that
guarantees security through justice for all individuals, states, and cultures."

 Consequences of expanding international security

The expansion of the concept of international security will entail one of the two consequences:
1. Posing challenges to the jurisdictional limits of international institutions and organs, such
as the Security Council.
2. Requiring a wider range of mechanisms to respond to diverse security threats than the
collective security system.

 Changes in international security

There has been a gradual move towards recognizing more diverse issues as posing security threats,
spawning a growth of security literature in the areas of
 Economic security.
 Environmental security.
 Energy and resource security.
 Food security.
 Bio-security.
 Health security.
However, many of those ‘global security concerns’ are still closely linked to the national security
of (often powerful) sovereign states, and those non-traditional security threats tend to become
significant only to the extent that states themselves recognize the causal relationship between non-
traditional security threats and potential armed conflicts – traditional international security threats.

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 Economic Security
The link between economics and security was always rather obvious. Stability in this
context be economic stability. A lack of stabilization can be dangerous as has been proved
by historical precedent. The most dramatic illustration of the existence of such linkages
can be found in the 1930s, when deep financial crises caused an increase in unemployment
and gave ground for fascism in Germany and elsewhere.
A state can cover the costs of military expenditures when its economy is strong and healthy.
Moreover, it is easier to spend money on military purposes in the light of a realistic threat
from outside. Decisions to spend money on defense are taken easily when there is pressure
among states to do so. Financial sources can be used to cover the costs of weapons imported
from abroad.
Factors other than solely military must be taken into consideration when the non-military
dimension of security is studied. One can mention a list of factors that seem to be
important here, such as:
 Size of the country: The smaller the economy, the easier it is to change and vice
versa.
 Stability of the economy. The problem here is ascribed to the applied strategy and
its effectiveness as well as to the difficulties faced in introducing changes.
 Stability of the political system. This does not mean that systemic transformation
requires stability of the government (as the Polish practice proves). More important
is the continuity of the strategy of systemic change.
 Relations with neighbors should be stabilized and proper.
 Ability to adjust to changing internal and external conditions.
 Institutionalization of external relations.
 Opening-up of the economy and the scale of interdependencies which form mutual
interests.
These elements do not only matter in the case of developed market democracies but they
also play an important role in transition economies.

 Environmental Security
Climate change clearly poses a serious threat to international security. Climate change
impacts are placing significant strains on water and food supplies, increasing the risks of
resources wars and migration, which could spill over into international conflict. Climate
change and resources scarcity stand to play a big part in geopolitics and shape the
international security landscape over the coming years.
Moreover, changes in environmental condition can exposes people to health threats, it
can also undermine human capital and its well-being which are essential factors
of economic development and stability of human society.
Climate change also could, through extreme weather events, have a more direct impact
on national security by damaging critical infrastructures such as military bases, naval
yards and training grounds, thereby severely threatening essential national defense
resources.

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We are already living (and waging conflict and building peace) in a climate that is
increasingly warmer, with different patterns of rainfall, higher sea levels and more
frequent and extreme weather events. These impacts are expected to increase in the
future.
Where climate change impacts intersect with local vulnerabilities – such as resource
scarcity, environmental stresses, weak governance, social tensions and conflict – their
effect will be magnified. Even if not catastrophic in themselves, climate change impacts
could multiply and compound these existing risks, threatening to overburden states and
regions that are already fragile and prone to conflict.
In this sense, climate change can act as a threat multiplier and a destabilizing force.
However, unlike traditional security threats that involve an actor operating in a certain
space and point in time, climate change has the potential to contribute to multiple security
hazards, occurring globally, simultaneously.
Threats posed
i. Conflict over resources.
ii. Economic damage and risk to coastal cities and critical infrastructure.
iii. Loss of territory and border disputes.
iv. Environmentally-induced migration.
v. Situations of fragility and radicalization.
vi. Tension over energy supply.
vii. Pressure on international governance.

This is how it can act as a basis of all the above-mentioned security challenges i.e., energy
and resource security, food security, bio-security, health security and economic
security as well.
Geographical example:
Our climate is delivering regular reminders that these risks are no longer a distant threat.
Last year was once again the hottest on record. This year, ongoing droughts in the Horn
of Africa, Sudan and Syria, recent heatwaves in Pakistan and the United Kingdom, as
well as severe floods and landslides in Colombia and Sri Lanka show the magnitude of
the climate risks we face.
Responding to these threats
Our response to the climate crisis should be threefold:
1. Adopt a ‘climate lens’: Integrate the security implications of climate change
into your approaches to conflict analysis, conflict prevention, peacebuilding
and development. By mainstreaming climate considerations, the work will be
more holistic and sustainable.
2. Call for stronger climate action: Push for stronger national and international
action on climate change, not only as an environmental issue, but also as an
issue critical to global peace and security.

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3. Support climate resilience: In your own work, develop and share best
practices to help build the capacity and resilience of communities so they can
better manage climate impacts and prevent conflict arising from environmental
pressures.
The security climate is always changing, and climate change is adding another level of
complexity and pressure that we need to address.