International Security Lectures
Lecture 1 – 7/2: What is international security?
Outline of the course
1) National security
1. What is global security?
2. Anarchy, uncertainty and war
3. Foreign military intervention
4. Alliances, coercion and diplomacy
5. Counterterrorism and military technology
6. The Ukraine crisis
2) Intra-state security
7. Civil wars
8. Insurgency and counterinsurgency
9. Peacebuilding and its critics
3) Human security
10. Gender dimensions of peace and security
11. Cyber security
12. Climate change and human security
13. Course review, exam preparation
Exam
50% multiple choice and 50% open questions.
Introduction
International security can also be related to climate change and global pandemics, not only to wars.
Guiding questions:
• What is (international) security?
• Whose security are we talking about?
• What counts as a security issue?
• How can security be achieved?
• Security studies as field of study
What is international security?
‘’Security, in an objective sense, measures the absence of threats to acquired values, in a subjective
sense, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked’’ – Arnold Wolfers.
Security is a contested concept:
• How do you decide which of these values need protection? Human rights or regime stability
for example.
• What counts as a threat to these values?
• Is security absolute? Can you ever have absolute security? This means that there are no
threats whatsoever.
,‘’Security studies may be defined as the study of the threat, use and control of military force.’’ –
Stephan Walt. This is one approach that focuses on military threats to national security. Other
approaches focus on other things, see below.
‘’Security means the absence of threats. Emancipation is the freeing of people from those physical
and human constraints which stop them from carrying out what they would freely choose to do.
Security and emancipation are two sides of the same coin.’’ – Kenneth Booth. So he says that security
isnt only surviving, but also to be free to choose what you want to do, to go to school etc. He is
talking about the security of individuals.
So there are differents concepts of security:
• Survival (freedom from life-determining threats) vs survival-plus (freedom to have life
choices)
• Who is talking, a general, a diplomat or an activist?
It’s a political discussion: which values need protection? Security can be a powerful tool for getting
government attention.
Whose security are we talking about?
The referent object = what is it that needs to be secured?
Think of states, individuals, environment, society, planet, ethnic groups etc. They are not
independent of each other. If a state is attacked, not only the state is in danger but the citizens as
well.
What counts as a security issue?
Research about what people consider as a threat to their country. Global climate change is number
one in this research. It depends on where you live, gender, educational background, political ideology
etc. It’s a matter of perspective.
How issues and threats have changed
Traditionally, preference was given to external rather than internal threats. But the end of the cold
war and globalization questioned the preference for external threats. More recently, internal threats
are considered as equal to external threats.
Traditionally, there was a focus on extreme threats and measures. But diversity of approaches in
security studies criticized realist approach to the study of security.
Types of security threats (Buzan, 1991)
• Military offensive/defensive
• Political stability of states
• Economic resources and welfare
• Sustainability of societal traditions and customs
• Maintenance of the local and planetary biosphere
A matrix of security studies
Two core questions:
• Security for whom?
• What is the source of the security threat?
In this course, we will focus on national, intrastate and human security. See below.
,How can security be achieved?
There is no such thing as absolute security. In order to achieve security, you have to make trade offs,
compromise other values. Think of privacy. More security often means less freedom.
Security studies as a field of study
• The ‘’Golden Age’’: 1950-1960
− After two world wars. Civilian contributions to security strategy, it was for the
general public as well. Long-term strategy to avoid war.
− The national interest: security rather than welfare.
− The nuclear revolution. Research on containment, escalation, arms control etc. Belief
in deductive, rational thinking. Belief in science.
• The end of the ‘’Golden Age’’: 1960-1970
− Limits to traditional approaches. It was not applicable to peasant war in Vietnam.
The war questioned the usefulness of knowledge. Limited view of politics. Assumes
perfect information and constant ability to rationally calculate.
− Public disinterest in national security. Security studies becomes unfashionable. Focus
on international political economy.
• The renaissance of security studies: 1970-1990
− New data: more systematic use of historical analysis > more access to archives.
− New methods: structured-focused case comparisons, more diverse social scientific
approaches to explain historic events.
