Defence, Security And Human Security Concepts

Defence, Security and Human Security Concepts M.A, Class Lecture on Monday, 19 April 2010 INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

Defence and Security
M.A. Second Semester, Indian Foreign Policy, Course No. 461, Unit-II, Indian Security Concerns; Sub Unit-2.1.
Defence
Security
Human Security
Internal Threats
External Threats

Traditional and Modern Defence / Security Contexts
Defence relates to defending national territorial borders as a traditional concept.
Security, traditionally speaking, denotes providing right to life to citizens of a democratic nation:
Linkages between defence and security.
Security, in this sense, involves, both internal safety and its external perspectives.
Human Security is an emerging modern concept of defence and security
Human Security expands the horizon of internal and external defence and security.
Human Security, as such, encompasses right to life, liberty, employment, freedom, development, self-reliance, defence preparedness, preventive diplomacy and security etcetera.

Defending National Territorial Borders
Traditional understanding of defence
Preparing, projecting and positioning Army, Air Force and Navy.
Training and procuring required weapons through research, production and purchases.
Securing intelligence via human and other resources.
Fighting the invader at any cost.
Defence related guidelines are formulated in view of compulsions of the foreign policy.
This is what Indian forces have accomplished in 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971-72, during the Kargil Operations and in its fight against proxy wars of terrorists.

Defence and Security Linkages – Classical Sense
Defence and Security depict how states use force to manage threats to their territorial integrity, their autonomy, and their domestic political order, primarily from other states.
But for a few developed countries, all nations follow this concept.
India is emerging as a nation that looks forward to go for a change. How? Is, indeed, a question that must be looked into.
All these are the realist classical concepts.

Human Security – Why and What it is?
Classical notion is limited to military threats mainly.
In view of neo-realist interpretation of international politics in an age of WMDs, cooperating security is needed instead of the classical unilateral security .
There are biological, nuclear, chemical, environmental, economic and cultural threats to national security too today.
What the world needs is an all inclusive concept of comprehensive security .
Human Security goes a step further than the comprehensive security : it adds the need for protection and welfare of the individual citizen or human being.
Individual centred conception of security is Human Security .

India’s Internal Security
There are several types of threats to India’s Internal Security:
Terrorism – with internal and foreign linkages
Naxalism
Communalism
Sectarianism, Parochialism and Casteism
Perverted Politics
Political and Criminal Mafia networking or nexus
Secessionism
Major causes of such threats are poverty , over-population, weak policing , intelligence failures, political compulsions of democracy , illiteracy, general ignoring of performance and merit in education , massive unemployment, weak political leaders and governments , weak interservices intelligence, increasing frustration amongst youth of the country, centralised planning that ignores needs of an individual citizen.

Internal Security Dilemmas - I
Until above mentioned causes behind internal security threats are not addressed in a planned and professional manner, there is no escape from ever increasing internal chaos and threats to internal security of the nation.
Internal security is linked to multiple factors and needs – both from within and without.
Internal security is not merely a “Law and Order” problem of normal prevailing pattern of policing in India today.
For a successful internal security setup, it is necessary that every Indian citizen is satisfied and happy.
Political and bureaucratic self-aggrandisement at the cost of every poor Indian citizen must stop.
Otherwise, to paraphrase Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, ‘Even if Indian Navy rules the oceans of the world, Internal Security Threats will continue to rise’.

Evolving a Visionary and Comprehensive Approach to Internal Security Linkages
WOMP (1960s), Club of Rome reports (1970s), Willy Brandt’s North-South Dialogue and Olof Palme’s Common Security reports (1980s), Common Responsibility (1991) by Stockholm Initiative on Global Security and Governance, Our Global Neighbourhood (1995) by Commission on Global Governance, Launching of Human Development Index (HDI) by Mahbub ul Haq and UNDP, Humane Governance Index (HGI) (1994), Canadian Approach (1997-1999) by Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy (1997) and Middle powers’ conference at Lysoen, Norway organised by Canada and Norway (1999).
For Mahbub ul Haq, David Baldwin and Arnold Wolfers, major questions anent every type of security are: 1. Security for whom? 2. Security for which values? 3. How much security? 4. Security from what threats? and 5. Security by what means?

How to Address Above Mentioned Fundamental Five Questions
For Haq, following five actions need to be attended to:
Developmental – sustainability , equity of opportunities, social safety nets, employment, restructuring of world’s income, consumption and life style patterns.
Military – reducing arms and arms race, diverting military aid to economic needs, closing military bases, retaining workers in arms industry, eliminating arms export subsidies.
North-South Context – Interdependence instead of dominance.
Institutional – Restructuring IMF, IBRD and UN, Empowering the poor, Environmental and Energy Security, Personal and Political Security.
Evolving a Global Civil Society - Grassroots participation, Changing to democracy from authoritarian rule.

