International Security

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International Security

• Revision Class

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Today we will

• Review key concepts
• Discuss exam writing techniques
• Practice Answer Session

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What is security?

• There are four key assumptions underlying the
  idea of security (1) security in (or of) what
  (2) from what (3) for what and (4) by what
  means

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Security may be defined as

• (1) Safety
• (2) from other people
• (3) so that people can enjoy the advantages of
  living in society with others while limiting the
  risks
• (4) through deterrence on the part of the
  would-be protector or diffidence on the part of
  would-be attacker

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Security of the State

• What activities do we associate with security of
  the state?
• What paradigm of security reflects these concerns?

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Security of the State

• Security of the state refers to a states ability
  to protect itself from external dangers and
  menaces e.g., intervention, blockade, invasion,
  destruction, occupation, or some other harmful
  interference by a hostile foreign power or
  terrorist group.
• The goal of state security is to deter, prevent
  or defeat attacks against the state and its
  population.
• The proponents of national security, who we often
  refer to as realists, generally assume that we
  live in a world where states are both the main
  sources of security and the main security
  threats.

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Limitations of State Security

• Not all states have the same security
  requirements
• Security of the state does not always translate
  into security of the person

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Minimal, Maximal and Failed States

• Minimal states give priority to the individuals
  who compromise them (liberalism)
• Maximal states give priority to the community or
  collective (authoritarianism / totalitarianism)
• Failed (or quasi) states are legal fictions where
  there is in effect no civil authority

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Security of International Society

• What activities do we associate with security of
  international society?
• What paradigm of security reflects these
  concerns?

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Security of International Society

• Insecurity within international society must
  necessarily come from within and not from
  without it is an internal dynamic arising out of
  the condition of anarchy
• In this context, the goal is to deter those who
  would threaten the plural and cooperative
  character of international society.
• This goal is achieved by the balance of power and
  the concert of great powers
• The proponents of international security, who we
  often refer to as pluralists or rationalists, see
  a world characterised by a mixture of conflict
  and cooperation.

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Limitations of International Security

• The great powers do not always act in concert
• The great powers often allow their own national
  interests to take priority over their
  international responsibilities
• A single, global superpower (USA) could put an
  end to the balance of power

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Security of the Person

• What activities do we associate with security of
  the person?
• What paradigm of security reflects these
  concerns?

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Security of the Person

• Security extends beyond the protection of
  borders, ruling elites, and exclusive state
  interests to include the protection of people
• The goal is to ensure the safety and well-being
  of all human beings
• We see evidence of this goal at work in human
  rights, humanitarian law (the laws of war) and
  crimes against humanity
• The proponents of human security, who we often
  refer to as solidarists or revolutionists,
  consider personal security to be a fundamental
  problem of international relations and not merely
  a matter for the domestic politics of the state
  concerned.

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Limitations of Security of the Person

• It is potentially open to the charge of
  chauvinism, ethnocentrism and imperialism
• It disregards or downplays the practical and
  normative problems associated with military
  intervention

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Military Intervention

• Intervention consists of interference by a
  sovereign state, group of such states, or
  international organization, involving the threat
  or use of force or some other means of duress, in
  the domestic jurisdiction of an independent state
  against the will or wishes of its government (R.
  Jackson, 2000)
• Intervention is thus the exception rather than
  the rule in international society and can
  therefore only be justified in the most
  exceptional of circumstances
• The expectation is that such intervention will
  only take place when there is compelling and
  indeed overwhelming reasons to interfere with the
  sovereign rights of states and their citizens to
  conduct their own domestic affairs as they see
  fit

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Current Justification for Intervention

• Consent (National Security) (Bosnia /
  Afghanistan)
• International Order (International Security)
  (Iraq 1991)
• Humanitarianism (Human Security) (Kosovo)

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Q A

• Do you have any specific questions or points of
  clarification related to the syllabus?