Introduction
This article offers insight into the concept of security as a foundational idea in diplomatic studies. It examines how the meaning of security has evolved over time: from a narrow focus on military defence and state survival to a broader concern with human welfare, environmental stability, environmental protection, and global wellbeing. It also looks at how security became a central concern in world politics, particularly after the Cold War, and how changing global realities necessitated new ways of thinking about threats and protection. By the end of this article, readers will understand the conceptual foundations upon which the study of international security is built.
Understanding the Concept of Security
In its most basic sense, security refers to the condition of being protected from danger, threat, or harm. In international relations, security traditionally meant the protection of a stateโs territorial integrity and political sovereignty from external military threats. During much of the 20th century, especially during the Cold War period, security was closely associated with military power, national defence and the ability of states to deter or defeat enemies.
This traditional understanding of security was state-centric. The state was seen as the primary actor, and threats were assumed to come mainly from other states. As long as a state could defend its borders and maintain political independence, it was considered secure. This perspective dominated international politics during periods of intense rivalry such as the First and Second Wars and the Cold War.
However, over time, scholars and policymakers began to question whether military strength alone was sufficient to guarantee security. The persistence of poverty, civil wars, internal instability, and humanitarian crises revealed that a state could be military strong yet deeply insecure internally. This realisation laid the foundation for broader interpretations of the concept of security.
Traditional Approach to Security
Traditional security focuses primarily on the state as the object of protection. Its key concerns include: territorial integrity, national sovereignty, deterrence and alliances, military defence, and balance of power etc.
The traditional approach to security views the international system as anarchic, meaning that there is no central authority to enforce order. As a result, states rely on self-help strategies such as military build-up and alliances to ensure survival. During the Cold War, this approach dominated global politics as the United States and the Soviet Union invested heavily in nuclear weapons and military alliances to deter each other.
Although traditional security successfully explains interstate wars and military rivalries, it has been criticised for ignoring threats that do not involve arms or weapons, such as economic collapse, social unrest, and environmental degradation.
Non-Traditional Approach to Security
The end of the Cold War marked a turning point in security studies. The decline of superpower rivalry reduced the likelihood of global nuclear weapon but exposed societies to new forms of insecurity. As a result, security scholars began to expand the agenda to include non-traditional threats.
Non-traditional security focuses on challenges such as poverty and economic inequality, environmental degradation and climate change, pandemics and health crises, terrorism and organised crime, migration, and displacement, as well as food and water insecurity.
This shift reflects the understanding that threats to human survival are not always military in nature and that a society plagued by hunger, disease, or environmental disasters may be insecure even of it faces no external military enemy.
Human Security
One of the most influential non-traditional approaches to security is the concept of human security, which emerged in the 1990s. Unlike traditional security, human security places individuals rather than states at the centre of analysis. It argues that true security exists when people are free from fear, want, and indignity.
Human security encompasses several dimensions, including economic security, health security, environmental security, personal safety, and political freedom. This approach gained international recognition through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has shaped global discussion on humanitarian intervention, development, and peacebuilding.
Human security is particularly relevant to the Global south, where insecurity often arises from internal conflicts, weak governance, and structural inequality rather than external aggression.
Key Actors in Contemporary Security
While states remain important actors in security, they are no longer the only ones. Contemporary security involves multiple actors including International Organisations (like the United Nations); Regional Bodies (e.g. ECOWAS), Non-State Actors (e.g. terrorist groups, militias), Civil Society and Humanitarian Organisations.
Conclusion
This article has looked at the concept of security within the international system, stating that Security in international relations refers to the protection of states, societies, and individuals from threats that endanger survival, stability, and wellbeing. Traditional security focuses on military threats an state survival while non-traditional security addresses economic, environmental, health, and social challenges. It went on to state that the end of the Cold War reduced interstate rivalry and revealed internal conflicts, poverty, and global threats that could not be addressed through military means alone. It also introduced new actors, including international organisations, non-state armed groups, regional bodies, and civil society organisations.