Chapter 7 – Security in the Contemporary World Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Political Science (Contemporary World Politics)

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

1. Match the terms with their meaning:
1. Confidence Building Measures (CBMs)
2. Arms Control
3. Alliance
4. Disarmament
(a) Giving up certain types ofweapons.
(b) A process of exchanging information on defence matters between nations on a regular basis.
(c) A coalition of nations meant to deter or defend against military attacks.
(d) Regulates the acquisition of development of weapons.

Answer: (i)-(b); (ii)-(d); (iii)-(c); (iv)-(a).

2. Which among the following would you consider as a traditional security concern/non-traditional/not a threat?
(a) The spread of chikungunya/dengue fever
(b) Inflow of workers from a neighbouring nation.
(c) Emergence of a group demanding nationhood for their region.
(d) Emergence of a group demanding autonomy for their region.
(e) A newspaper that is critical of the armed-forces in the country.

Answer: (a) Non-traditional (b) Non-traditional !(c) Traditional id) Not a threat
(e) Not a threat

3. What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional security? Which category would the creation and sustenance of alliances belong to?

Answer:

Creation and sustenance of alliances belong to traditional notion of security.

4. What are the differences in the threats that people in the third world face and those living in the First World face?

Answer: The threats are different in the third world and first world peoples because their regions are changed, hence they face different security challenges.in the following manner:
1. The newly independent countries faced the military conflicts even with their neighbouring states.
2. These countries faced threats not only from outside their borders, mostly from neighbours, but also from within.
3. Internally, new states worried about threats from separatist movements which wanted to form independent countries.
4. Sometimes, the external and internal threats merged.
5. For the new states, external wars with neighbours and internal wars posed a serious challenge to their security.

5. Is terrorism a traditional or non- traditional threat to security?

Answer: Terrorism is a non-traditional threat to wound the peace and order in the country:
1. Terrorism refers to political violence to target civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.
2. Civilians are usually terrorised to be it as a weapon against national government and other parties in the conflict.
3. Terrorism involves hijacking planes or planting bombs in trains, cafes, markets and other crowded places.
4. After a terrorist attack on World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001, the other governments and public also are paying more attention to terrorism.

6. What are the choices available to a state when its security is threatened, according to traditional security perspective?

Answer: Traditional security perspective emphasises on compromises to limit the violence by giving following three choices to the state if its security is threatened:
1. To surrender when actually confronted by war, but they will not advertise this as the policy of country.
2. To prevent the other side from attacking by promising to raise the costs of war to an unacceptable level.
3. To defend to protect itself when war actually breaks out so as to deny the attacking country its objectives and to turn back or to defeat the attacking forces altogether
4. Hence, state’s security policy is to prevent war which is called deterrence and with limiting or heading war called defence.

7. What is Balance of Power? How could a state achieve this?

Answer: ‘Balance of Power’ is a balance between bigger and smaller countries by cooperating with each other economically and technologically. A smaller country is always suspicious to break out a war from bigger or powerful country. Hence, they maintain a balance of power to build up one’s military power together with economic and technological power-to protect one’s own security.

8. What are the objectives of military alliances? Give an example of a functioning military alliance with its specific objectives.

Answer: Objectives:
1. Alliance building is important component of traditional security to threats to deal between states and nations to deter or defend against military attacks.
2. Alliances are formalised in written treaties and identification of who constitutes the threats.
3. Alliances are formed to increase their effective power relative to another alliance.
4. Alliances are based on national interests and can change when national interest change. Example-The US backed the Islamic militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union in 1980s, but later attacked them when Al-Qaeda, a group of Islamic militants, led by Osama Bin Laden launched terrorist strikes against America on 11th September 2001.

9. Rapid environmental degradation is causing a serious threat to security. Do you agree with the statement? Substantiate your arguments.

Answer: Yes, we agree with the statement because in some situations one country may have to disproportionately bear the brunt of a global problem i.e. environmental degradation causing a serious threat to security, for example, due to global warming, a sea level rise of 1.5-2.0 meters would flood 20% of Bangladesh, inundate most of Maldives and threaten nearly half the population of Thailand, Hence, international cooperation is vital due to global nature of these problems.

10. Nuclear weapons as deterrence or defence have limited usage against contemporary security threats to states. Explain the statement.

Answer: Nuclear weapons have limited usage due to arms-control method of cooperation. One of the arms-control treaty was the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 to regulate the acquisition of nuclear weapons. As per this treaty those countries that had fasted and manufactured nuclear weapons before 1967 were allowed to keep their weapons and those that had not done so were to give up the right to acquire them. The NPT did not abolish nuclear weapons rather it limited the number of countries that could have them.

11. Looking at the Indian scenario, what type of security has been given priority in India, traditional or non-traditional? What examples could you cite to substantiate the arguments?

