CBSE Class 12 · Security in the Contemporary World

Traditional Notions of Security: External, Internal and Cooperation (Class 12 Political Science)

Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In the traditional view, security means protecting the state's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, mainly from military threats by other countries. Its policy has four parts: deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliance building. It also covers internal threats and accepts cooperation through limits on war, disarmament, arms control and confidence building.

Notice the red military threat from another country aimed at the state, and the four policies the state uses to protect its core values.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Traditional Notions of Security

Why this topic matters. Chapter 5 begins by asking what 'security' means and then sets out the traditional view. Boards ask for the meaning of traditional security, its components, the choices before a threatened state, external versus internal notions, the challenges of newly independent countries, and forms of cooperation (disarmament, arms control, confidence building). NCERT sections: 'What is security?', 'Traditional notions: external', 'Traditional notions: internal', 'Traditional security and cooperation'.

1. What is security? At its simplest, security is freedom from threats. But not every threat counts. Scholars limit it to threats to 'core values', and only to extremely dangerous ones: threats so serious that those values could be damaged beyond repair unless something is done. Even so, security is a slippery idea: different societies, and the same society at different times, see it differently. NCERT also warns that 'security' is often used to shut down debate, which should not happen in a democracy.

2. Traditional notions: external.

Element	Traditional answer
Referent (security for whom?)	The state: its territory and governing institutions
Core values	Sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity
Main threat	Military action by another country; civilians too are often targeted to break their support for a war
Why each state must look after itself	The international system has no central authority above states. The UN is a creature of its members and has only as much authority as they allow

Three choices when war threatens: (i) surrender (never advertised as policy); (ii) prevent attack by threatening to raise the costs of war to an unacceptable level; (iii) defend when war breaks out, denying the attacker its aims and turning it back or defeating it.

Four components of traditional security policy.

Component	Meaning
Deterrence	Preventing war
Defence	Limiting or ending war
Balance of power	Keeping a favourable balance with others, especially neighbours, rivals and past enemies, because a powerful state may turn aggressive later. Built mainly through military power, with economic and technological power as its base
Alliance building	A coalition of states coordinating actions to deter or defend against attack, usually by written treaty and against a clearly identified threat, to raise their effective power. Alliances follow national interests and shift when interests shift: the US backed Islamic militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union in the 1980s but attacked them after Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, struck America on 11 September 2001

3. Traditional notions: internal. Internal peace and order are also part of security, but after the Second World War they seemed assured for the most powerful countries:

The US and Soviet Union expected peace within their borders; powerful Western European states faced no serious internal threats. So they focused on external threats: during the Cold War, each alliance feared attack by the other.
Some European powers also faced violence in colonies: the French in Vietnam (1950s), the British in Kenya (1950s and early 1960s).
The Cold War caused about one-third of all wars after 1945, most of them in the Third World.

4. Newly independent countries of Asia and Africa faced different challenges:

Challenge	Detail
Neighbours	Possible war with neighbours over borders, territory or populations; many feared neighbours more than the superpowers or ex-colonial powers
Internal conflict	Separatist movements seeking independent states
Threats merged	A neighbour might aid or instigate an internal separatist movement
Cold War links	Some joined Cold War alliances and feared being dragged into a hot war; some feared attack by former colonial rulers
Scale	Internal wars now make up over 95% of armed conflicts; civil wars rose twelve-fold between 1946 and 1991, the biggest jump in 200 years

5. Traditional security and cooperation. Traditional thinking still accepts limits on violence:

Limits on ends: war only for the right reasons, mainly self-defence or protecting people from genocide.
Limits on means: spare non-combatants and unarmed or surrendering soldiers; avoid excessive violence; use force only after all alternatives fail.

Form	Meaning	NCERT examples
Disarmament	All states give up certain kinds of weapons	Biological Weapons Convention 1972 (more than 155 states); Chemical Weapons Convention 1997 (193 states); both included all great powers
Arms control	Regulates acquiring or developing weapons	ABM Treaty 1972 (US-USSR limits on missile defence systems), SALT II, START; NPT 1968: states that had tested and made nuclear weapons before 1967 could keep them; others gave up the right to acquire them. It limited, not abolished, nuclear weapons
Confidence building	Rivals share ideas and information on military intentions, forces and deployments	Prevents war through misunderstanding or misperception

The superpowers would not give up the third weapon of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, so they chose arms control over disarmament. In sum, traditional security centres on military force, which is both the main threat and the main means of security.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

security implies freedom from threats
NCERT, Contemporary World Politics, Chapter 5: The most basic definition of security.
Starting point before narrowing to threats to core values.
security remains a slippery idea
NCERT, Chapter 5: After limiting security to extremely dangerous threats.
Its meaning varies with time and society.
the UN is a creature of its members
NCERT, Chapter 5: Why states must provide for their own security.
There is no central authority in world politics.
force is both the principal threat to security and the principal means
NCERT, Chapter 5: Summing up the traditional conception of security.
The defining feature of traditional security.

