User talk:Sir Nils/Security dilemma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The security dilemma is an important concept in international relations theory used to explain how conflict can arise between states without aggressive intentions, which seek only to provide for their own security. In its general form, the security dilemma arises from uncertainty and anarchy in the international system. Under anarchy, states provide for their own security through forms of self-help, such as increasing military strength or pursuing alliances. When one state takes purely defensive measures to increase its own security, the resulting increase in its relative power or military capabilities may appear threatening to other states and reduce their security. Responding to the perceived threat, these states pursue measures designed to increase their own security which, in turn, appear threatening to the first state, which will take further measures to increase its security, which appear threatening to the other states. This creates a vicious cycle of escalating threat perception and insecurity.
The term "security dilemma" was first introduced by John H. Herz in 1950, though an understanding of the phenomenon is often traced back to the writings of Thomas Hobbes.[1] Subsequent theorists, such as Robert Jervis and Glenn Snyder, further analyzed the security dilemma, grounding its logic in game theory, particularly the prisoner's dilemma and the stag hunt.[2] These theorists also emphasized features of the international system that could either exacerbate or ameliorate the security dilemma, focusing on ways states could differentiate between aggressive and defensive intentions.[1]
During the Cold War, the security dilemma was primarily applied to competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, but in the 1990s scholars such as Jervis, Jack Snyder and Barry Posen began to apply the concept to civil and ethnic war. This expansion of analysis has made the security dilemma one of the most important concepts in international relations;[3] Ken Booth and Nicholas J. Wheeler have argued that it is "the most fundamental concept of all in security studies."[4]