Answer: India has faced traditional (military) and non-traditional threats to its security that have emerged from within as well as outside its borders. Its security strategy has four broad components i e :
1. To strengthen its military capabilities because:
(a) India has been involved in conflict with its neighbours as Pakistan in 1947-48,1965,1971 and 1999 and China in 1962.
(b) In South Asian Region, India is
surrounded by nuclear armed countries. Hence India’s decision to conduct nuclear test in 1998 was justified to safeguard national security.
(c) India first tested nuclear device in 1974.
2. To strengthen international norms and international institutions:
(a) India’s first Prime Minister J.L. Nehru supported Asian solidarity, disarmament, decolonisation and the UN as a forum to settle down international conflict.
(b) India took initiatives to bring about a universal and non- discriminatory non-proliferation regime to enjoy some rights and obligations with respect to weapons of mass destruction.
(c) It used non-alignment to help to carve out an area of peace outside the blocs.
(d) India signed Kyoto Protocol in 1997 to be a part of roadmap for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to check global warming.
3. To meet security challenges within the country:
(a) Several militant groups from areas such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Punjab, Kashmir have sought to break away from India.
(b) India makes efforts to preserve national unity by adopting a democratic political system by providing freedom of speech and expression alongwith the right to vote.
4. To develop its economy:
(a) India develops the way to lift vast mass of citizens out of poverty, misery and huge economic inequalities.
(b) A democratically elected government is supposed to combine economic growth with human development without any demarcation between the rich and the poor.

12. Read the cartoon below and write a short note in favour or against the connection between war and terrorism depicted in this cartoon.

Answer: Terrorism is non-traditional threat to security as it is goal oriented political
Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

1. Define security.

Answer: Security is an essence for existence of human life to protect from threats either external or internal.

2. What is meant by disarmament?

Answer: Disarmament bounds states to give up certain kinds of weapons to avoid mass- destruction through signing various treaties.

3. Mention any two human rights in political field.

Answer: 1. Freedom of speech and expression.
2. Freedom to assemble in a peaceful manner.

4. Define cooperative security.

Answer: Cooperative security is the involvement of international cooperation depending on the nature of the threat and the willingness and ability of countries to respond.

5. Which is the greatest danger to a security as per traditional notion of security?

Answer: It is from military threats which lies in another country to endanger the core values of sovereignty, independence and territorial integration of a country.

6. Why human security is more important in the contemporary world than territorial security?weapon. It is a war against democracy and a crime against humanity:
1. Terrorism refers to political violence to target civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.
2. Civilians are targeted to be terrorised to use it as a weapon into this war.
3. Even, the US superpower could not escape itself from terrorism and it became a global phenomenon i.e. terrorist attack on World Trade Tower on 11th September 2001

Answer: Human security is about the protection of people more than protection of states because, during the last 100 years more people have been killed by their own governments than by foreign armies:
1. Protecting citizens from foreign attack
2. Security from violent threats
3. Security from threats to human dignity.

7. What is Global Security?

Answer: Global Security implies protection from threats which may have effect on people and states globally. It emerged in 1990 to respond global warming, terrorism, health epidemics etc.

8. What is Global Poverty?

Answer: Global Poverty signifies a condition available in the states to be suffered from low incomes and less economic growth i.e. developing or underdeveloped countries.

9. Is the same notion of security applicable to all the states?

Answer: All states do not experience the same threats at a time, hence security is grouped into two as per requirements:
(a) Traditional conception
(b) Non-traditional conception
Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

1. Suggest any one effective step which would limit war or violence between countries.

Answer: An effective step may be in the form of cooperative security only that involves international cooperation which may be bilateral, regional, continental or global which depends on the nature of the threat and the willingness, and ability of countries to respond to limit war or violence cooperative security place at national and international levels.

2. Highlight any two threats of a country’s security at per traditional notion of security.
Or
Explain traditional concept of security.

Answer: The “Traditional Notion of Security” covers both the external and internal threats of a country’s security. External threats consist of four components i.e. military threats, threat of war, balance of power, alliance building. Internal threats include maintenance of internal peace and order and recognise cooperative security to limit violence.

3. Write a note on Human Security.

Answer: Human Security refers to the protecting people more than protection of states which includes:
1. To protect citizens from foreign attack.
2. To secure people from violence.
3. To protect from individual economic threats.
4. To protect human dignity also.

4. What is military threat?

Answer: Military threat refers to military action from another country to endanger the core values of country’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.Military action often targets the men and women i.e. ordinary citizens.

5. Mention some human rights.

Answer: Human rights are the basic conditions which an individual is supposed to be entitled as a human being for all round
development. These rights have been categorised as follows:
1. Political rights
2. Freedom of speech and expression
3. Freedom to assemble in a peaceful manner.
4. Economic rights
5. Social and civil rights
6. Rights of indigenous minorities

6. Human security stresses on “freedom from want” and “freedom from fear”. Justify the statement.

Answer: 1. ‘Freedom from want’ refers to economic equality i.e. equal opportunity and economic privileges.
2. ‘Freedom from fear’ refers to protection from hunger, disease, natural disaster, military threats, genocide and terrorism.

7. Explain Non-traditional concept of security.

Answer: Non-traditional concept of security includes human and global security covering a wide range of threats affecting human existence:
1. It does not cover the states only but also the individual and communities.
2. It emphasises on security on nature of threat and right approach to deal with the threat.