Security Studies: An Introduction And Facts About Development

Preparation

Discuss about the Security Studies an Introduction and Facts about the Development

In preparing for the tutorial a few facts about the development of the world as it stands today got focused. Whenever people talk about my country or my nation, the basic thing that gets conveyed is that I or we jointly own this piece of land mass and you people who stay on this land mass are my subjects. Well that was the traditional outlook. With democracy setting in and politics taking a shape where there are no definite dynasties of rulers, the statement is almost saying the same thing but a little sugar coated. It is now said “This piece of land belongs to all of us. Hence let us jointly exploit it, for which it will have to be protected against hazards”. While the people are said to be the owners of the land a smaller group calls the cards. Anything that jeopardizes this stand is essentially a security hazard.

 In the tutorial titled “Security Studies an Introduction” and authored by Paul D. Williams this concept has been suggested - in different words though. Security is stated to mean different to different people and that politics plays an important role in defining and thereby shaping public opinion. This works mentions that security id the safety of ‘real people in real places’ and that sets the tone of the composition that it is going to beat about the bush, since it is slightly difficult to visualize ‘unreal’ people and place.

During the course of discussion it mentions about four basic questions which are, first, what is security, second is whose security, third, what makes a security issue and fourth and final is how to achieve security. Security is said to be the process of removing the threat to values that are cherished and if the threat strikes then these cherished values are lost. Regarding the question of “whose” security it states in very round-about way that it is the nation which may have many ethnic groups and/or classes within it. It speaks of not only external security but also internal aspects like economy, health and environment aspects

Wars have been around ever since the beginning of the civilized society. External forces have always tried to take away the harvests of hard labor from the country which worked for it. In order to protect their wealth every nation always keeps itself ready to meet the external threats. Large scale war involving many nations is not conceivable today since the armory of the entire world is sufficient to destroy the world many times over. That should not be construed as the urge to take possession of others property by some means – not only brutal force – has been eliminated. Large scale war is no longer possible but then large scale aggression – economic, industrial, social and cultural – is very much prevalent to this day. Instead of chopping off the heads of the rival army personnel the emphasis has shifted to starvation, deprivation and humiliation.

Reflections

In the article “Is major war obsolete?” written by M. Mandelbaum the start off is posing the same question and proceeding with the idea that wars are just means of mass destruction to life and property. It goes on to create the impression that war is no longer a viable option and uses many terminologies to defend its theory. It has recounted many aspects and has used many unusual terms which do not add value to the basic proposition of whether war is possible today or not. Conceptually the cost of war – both direct and indirect or long term – has become so huge that the international community is against it. With the rise of democratic forces the concept of war is slowly but surely going into oblivion. However, it may be reminded that the article is meaning wars in which one country fires against another for – usually – economic benefits in the long run. Most countries are born out of a war or at least strife. It is very pertinently noted that such countries which have come into being as a fall out or result of a war themselves go to war on various purposes. Reasons for war vary but the result is the same.

Thus what has been so far called war gets changed to mean aggression of any kind launched by one nation on another to get hold of their economic resources has replaced war. Wars, which in the past, meant killing by way of use of weapons has been replaced by killing by taking away the source of lively hood of the population. This kind of ‘war’ continues today and has become a trend under various names like globalization and economic reforms. The method of killing has only changed, the fact remains same. Thus wars will now take a different form and thoughtless blood-shed is on the way to become a thing of the past.

The concept of going totally nuclear free is a utopian concept in today’s world. No sensible leadership would even think of trusting the only super power of today i.e. United States of America about their stand of creating a nuclear free world. The smaller and less significant nations know the very old saying that “Preparation for war is the way to achieve peace” and they will keep themselves ready to be able to create a dent in case America was to rake up any unhealthy issue. Nations go to fight on apparently very flimsy ground and America is no exception. They have been launching offensives in the Middle East and Far East apparently on very flimsy and untenable grounds. The war in Vietnam which cost America a tidy fortune is a wealth of experience for the smaller countries of the world. Each nation must be in readiness for facing any offensive from the super power and this super power has the strength to ask others to go non-nuclear but they would like to remain the only one who is unquestionable. The terrorist groups have a very huge power to inflict injuries on the super power though they may not be in a position today to take over the country. The loss of life and property to America by way of terrorist attacks create very strong public opinion against the state and therefore are best avoided.

Is major war obsolete?

The debate whether Nuclear Zero the Best Option has focused both views – for and against – the motion. While what is been stated in the agreements in favor of the motion recalls the various announcements by various head of state of United States of America about moving towards a nuclear free world they have not been able to substantiate with facts of this nuclear super power starting any activities for ensuring non proliferation of nuclear arms. The arguments presented by the people who have spoken against the motion appear more logical. That this super power has in the past been responsible for launching offensives against smaller and weaker nations on some pretext or the other gets mentioned in no uncertain terms. They want disarmament only to serve their own purpose of remaining free from the fears of any nuclear strike by especially the terrorist groups. Terrorist groups are quite capable of launching a nuclear strike only to flex their muscles. This is not what America would be ready to accept.

The developing nations which are not really in the category of serious threats to the already developed countries are very fast acquiring weaponries for making themselves stronger and fitter to resist any military aggression by their neighboring countries. It is a known fact that developing countries like India and Pakistan keep strengthening their arsenal only to ensure that they are safe from their neighbors. This is also seen in the Middle East, where acquiring arms is not anything unheard of.

This article with the heading “New Weapons for Old Problems: Conventional Proliferation and Military Effectiveness in Developing States” written by Christopher S. Parker delves in the issues of preparation for war in the under developed countries. These multiple countries which all have some economic or social or geographical strength are ever on logger heads for variety of reasons. The arms dealers are active in these areas and in quite a few cases the arms deals are clouded in mystery. If the super powers want the arms race to stop then the arms and ammunition manufacturing organizations have to be restricted and that is unspeakable in the global economy of today.

The under developed countries which are outside the super power block is arming themselves alarmingly. Does the western and advanced countries actively contribute to this situation is a question which comes to the mind.

A very pertinent question has been tried to be answered by the author and that question is that can the future of wars be predicted especially within the context of the present economic pressures on the advanced countries which has neared the saturation point. The most important idea that has been stated here is that however localized a conflict may be with the help of information technology it soon takes the size of a global issue. Thus this article is exposing the chances of regional conflicts escalating into wars where the super power block may have to get involved due to social pressure created by the dissemination of information by the global media and information technology.          

These are days when the war is fought with knowledge, wisdom and technology. Innumerable number of wars and battles has been lost due to the superior technology deployment of the adversary. This has been the trend in warfare as is evident from the history of mankind. Previously the war was fought on the muscle power of the soldiers but slowly the emphasis got placed on technique and support from non human fighters. This included guns, rifles, cannons etc and now the nuclear bomb. Frankly speaking why a country has to maintain an army at all, since in case they are attacked just launch an offensive by throwing a few nuclear bombs at the enemy. With the progress of technology the war has become a challenge for the creative mind and is no longer restrained to a robust physique.

The article “Cavalry to computer – The pattern of military revolution” mentions just the same thing. It has shown that the pattern of warfare has been changing continuously and the learning’s from previous wars have been carefully analyzed to create antidotes for the technologies which enjoyed a cutting edge on the battle fields. Technology, knowledge gained, wisdom of use and careful development of strengths and counter strengths have taken place in the world from time immemorial.