Canadian Approach to Internal Security Linkages
Canadian Approach adds to the UNDP’s concept the following aspects:
Acceptable Quality of Life
Guarantee of Fundamental Human Rights
Satisfaction of basic needs
Freedom from fear
Freedom from want
Rule of Law
Good Governance
Sustained Economic Development
Social Equity

Where India stands between traditional and human security concepts of internal security?
According to Shrikant Paranjpe (Ed.), India's Internal Security : Issues and Perspectives , New Delhi, Kalinga Pub., 2009: "The problem of internal security came to be addressed as a ‘security policy issue’ in India only in the 1980s. This area is one of the important non-strategic concerns of security policy. It presents the critical debates on the application of the principle of self determination in its political, economic and socio-cultural dimensions. At the political level, it focuses on the degree of autonomy within the framework of national integration; at the economic level, the problem of decentralization of economic power; and at the socio-cultural level, the issue of the state and civil society.” (See its jacket cover).

Other Views on Internal Security in India
“ Security is not a luxury and is not merely a function of the state; it is a way of life. India has to and can overcome the general inability of democracies to put together the political will, the resources and the strategies that are necessary to prevail over all internal security threats. Real reforms that would remove or minimize economic and religion/caste-based inequalities, good and honest governance and effective policing are pre-requisites for the marshalling the total resources of the nation in these efforts. The Govt of India should also be prepared to lower the threshold of tolerance in relation to cross-border terrorism and to serve credible notice that India has the capabilities and the determination to inflict prohibitively high and unacceptable cost on the state sponsors of terrorist acts against Indian interests.” See R. Swaminathan, “India’s Internal Security Dimensions”, http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers27%5Cpaper2629.html , 17, March, 2008.

Indian Prime Minister on Internal Security - I
“… We confront a wide array of complex internal security problems and threats. Each of these need to be dealt with in different ways. Increasingly also, they call for closer cooperation between the Centre and the States, since problems are no longer confined to a single State but encompass several States. Integrated functioning in a federal set-up such as ours, where law and order is a State subject, is not easy but we must find ways and means to deal with this situation and rethink some of our past practices…”

Indian Prime Minister on Internal Security - II
“… ..Without effective law and order, economic development would be impossible. We must not, therefore, neglect this aspect.”
“… ..I also recommend to you paying more attention to improving the 'software' needed for the maintenance of peace. I mean by this, improving intelligence generation and collection, as also the overall strengthening of your intelligence mechanism. Analytical capabilities need to be enhanced. Proper benchmarks need to be established against which progress and performance can be measured. Unless you devote personal attention to these matters, results cannot be expected.”
“… ..I propose today to concentrate mainly on Left wing extremism, terrorism, and how to assuage feelings of insecurity among our minorities, specially Muslims. We will also review developments in the North East and Jammu & Kashmir.” (See http://www.india-defence.com/reports/2463 ), 05 September, 2006.

Internal Security Dilemmas - II
Internal Chaos, insecurity and instability of a neighbouring country becomes an internal security threat to another neighbouring country.
Example – India and Pakistan.
In poor countries like India, there is defence and development paradox.
Another dilemma, as pointed out by John Herz (1950) and later Jack Snyder (1989) emerges when every nations security becomes a cause of insecurity to another nation or a group of nations.

Internal Security: Concluding Observations
Hegemony is yet another source of greater internal security but it can involve a nation in several other conflicts and mutual suspicions quite like United States. (John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics , New York: W.W. Norton, 2001).
India’s apparent hegemony in South Asia and growing role in Central Asia is not able to streamline her internal security challenges.
Indeed, the human security perspective is required for dealing with the Indian internal security threats.

Bibliography
Newman, Edward and Oliver P. Richmond, eds. The United Nations and Human Security . New York: Palgrave, 2001.
Schnabel, Albrecht and Hans - Georg Ehrhart, eds. Security Sector Reform and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding . Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2005.
Schumann, Willy. Being Present: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany . Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1991.
Smith, Martin A. and Graham Timmins, eds. Uncertain Europe: Building a New European Security Order? . London: Routledge, 2001.
Ollapally, Deepa M. "4 India's Strategic Doctrine and Practice: the Impact of Nuclear Testing." In India's Nuclear Security , edited by Thomas, Raju G. C. and Amit Gupta, 67-82. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
Thomas, Raju G. C. and Amit Gupta, eds. India's Nuclear Security . Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.

Defence, Security And Human Security Concepts

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