Military Alliances, Environmental Degradation, and Nuclear Weapons: Global Security Issues

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

The objectives of military alliances are:

• Alliance building is an important component of traditional security to threats to deal between states and nations to deter or defend against military attacks.
• Alliances are formalised in written treaties and identification of who constitutes the threat.
• Countries form alliances to increase their effective power relative to another country or alliance.
• Alliances are based on national interests and can change when national interests change.

For 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.

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

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. For example, due to global warming, a sea level rise of 1.5–2.0 meters would flood 20 percent of Bangladesh, inundate most of the Maldives, and threaten nearly half the population of Thailand. Since these problems are global in nature, international cooperation is vital, even though it is difficult to achieve.

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

Nuclear weapons have limited usage due to arms control method of cooperation. Arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons. The Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 1972 tried to stop the United States and the Soviet Union from using ballistic missiles as a defensive shield to launch a nuclear attack. While it did allow both countries to deploy a limited number of defensive systems, it stopped them from large scale production of those systems. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 was an arms control treaty in the sense that it regulated the acquisition of nuclear weapons: those countries that had tested 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.

Q 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? Ans.

India has faced both 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, which have been used in a varying combination from time to time:

1. Strengthening its military capabilities because India has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours:
   • Pakistan in 1947–48, 1965, 1971 and 1999;
   • China in 1962.
2. The second component of India’s security strategy has been to strengthen international norms and international institutions to protect its security interests.
3. To meet security challenges within the country:
4. To develop its economy:

India develops the way to lift vast mass of citizens out of poverty, misery and huge economic inequalities. A democratically elected government is supposed to combine economic growth with human development without any demarcation between the rich and the poor.