Traditional Notions of Security: key facts

Traditional security in one line: Referent the state
Values sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity
Threat military attack by another state
Means military force; Use for 2-mark 'explain the traditional notion'.
Choices before a threatened state: Surrender
Prevent attack by raising the cost of war to an unacceptable level
Defend to deny the attacker its objectives and defeat it; Surrender is never declared as policy.
Four components of traditional security policy: Deterrence preventing war
Defence limiting or ending war
Balance of power favourable balance, mainly military, based on economic and technological strength
Alliance building coalitions by treaty, based on national interest; Example of a shifting alliance: US and Afghan militants, 1980s versus 2001.
External versus internal: External: attack from another state, Cold War alliances, colonial rulers | Internal: separatist movements, civil wars; over 95% of armed conflicts are internal; civil wars up twelve-fold 1946-1991; For new states the two often merged.
Cooperation within traditional security: Limits on ends self-defence, stopping genocide
Limits on means spare non-combatants, no excess, force last
Disarmament BWC 1972, CWC 1997
Arms control ABM 1972, SALT II, START, NPT 1968
Confidence building sharing military information; Exercise 1 matches these terms to meanings.

Referent	the state
Values	sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity
Threat	military attack by another state
Means	military force

Deterrence	preventing war
Defence	limiting or ending war
Balance of power	favourable balance, mainly military, based on economic and technological strength
Alliance building	coalitions by treaty, based on national interest

Limits on ends	self-defence, stopping genocide
Limits on means	spare non-combatants, no excess, force last
Disarmament	BWC 1972, CWC 1997
Arms control	ABM 1972, SALT II, START, NPT 1968
Confidence building	sharing military information

How to answer Traditional Notions of Security questions

Traditional security questions are definitional but need structure: 1-mark matching of terms (CBMs, arms control, alliance, disarmament), 2-mark 'explain the traditional notion', 4-mark 'external versus internal' and 6-mark 'components of traditional security policy' or 'challenges of newly independent countries'.

1Begin with the referent and core values: the state; sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity.
2For components, name all four and define each in one line; add the alliance example for depth.
3For external versus internal, contrast source (another state versus groups within), context (Cold War powers versus new states) and examples.
4For newly independent countries, cover neighbours, separatism, merging of threats and figures on internal wars.
5For cooperation, keep the three forms distinct: disarmament gives up, arms control regulates, CBMs inform.
6End by noting that force is both the threat and the remedy in this view, which non-traditional thinkers question.

Traditional Notions of Security in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Balance of power

Suppose the house next to yours is bought by a powerful family who hire guards and build high walls. They have never threatened you, but your family installs a stronger gate and becomes friendly with other neighbours, just in case.

Which traditional security ideas does this reflect?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Reacting to another's strength, not to an actual threat, mirrors balance of power.
A stronger gate mirrors building one's own military capability.
Befriending other neighbours mirrors alliance building.

Answer: It reflects balance of power and alliance building: states watch powerful neighbours and prepare because strength today may become aggression tomorrow.

Memory hook: Strong neighbour, strong gate.

Confidence building

Imagine two rival schools whose sports grounds share a wall. Before any late-evening event with crowds and loudspeakers, each principal informs the other about the time and number of people expected.

What does this resemble, and what danger does it avoid?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Sharing plans with a rival mirrors confidence building.
Telling the size of the crowd mirrors sharing information on forces and deployments.
The danger avoided is a clash caused by misunderstanding.

Answer: It resembles confidence-building measures, which help rivals avoid war through misunderstanding or misperception.

Memory hook: Inform to avoid alarm.

Tricks to remember Traditional Notions of Security

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

D-D-B-A
Deterrence, Defence, Balance of power, Alliances: 'Don't Disturb Big Armies'.
Use it when: Four components of traditional security policy.
S-I-T
Sovereignty, Independence, Territorial integrity: the state must 'SIT' safely.
Use it when: Core values in the traditional view.
Give up, Limit, Tell
Disarmament = give up; Arms control = limit; Confidence building = tell.
Use it when: Matching items on cooperation.

Traditional Notions of Security: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Arms control or not? · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Pick the agreement that is an example of disarmament rather than arms control.
(a) Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, 1972
(b) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
(c) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968
(d) Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The CWC banned production and possession: an example of disarmament (1 mark).

Answer: (d) Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997 (it is disarmament).

Example 2: Meaning of traditional security · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

What is meant by the traditional notion of security? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Referent and values (1 mark).
Source of threat and means (1 mark).

Answer: In the traditional notion, security means protecting the state, with its territory and institutions, and its core values of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The main danger is military action by another country, and the main means of security is military force, used to deter, defend, balance power and build alliances.

