FACULTY OF LAW, ACCOUNTANCY &

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HANDOUT 1

IRB00103
INTERNATIONAL
SECURITY
 Learning Outcomes
 At the end of the course students are able to:
 Describe a framework for understanding emerging issues in
international security.
 Identify critical issues in international security.
 Discuss and analyze the current issues related to the
international security
 Evaluate the problems of international security and be able to
propose some solutions to the issues.
Course Synopsis
 The course explores the field of international
security.
 It will examine the nature of security, force and the
threat of force in the international realm.
 It also examine the international security problems
that emerge from the interactions of the great
powers and other state and non-state actors in
international arena.
Course Synopsis
 In addition, it studies asymmetric international
security problems including wars in weak and
failed states, nuclear proliferation, international
terrorism, ethnic and religious conflicts, and rising
powers.
 Finally, the course discusses some solutions to the
international security problems.
 References
 Buzan, Bary, Ole Waever, and Jaap de Wilde. (1998). Security: A New Framework for
Analysis. London: Lynne Rienner Publisher

 Williams, Paul D., (2008), Security Studies. London: Routledge

 Alan Collins, ed., (2010) Contemporary Security Studies, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University
Press

 Dannreuther, Roland, (2007) International Security: A Contemporary Agenda. Cambridge:

Polity Press

 Michael Brown et al (eds) 2010, Going Nuclear: Nuclear Proliferation and International
Security in the 21st Century. Massachushetes: MIT Press

 Holsti, K.J., (1991) Peace and War: Armed Conflict and International Order 1648 -1989.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

 Ferguson, Nial, (2006) The War of the World: Twentieth Century Conflict and the descent of
the West. London: Penguin Press
 INTRO. TO IS
Definition
 Security is the degree of resistance to, or
protection from, harm. It applies to any vulnerable
and valuable asset, such as a person, dwelling,
community, item, nation, or organization
 security provides a form of protection where a
separation is created between the assets and the
threat
 Definition
 Security is said to have two dialogues:
 Negative dialogue is about danger, risk, threat and
etc.
 Positive dialogue is about opportunities, interests,
profits,
 Negative dialogue needs military equipment,
armies, or police, while Positive dialogue needs
social capital, education, or social interaction.
 Definition
 International security, or global security, can be defined the
amalgamation of measures taken by states and international
organizations, such as the United Nations, European
Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and others, to ensure
mutual survival and safety

 These measures include military action and diplomatic agreements

such as treaties and conventions.

 International and national security are invariably linked. International

security is national security or state security in the global arena.
The Scope of International Security
 The content of international security has expanded over the
years. At present it covers a variety of interconnected issues in
the world that impact on survival.

 It range from the traditional or conventional modes of military

power, the causes and consequences of war between states,
economic strength, to ethnic, religious and ideological conflicts,
trade and economic conflicts, energy supplies, science and
technology, food, as well as threats to human security and the
stability of states from environmental degradation, infectious
diseases, climate change and the activities of non-state actors
Introduction
 Security is a core value of human life, to be secure
is to be untroubled by danger or fear

 According to Thomas Hobbes; without security

there is no place for industry… no arts, no letters,
no society; and which is worst of all, continual
fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of
man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short
 Introduction
Western states take their security for granted
until it is challenged by some extraordinary
event like the September 11 attack on the
World Trade Center or the July 7 bombings on
the London Underground etc.

Sadly, many people around the world do not

live in such peaceful or prosperous
circumstances
 Introduction
The desire for security is a defensive and
self-protecting response to the fact or
threat of harm from other human beings.

Ifthere were no threat to people or other

important creatures the need to guarantee
security would disappear.
Introduction
 Natural disasters like the hurricane and consequent
flooding in New Orleans in 2005, East Coast of
Malaysia 2014, Tsunami in Acheh, Japan etc.
would require emergency planning and responses

 But there would be no problem of looting,

shooting, rape, murder or other forms of predatory
and violent behavior with which to contend.
Introduction
 Disruption and loss of life would probably
still occur but it would not be a result of
violence or attack from other human
beings.

 Obviously,human history supports the

proposition that there will always be some
people who will pose a threat to others.
Key assumptions of security
 There are four key assumptions underlying the idea of
security:

 security in (or of) what,

 from what,

 for what, and

 by what means?
Key assumptions of security

1- Security in (or of) what?

This assumption recognizes the vulnerability of
humans who live in social circumstances.

The idea of security is directed at the problem of

harmful acts by other people, either fellow
citizens or foreigners and not the forces of nature
 Key assumptions of security
The crux of security for our purposes is
captured by Hedley Bull: ‘Security in
international politics means no more than
safety:
It may be objective safety, meaning safety
which actually exists, or
Subjective safety, meaning safety which is felt
or experienced
Key assumptions of security
Safety is a condition of
human relations, it is order
and predictability in our
relations with other people
 Key assumptions of security

2- Security from what?