− New realities: end of cold war détente, Iranian and Nicaraguan revolution, Soviet
interventions in African states and Afghanistan.
, Lecture 2 – 9/2: Anarchy, Uncertainty and War
Introduction
The Thucydides Trap = he wrote about Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece. One was a rising power
and the other a declining power. They got into war, through their alliance systems with other states.
They got into war because of promises to protect other states. War is likely if there is a declining and
rising power > a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one. Mistrust and misconceptions.
This is also the case in US and China > think of the Chinese spy balloon.
Existential features of the international system:
• Anarchy: the absence of world government
• Uncertainty: states are uncertain about the behavior of other states
• Distributions of power: shifts of power lead to uncertainty
Guiding questions
• In what ways is uncertainty in international politics linked to the outbreak of wars between
states?
• When do states go to war with each other?
• What is the future of (great power) war?
Todays plan
• Existential features of the international system
• Causes of war
• War and peace in the US-China relations
Existential features of the international system
What is anarchy?
Anarchy = the absence of a world government. The lack of a common superior. Its about horizontal
relations between states, they are all equal. There is no hierarchy. This doesn’t mean there’s always
war. Its not necessarily war and conflict.
Consequences of anarchy:
• A system of fear of being attacked and losing power
• Uncertainty and mistrust in the international system
• The ‘’self-help’’ predicament of the state in international affairs. You have to protect yourself
> you have to maximize your power in able to protect yourself.
What is uncertainty?
Uncertainty = the quality of not (being) known beyond doubt. It can’t be avoided, but how it is
perceived/understood and what it results in can vary significantly. How we deal with it can differ.
Two types of uncertainty:
• Unresolvable uncertainty, created by:
− Material factors: ambiguous symbolism of weapons and their deployment: offensive
vs defensive. You don’t know what a country will do, attacking or defending.
− Psychological factors: the ‘’other minds problem’’ is the limited understanding of the
intentives, motives, emotions, feelings etc on the part of decision makers of one
state about their counterparts elsewhere.
• Future uncertainty: We assume the worst because the worst is possible. You can change this.
You don’t have to assume the worst.
Lecture 1 – 7/2: What is international security?
Outline of the course
1) National security
1. What is global security?
2. Anarchy, uncertainty and war
3. Foreign military intervention
4. Alliances, coercion and diplomacy
5. Counterterrorism and military technology
6. The Ukraine crisis
2) Intra-state security
7. Civil wars
8. Insurgency and counterinsurgency
9. Peacebuilding and its critics
3) Human security
10. Gender dimensions of peace and security
11. Cyber security
12. Climate change and human security
13. Course review, exam preparation
Exam
50% multiple choice and 50% open questions.
Introduction
International security can also be related to climate change and global pandemics, not only to wars.
Guiding questions:
• What is (international) security?
• Whose security are we talking about?
• What counts as a security issue?
• How can security be achieved?
• Security studies as field of study
What is international security?
‘’Security, in an objective sense, measures the absence of threats to acquired values, in a subjective
sense, the absence of fear that such values will be attacked’’ – Arnold Wolfers.
Security is a contested concept:
• How do you decide which of these values need protection? Human rights or regime stability
for example.
• What counts as a threat to these values?
• Is security absolute? Can you ever have absolute security? This means that there are no
threats whatsoever.
,‘’Security studies may be defined as the study of the threat, use and control of military force.’’ –
Stephan Walt. This is one approach that focuses on military threats to national security. Other
approaches focus on other things, see below.
‘’Security means the absence of threats. Emancipation is the freeing of people from those physical
and human constraints which stop them from carrying out what they would freely choose to do.
Security and emancipation are two sides of the same coin.’’ – Kenneth Booth. So he says that security
isnt only surviving, but also to be free to choose what you want to do, to go to school etc. He is
talking about the security of individuals.
So there are differents concepts of security:
• Survival (freedom from life-determining threats) vs survival-plus (freedom to have life
choices)
• Who is talking, a general, a diplomat or an activist?
It’s a political discussion: which values need protection? Security can be a powerful tool for getting
government attention.
Whose security are we talking about?
The referent object = what is it that needs to be secured?