Example 3: Assertion and reason: the NPT · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): The NPT of 1968 is described as an arms control treaty rather than a disarmament treaty.
Reason (R): It let states that had tested nuclear weapons before 1967 keep them, and only limited which states could have them.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

It regulated acquisition without abolishing nuclear weapons (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Example 4: External and internal notions · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Distinguish between the external and internal notions of traditional security, with one example of each. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

External: threat from another state; Cold War alliances; example (2 marks).
Internal: threat from within; separatism; example and why it gained importance (2 marks).

Answer: External: the danger comes from outside the borders, chiefly military attack by another state threatening sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. After 1945 the powerful states concentrated on this; in the Cold War the US-led and Soviet-led alliances each feared attack by the other. Internal: the danger comes from violence within the borders, such as separatist movements seeking independent states. It seemed less important for the US, the Soviet Union and Western Europe after 1945, as they expected internal peace, but it was central for newly independent states in Asia and Africa. Internal wars now make up over 95 per cent of armed conflicts, and the two kinds often merge when a neighbour supports a separatist movement.

Example 5: Source-based: shifting alliances · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Read the passage (written for this page) and answer.

In the 1980s a superpower armed and funded fighters resisting its rival's army in a mountainous Asian country. Two decades later, after a group linked to those fighters attacked its cities on 11 September 2001, the same superpower went to war against them.

(i) Name the superpower, the rival and the country. (1)
(ii) Name the group and its leader. (1)
(iii) What does this show about alliances in traditional security? (2)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) US, Soviet Union, Afghanistan (1 mark).
(ii) Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden (1 mark).
(iii) Alliances rest on national interests and change when interests change (2 marks).

Answer: (i) The United States, the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. (ii) Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. (iii) Alliances are coalitions formed to deter or defend against a clearly identified threat and to increase effective power. Because they rest on national interests, not permanent friendship, they shift when interests change: militants useful against the Soviet Union became enemies once they attacked the US.

Example 6: Long answer: components of traditional security · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

"Traditional security policy is about preparing for war in order to prevent it." Examine the statement with reference to the components of traditional security policy. (6 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Context: military threats, no central authority (1 mark).
Deterrence and defence (2 marks).
Balance of power and alliances (2 marks).
Evaluation: cooperation also accepted; limits of the view (1 mark).

Answer: In the traditional view, the greatest danger is military attack by another state, and since world politics has no central authority above states (the UN is only a creature of its members), each state must provide for its own security.

Deterrence is the heart of the statement: a state prevents war by convincing a rival that attack would cost it an unacceptable price, which requires strong armed forces. Defence is the second component: if war comes, the state limits or ends it by denying the attacker its objectives and turning it back. Balance of power means watching bigger and stronger states, especially neighbours and past rivals, and building military, economic and technological strength to keep the balance favourable. Alliance building means joining a coalition, usually by written treaty, to increase effective power against an identified threat; such alliances follow national interests and can change, as US policy towards Afghan militants did between the 1980s and 2001.

The statement is largely true, since every component depends on readiness to use force. Yet traditional thinking also accepts cooperation to limit violence: rules on just causes and means of war, disarmament through the BWC and CWC, arms control through the ABM Treaty and NPT, and confidence-building measures. So it prepares for war to prevent it, but also seeks agreed limits on war.

Where students lose marks in Traditional Notions of Security

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Mixing up deterrence and defence
Both sound military.
Wrong working
Deterrence means fighting back when attacked.
Right working
Deterrence prevents war; defence limits or ends war once it begins.
Do this: Deter before, defend during.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling the CWC arms control
All treaties look alike.
Wrong working
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control treaty.
Right working
BWC and CWC ban production and possession: disarmament. ABM, SALT II, START, NPT regulate: arms control.
Do this: Ban = disarmament; regulate = arms control.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Ignoring internal security
Assuming 'traditional' means only external.
Wrong working
Traditional security deals only with foreign attack.
Right working
It includes internal security; it was given less weight after 1945 by powerful states, but was vital for new states.
Do this: Always mention both external and internal notions.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: No figures on internal wars
Leaving answers general.
Wrong working
Many wars are internal.
Right working
Over 95% of armed conflicts are internal; civil wars rose twelve-fold between 1946 and 1991.
Do this: Quote one figure in every answer on new states.
Usually costs: Quality marks.

Exam tips

Asked in: 2025 board paper 59/4/1 Q28(b) (6 marks, three components of traditional security policy); 2024 board paper 59/3/1 Q28(a) (6 marks, security challenges of newly independent countries); 2025 board paper 59/7/1 Q20 (4 marks, differences between external and internal notions); 2025 board paper 59/6/1 Q16 (2 marks, traditional notion of security); 2023 board paper 59/4/1 Q8 (1 mark, confidence-building measures). Answers here are our own.
Define each component in one line before adding examples.
Use the US-Afghanistan example to show alliances change with national interest.
Remember that NCERT lists three choices (surrender, deter, defend); if a question asks for four, add balance of power or alliances as further responses.
Show you know the limits of the traditional view; it sets up the non-traditional topic.

