21st Century International Security Concept

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY International security, also called global security, refers to the amalgamation of measures taken by states and International organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, 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.

Security in the past:
• relied on territory and geography.
• Arms race of conventional weapons.
 • Absence of non-state actors.
• Importance of political security i.e sovereignty, territorial integrity over cultural or economic security.
• Ideology more important than cultural and civilization

Security in 21st century:
• Erosion of importance of territory because of WMO.
• Nuclear arms race, and nuclear deterrence.
 • Importance of cultural and economic security.
• Ascendancy of non-state actors
• Clash of civilizations, with major security threat from other civilizations and not ideology.

ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL SECURTIY

The big Issues: The backdrop that needs to be addressed but that cannot be changed within the next few years
 • Demographics
• Economics
• Energy
• Food
 • Water
• Climate change and natural disasters
• Conflict, war and the future of armed forces
• Space ‘

–  The unfinished business: Things that should have been solved a longtime ago, but are hard to address:
• Corruption
• Terrorism
• Proliferation
• Organized crime
• Piracy, hijacking, kidnapping, abduction, and extortion
• Migration and integration
 • Parliamentary control and oversight

The issues that will be on our desks in the coming years
 • Globalization
 • The nation-state in a globalized world
 • Failing and failed states
 • Nation-building
• Individual rights versus collective security
 • Effective multilateralism in development cooperation
 • International coordination of efforts: the example of disaster relief
• Pandemics
• Cyberspace
• Technological progress and innovation
• Public-private partnership

Future of International Security:

• Threats to global peace and stability have been reduced on three counts.

1. Proliferation (WMDs)
2. Democratic expansion
3. Economic interdependence
   
   

• Future security concerns –

1. Economic competition
2. Resource constraints
3. Migration
4. Health and environmental issues

• Common security concerns –

1. WMDs
2. Religious fundamentalism
3. Terrorism
   
   

• These concerns will require broader concern and cooperation.
• As long as nations continue to be unequal in economic wealth and techno-military power, or have differences on ideological, religious or cultural grounds, their relationships will be uneven and problematic.
• Convergence of views and interests can emerge only in areas where there are common fears or mutual benefit. Progress, peace and stability are major goals shared worldwide.
• The solutions for the future must therefore be packaged imaginatively, and this will require a mature management approach.
• As is often said, peace is not just the absence of war, and security is not just the absence of an imminent threat.
• Therefore, long-term solutions for peace and security must be based on universally accepted norms that not only are intrinsically fair, but also remain sustainable under various conditions.