Think of states, individuals, environment, society, planet, ethnic groups etc. They are not
independent of each other. If a state is attacked, not only the state is in danger but the citizens as
well.
What counts as a security issue?
Research about what people consider as a threat to their country. Global climate change is number
one in this research. It depends on where you live, gender, educational background, political ideology
etc. It’s a matter of perspective.
How issues and threats have changed
Traditionally, preference was given to external rather than internal threats. But the end of the cold
war and globalization questioned the preference for external threats. More recently, internal threats
are considered as equal to external threats.
Traditionally, there was a focus on extreme threats and measures. But diversity of approaches in
security studies criticized realist approach to the study of security.
Types of security threats (Buzan, 1991)
• Military offensive/defensive
• Political stability of states
• Economic resources and welfare
• Sustainability of societal traditions and customs
• Maintenance of the local and planetary biosphere
A matrix of security studies
Two core questions:
• Security for whom?
• What is the source of the security threat?
In this course, we will focus on national, intrastate and human security. See below.
,How can security be achieved?
There is no such thing as absolute security. In order to achieve security, you have to make trade offs,
compromise other values. Think of privacy. More security often means less freedom.
Security studies as a field of study
• The ‘’Golden Age’’: 1950-1960
− After two world wars. Civilian contributions to security strategy, it was for the
general public as well. Long-term strategy to avoid war.
− The national interest: security rather than welfare.
− The nuclear revolution. Research on containment, escalation, arms control etc. Belief
in deductive, rational thinking. Belief in science.
• The end of the ‘’Golden Age’’: 1960-1970
− Limits to traditional approaches. It was not applicable to peasant war in Vietnam.
The war questioned the usefulness of knowledge. Limited view of politics. Assumes
perfect information and constant ability to rationally calculate.
− Public disinterest in national security. Security studies becomes unfashionable. Focus
on international political economy.
• The renaissance of security studies: 1970-1990
− New data: more systematic use of historical analysis > more access to archives.
− New methods: structured-focused case comparisons, more diverse social scientific
approaches to explain historic events.
− New realities: end of cold war détente, Iranian and Nicaraguan revolution, Soviet
interventions in African states and Afghanistan.
, Lecture 2 – 9/2: Anarchy, Uncertainty and War
Introduction
The Thucydides Trap = he wrote about Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece. One was a rising power
and the other a declining power. They got into war, through their alliance systems with other states.
They got into war because of promises to protect other states. War is likely if there is a declining and
rising power > a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one. Mistrust and misconceptions.
This is also the case in US and China > think of the Chinese spy balloon.
Existential features of the international system:
• Anarchy: the absence of world government
• Uncertainty: states are uncertain about the behavior of other states
• Distributions of power: shifts of power lead to uncertainty
Guiding questions
• In what ways is uncertainty in international politics linked to the outbreak of wars between
states?
• When do states go to war with each other?
• What is the future of (great power) war?
Todays plan
• Existential features of the international system
• Causes of war
• War and peace in the US-China relations
Existential features of the international system
What is anarchy?
Anarchy = the absence of a world government. The lack of a common superior. Its about horizontal
relations between states, they are all equal. There is no hierarchy. This doesn’t mean there’s always
war. Its not necessarily war and conflict.
Consequences of anarchy:
• A system of fear of being attacked and losing power
• Uncertainty and mistrust in the international system
• The ‘’self-help’’ predicament of the state in international affairs. You have to protect yourself
> you have to maximize your power in able to protect yourself.
What is uncertainty?
Uncertainty = the quality of not (being) known beyond doubt. It can’t be avoided, but how it is
perceived/understood and what it results in can vary significantly. How we deal with it can differ.
Two types of uncertainty:
• Unresolvable uncertainty, created by:
− Material factors: ambiguous symbolism of weapons and their deployment: offensive
vs defensive. You don’t know what a country will do, attacking or defending.
− Psychological factors: the ‘’other minds problem’’ is the limited understanding of the
intentives, motives, emotions, feelings etc on the part of decision makers of one
state about their counterparts elsewhere.
• Future uncertainty: We assume the worst because the worst is possible. You can change this.
You don’t have to assume the worst.
