Question

Highlight any two traditional measures which may be used by different countries to maintain their national security.

Hint:

Traditional security is all about hard power. To maintain state survival, nations either build up their own muscles (Balance of Power Defense Modernization) or join hands with others to form a protective shield (Alliance Building).

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding Traditional Security Frameworks:
The traditional conception of security is primarily concerned with preventitive and defensive military actions against external state threats. It assumes that the primary threat to a nation's security comes from other nation-states, and the ultimate referent object of security is the sovereign state itself. To survive in an anarchic international system, states employ specific traditional strategic measures.

Step 2: Traditional Measure 1 --- Alliance Building (Collective Security Deterrence):
• Mechanism: Alliance building involves formal, written agreements between sovereign nations to coordinate military action to deter or defend against common external adversaries.
• Function: By pooling their military capabilities, allied nations create a collective deterrent. This increases the cost of aggression for any potential attacker, thereby preserving the status quo.
• Example: The establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by Western powers during the Cold War, where an attack on one member was legally treated as an attack on all.

Step 3: Traditional Measure 2 --- Balance of Power and Military Build-up:
• Mechanism: When a neighboring state grows more powerful, nations must take active steps to match or counter that capability. This is achieved by building up domestic military forces, acquiring advanced defense technologies, and boosting economic strength to sustain military infrastructure.
• Function: This ensures that no single country or coalition of countries becomes overwhelmingly dominant in a region, as asymmetry in power often invites aggression. Maintaining a delicate equilibrium prevents dominant states from bullying weaker ones.
• Example: The competitive acquisition of strategic assets and defense modernization programs in South Asia (between India and Pakistan) to ensure mutual deterrence.