Practice questions on Traditional Notions of Security

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
When several states join together, usually by treaty, to face a common military threat, the arrangement is known as
(a) disarmament
(b) an alliance
(c) arms control
(d) a confidence-building measure
Hint
Coalition.
Answer
(b) an alliance.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Distinguish between disarmament and arms control with one example each. (2 marks)
Hint
Give up versus regulate.
Answer
Under disarmament, every state surrenders a particular category of weapons, for example the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. Arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons, for example the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the US and Soviet Union.
Q3 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why was security harder for the new states of Asia and Africa than for Europe's powers after 1945? Give three reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Neighbours, separatists, merged threats.
Answer
(i) Neighbours: unlike Europe's powers, the new states faced possible war with neighbouring countries over borders, territories and populations, and many feared neighbours more than the superpowers or former colonial rulers. (ii) Internal conflict: separatist movements wanting independent countries threatened them from within; internal wars now account for over 95 per cent of armed conflicts, and civil wars rose twelve-fold between 1946 and 1991. (iii) Merged threats: a neighbour might aid or instigate a separatist movement, tying external and internal threats together. Some also feared being dragged into Cold War hostilities or attacked by former colonial powers.
Q4 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
Why, according to NCERT, did powerful countries pay less attention to internal security after the Second World War? (2 marks)
Hint
Context after 1945.
Answer
After 1945 the US and Soviet Union seemed united and could expect peace within their borders, and powerful Western European countries faced no serious threats from groups within. So they concentrated on external threats, above all the Cold War fear of attack by the rival alliance.
Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): In traditional security, cooperation between rival states is impossible.
Reason (R): Traditional security focuses on the use or threat of military force.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Hint
Disarmament, arms control, CBMs.
Answer
(d) A is false but R is true: traditional security accepts disarmament, arms control and confidence building.
Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose two neighbouring countries, long suspicious of each other, both plan large military exercises near their shared border in the same month. Using traditional security ideas, suggest how they can avoid an accidental war. (4 marks)
Hint
Confidence building, limits, arms control.
Answer
The danger is war through misunderstanding: each may read the other's exercise as preparation for a surprise attack. Traditional security offers confidence building as the remedy. Each should inform the other in advance about the purpose, timing and scale of its exercises, the kinds of forces involved and where they will be deployed, and might invite observers. This shows neither plans a surprise attack. They could also agree on arms control steps, such as limits on deploying certain weapons near the border, and recommit to the principle that force is used only in self-defence and after all alternatives fail. Such steps do not end the rivalry, but they reduce the chance that suspicion turns into war.
Q7 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"The traditional notion of security is necessary but no longer sufficient." Evaluate this statement. (6 marks)
Hint
Strengths of the traditional view; what it misses.
Answer
It is necessary. States still face military threats to their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and with no central authority in world politics, each must look after its own security. Deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliances remain part of every country's policy; India, for instance, has strengthened its military because of wars with Pakistan and China. Internal security also matters, since internal wars now make up over 95 per cent of armed conflicts. Traditional thinking even offers tools of cooperation, such as disarmament conventions on biological and chemical weapons, arms control treaties and confidence-building measures.
But it is not sufficient. Its referent is the state, while secure states do not automatically mean secure people; NCERT notes that in the last century more people were killed by their own governments than by foreign armies. Many threats today are not military: terrorism, poverty, refugee flows, epidemics such as HIV-AIDS, and global warming, which could flood a fifth of Bangladesh. Military force cannot alleviate poverty or stop epidemics, and may make matters worse.
So the statement is valid: traditional security remains a foundation, but it must be supplemented by human and global security and by cooperative security that involves international organisations, NGOs and citizens.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.What are the core values in the traditional view of security?Show answer
Sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
2.What share of armed conflicts are internal wars?Show answer
More than 95 per cent.
3.By how much did civil wars rise between 1946 and 1991?Show answer
Twelve-fold.
4.When were the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions signed?Show answer
1972 and 1997.
5.Under the NPT, which states could keep nuclear weapons?Show answer
Those that had tested and manufactured them before 1967.
6.What share of post-1945 wars did the Cold War account for?Show answer
About one-third.

Traditional Notions of Security: frequently asked questions

What is traditional security?

Security of the state's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, mainly against military threats from other states, achieved through military force.

What are the components of traditional security policy?

Deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliance building.

Does traditional security allow cooperation?

Yes: limits on the ends and means of war, disarmament, arms control and confidence building.

Why must states look after their own security?

Because world politics has no central authority above states; the UN has only the authority its members give it.