According to Hobbes, in its ‘state of nature’ every
human being is a potential threat because the struggle
for survival in a world of limited resources is ‘war of all
against all’.

One human being may be stronger, another more

cunning, but each in his or her own way is capable of
inflicting harm upon another
 Key assumptions of security
 Therefore,
there can never be complete trust and
mutual security between human beings.

 Thehuman condition is precarious even in the most

hospitable of circumstances because we are all
unavoidably exposed at least to some degree to others
who are at best careless and unreliable and at worst
mean and malevolent.
Key assumptions of security
3- Security by means of what
 Our safety is protected by creating barriers,
bulwarks, ramparts, police forces, armed forces,
etc., to keep us out of harm’s reach. The opposite
of safety is vulnerability − being exposed to
danger, in peril, at risk, etc.
Key assumptions of security
 Safety requires only that everybody respect
everybody else’s freedom and leave them alone.
 Security is achieved wherever and whenever men
and women do not threaten or harm one another.

 Unfortunately, not everyone is prepared to forgo

their own desires or ambitions if these infringe the
well being of others
Key assumptions of security
 We put locks on our doors and alarms on our
houses to keep out those who would otherwise
take our possessions or in other ways rob us of that
which we hold dear

 Insecurity arises when some people will not

restrain themselves and cannot be restrained by
others
Key assumptions of security
4- Security for what?
 people can enjoy the advantages of living in
society with others while limiting the risks.
Isolated individuals like are in a perfectly secure
condition with respect to attack from other human
beings because there is nobody around to attack
them.
 However, there can be no interaction, no
communication and no cooperation.
Key assumptions of security
Therefore, security is a core value of
human relations. The necessity of
security arises from the fact that people
do want to live together and are thus
vulnerable to each other. Security
makes possible what otherwise
probably could not be achieved
State and Personal Security
 Thestudy of international relations is
concerned with relations between states.

 Thestate was, in its origins, a security

arrangement and it remains so today. A
huge amount of state resources is directed
towards maintaining effective police and
armed forces
 State and Personal Security
…Implementing anti-terrorist measures, ensuring
civil and emergency defenses, using intelligence
to detect and counter external attack and internal
subversion, using diplomacy to strengthen
alliances and isolate threats and using economic
power to encourage cooperation and isolate or
weaken political rivals.
State and Personal Security
 Hobbes’ suggested that to get rid of the problem of
personal security, state must create a political
order or sovereign which he terms ‘leviathan’ to
protect the people

 ‘Leviathan’ can only come about if individual men

and women are prepared to exchange their
personal freedom to individually protect
themselves for protection by the sovereign
State and Personal Security
The state is should have a collective
security arrangement. Hobbes opined
that statist solution to the problem of
personal insecurity simultaneously
gives rise to a new threat of insecurity
between states
 State and Personal Security
Kings, and persons of sovereign authority,
because of their independency, are in
continual jealousies, and in the state and
posture of gladiators; having their weapons
pointing, and their eyes fixed on one
another… and continual spies upon their
neighbors; which is a posture of war
State and Personal Security
 Atthe very moment that ‘leviathan’ resolves the problem of
personal security within the state, it creates a new problem of
insecurity between states

 Thatsecurity dilemma between states is a defining feature of

international relations up to and including the present time
State and Personal Security
 There is, however, an important distinction
between security of the state and security of the
person.

 Personal security is an essential precondition for

human flourishing. It frees people to pursue their
own interests, goals, ambitions
State and Personal Security
Without the fear of harm by others provided they, in
turn, do not violate the harm principle by causing
deliberate injury to others.

Personal security is our individual protection from

harm by other people. In short, personal security
means peace of mind
 State and Personal Security
Security of the state refers to a state’s ability to
protect itself from external dangers and menaces:
for example, intervention, blockade, invasion,
destruction, occupation, or some other harmful
interference by a hostile foreign power or
terrorist group
State and Personal Security
The goal of state security is to deter, prevent
or defeat attacks against the state and its
population.

The ideas of state and people are closely

related. Indeed, a classic definition of
sovereignty is effective control over territory
and population
State and Personal Security
 However, In liberal political theory, the state do
not only belongs to the people but is in fact a
creation of the people;
 it is the people’s government, the people’s law, the
people’s army, the people’s police, the people’s
courts and ultimately the people’s prisons etc.
State and Personal Security
Therefore, in theory at least, the state
cannot pose a threat to its own
citizens whose personal interests are
synonymous with state interests.
For that theory to hold true, however,
the coercive power of the state should
be used as a last resort and as rarely
as possible
State and Personal Security
 In practice, however, security of the state does not always
translate into security of the people in the way that liberal
theory would like it to do.

 There are many states which are unable to provide

personal security for their populations because they do not
exercise effective control over all the territory within their
jurisdiction

 These are often referred to as ‘weak’ or ‘failed states’

State and Personal Security
 There are also states which directly and purposefully
threaten their own peoples in order to maintain
control or fulfil ideological or economic goals – we
often refer to these as ‘totalitarian’ or ‘police states’.

 If we collapse the distinction between security of the

state and security of the people we will not be able to
adequately analyze circumstances like these
Introduction to International Security
 War and armed conflict has seriously affected the
living conditions of a vast number of people in
negative fashion through history.

 The study of security was initiated as a platform to

overcome or reduce the consequences of armed
conflict
Introduction to International Security
Importance of IS can not be
underestimated if one’s goals is to
improve the living conditions of all
the peoples of the earth, therefore, the
prevention of conflict will remain
the prerequisite for all society.
Introduction to International Security
 The usage of the meaning of the term IS today is a
relatively new one, the term covers subject that
have been importance with regards to the living
condition of people; stability in general , and
peace in particular.

 War has always brought immense human

suffering and serious deteriorated living condition
IS: Past and the Present
 IS has taken new form in the 21st century. The
concept of IS as Security among states belong to the
21st century .

 Threats are no longer the issue between states, but

from ethnic groups such as criminal gangs, Mafiosi
governance, AIDS, terrorism, dangerous food,
poverty, economic mismanagement, over population,
failed state, flows of refugees, pollution and its effect
IS: Past and the Present
 The victims of all the present security threats are;
 Individuals (individual or human security)
 Society (societal security) and
 the global (global security)

 That is, the wellbeing of the societies is under

threat. The fact is that the world like never before
as become a global village (one).
IS: Past and the Present
 The new dimensions are: globalization,
internationalization, trans nationalization,
interdependence, and integration.

 Therefore, the only solution to secure the world

and maintain the sustainability of the world is to
support the notion of one world or none
IS: Past and the Present
 There are solid platform for common interest
today, or international acceptance by almost all of
the world’s countries common general global
norms;
 Democracy, a market economy, human rights,
personal freedom.
The Concept of Security
 Security is a highly contested concept. That is, it
is a word common use in a variety of personal and
collective activities and conditions

 Security in normal daily activates: Job, economics,

transport, food Security for positive, desirable
conditions: Democracy, Freedom, Prosperity, a
conducive life
The Concept of Security
 Security against negative conditions: War,
Pollution, crime, and all kinds of threats
 IS at Present
 Since the end of the Cold War the definition of
international security has expanded to include
more issues and actors.

 Effectively confronting the threats of the 21st

century requires careful engagement with this
extended constituency and a new kind of
integrated strategic thinking
 IS at Present
 Thecold war witnesses war between the two blocs
and their allies . The end of the Cold war oversees
United State as the survival of the and remains the
only super power, a new era of unipolar system.
 IS at Present
 The collapse of the Warsaw Pact has left Central
and Eastern Europe in a security vacuum.
Regional organizations such as the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
 IS at Present
 Thefurther expansion of NATO may well have an
adverse effect on the domestic political process in
Russia. As a temporary measure, a "neutral area"
could be created for the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe, the security of which could be
guaranteed by NATO and Russia.
 IS at Present
 itfinds itself at the crossroads of regional politics, with
influential domestic groups of both pro-Western and pro-
Russian orientation. Its membership in NATO in the near
future is neither likely nor desirable, and may have a
negative effect on European security.

 However, the security of Ukraine, and in particular its

relationship with Russia, is a very important factor for
European stability and for relations between Russia and
the West.
 IS at Present
 In this new global situation, the UN could become an
effective center for global security. To adequately
perform this function, the organization needs profound
reform.

 This reform could include three main stages:

strengthening the UN's role as a forum of discussion,
creating a center for diplomatic coordination and conflict
prevention, and creating a mechanism for implementing
the UN's decisions.
 IS at Present
 In the distant future, the UN may assume responsibility for
administering the nuclear weapons remaining after global
nuclear disarmament.

Other steps in the reform process may require altering the

UN Charter, including expanding the Security Council to 20-
21 members, with new members such as Germany and Japan
(among other new regional leaders) taking the permanent
seats; and revising the right of veto of the permanent five and
possibly replacing it with a consensus or a majority vote
mechanism.
 IS at Present
 heUN peacekeeping operation is another domain
that requires close examination and restructuring.
The organization should be primarily concerned
with conflict prevention. Peace enforcement
operations should take place only by decision of
the Security Council, and member states should
provide more support, financial and other, and be
encouraged to contribute troops.
 IS at Present
 Inthe area of economy and development, the UN
should take the leading role through creation of a
UN Development Council.

 The United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD) could perform the role
of a coordinating body for other international
institutions, such as the World Trade Organization
and the World Bank.
 Conclusion
 IS covered a range of areas of international
relations.

 As the present day has witnesses various

development; social media, cross boarder
movements, terrorism, global environmental threats
etc.
 The world can only remain a safe place to leave if
global solution is channeled to tackle it.
 Conclusion
 Itbecome obvious that state can not unilaterally
sort it without the need of its international
counterparts.

 Therefore, for state it needs cooperation and

relations of other nations to guarantee its security
both locally and internationally