Concept Of Security Dilemma Research Articles

Germanys Strategic Misjudgment of World War I: Based on the Impact of Anglo-German Diplomatic Interaction

This article reviews and analyzes the Anglo-German diplomatic activities and interactions of some officials from both Britain and Germany before the First World War. It focuses on specific cases involving figures such as Henry Wilson and Prince Lichnowsky, aiming to explore the factors in the pre-war diplomatic interactions between Britain and Germany that led to Germanys strategic misjudgment and ultimately culminated in the outbreak of the war. Structural realism and the concept of security dilemma are employed to examine the intentions and positions of officials and the upper echelons on both sides. This study concludes that the prolonged strategic preparations by Britain and its vigilant attitude towards Germanys aggression demonstrated thorough consideration of the impending war. On the other hand, factors such as the German militarys satisfaction with its own development and the filtering of genuine information within its internal diplomatic system intensified the likelihood of war. Additionally, the ambiguous stance displayed by Britain towards the prospect of war also exerted a certain influence. Taking a research perspective centered on the analysis of mutual or internal interactions between the two parties, this article aims to offer novel insights for future investigations into the realm of strategic misjudgment preceding World War I.

AUKUS: Unresolved threats to the international system?

The formation of AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, and United States) on September 15, 2021, elicited conflicting reactions from states in the international system. China, Southeast Asian countries, the US allies in the Indo Pacific, European countries and other countries in the international system demonstrated their different reactions based on their perception of security threat. The objective of this study is to investigate state reactions and to examine the implications of AUKUS for the international system. This study is analysed qualitatively using literature on the topic. Most studies on the formation of AUKUS use the security dilemma concept in analysing the formation of AUKUS. However, this study revealed that immediate state reactions to the formation of AUKUS are not completely in line with the concept of security dilemma. Balance of power theory may offer a more comprehensive assessment of the implications of AUKUS for other states in the international system. This study offers recommendations for states tackling this complex balance of power phenomena as a result of AUKUS’s formation in the international system. Increasing defense diplomacy among states is a significant long-term step for states to confront AUKUS as an unresolved threat in the international system.

The Impact of the Aukus Trilateral Security Pact on South Pacific Regional Security

The AUKUS Trilateral Security Pact is a form of collective security cooperation, and this study examines its effects on South Pacific regional security. To stabilize regional security in the South Pacific, which is a main target of China’s maritime ambitions, the authors emphasize the urgency of AUKUS’s presence. To shed light on the issue, the authors used the collective security concept to dissect the framework of cooperation, the motives of AUKUS, and the Security Dilemma concept to explain how geopolitical shifts affect the security stability of the South Pacific. This research employed qualitative methods with an explanatory type of research. In this type of research, the formulated hypothesis was tested to see how the variables under study affected one another. According to this research’s findings, AUKUS’s approach to military confrontation as a partnership for collective security actually encourages an aggressive coalition and poses a security risk, thereby increasing the likelihood of further conflict in the South Pacific region.

China's Military Increase: A Security Dilemma In Asia Pacific

This research seeks to show how theories and concepts can explain the rise in China's military and its impact on the Asia Pacific. Through the lens of theory and concept, this paper will also show what causes China to increase its military and why this is a security dilemma for the Asia Pacific. This paper uses the theory of Offense and Defense and also the concept of Security Dilemma. Offense and Defense Theory is intended to explain how the balance between offense and defense in the Asia Pacific region occurs so that it does not cause significant conflict in the Asia Pacific Region. The Security Dilemma concept is used to analyze the impact of China's rising military making the Asia Pacific countries a security dilemma. By using these theories and concepts, it is produced that if Defense is more dominant than Offense, then war will be avoided here, which plays the role of Offense, namely China and Asia Pacific countries play Defense. But China's behavior also cannot be separated from its country's history and position. So, China and the Asia Pacific region have contributed to the offense-defense balance and security dynamics in the Asia Pacific region.

Security Dilemma dalam Ketegangan AS-Iran Pasca Serangan Kapal Tanker di Teluk Oman

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menelaah ketegangan yang terjadi antara AS dan Iran terutama setelah ledakan dua kapal tanker di Teluk Oman pada 13 Juni 2019. AS menuduh Iran sebagai pelaku serangan tersebut dan mengambil berbagai tindakan sebagai respon, antara lain meningkatkan postur militernya di kawasan. Artikel ini menjawab pertanyaan mengenai akar dari ketegangan ini ditinjau dari konsep security dilemma dari Booth dan Wheeler (2008). Riset dilakukan secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan data-data dari media massa, dokumen, artikel jurnal. Temuan dalam artikel ini adalah bahwa AS dan Iran masing-masing menginterpretasikan pihak lain sebagai musuh namun respon yang diberikan berbeda. AS memberikan respon konfrontatif dengan mengedepakan kekuatan ekonomi dan militer yang dimilikinya, sedangkan Iran di samping memberikan sinyal (kata-kata) perlawanan juga memberikan sinyal reassurance atau jaminan bahwa pihaknya mendepankan diplomasi dan kerjasama.

Sino-Russian Partnership in the Face of Changing Balance of Power and Internal Barriers

The aim of this article is to describe and critically assess the main contentious issues in Sino-Russian relations and to explain how they affect the development of this relationship. First of all, the article examines the attitudes of China and Russia towards their relationship in the context of the changing distribution of power and increasing competition in Central Asia. Secondly, the influence of the collectively understood West on the dynamics of the Sino-Russian partnership is analyzed, with particular emphasis on the role of the United States. These applications are supplemented with an assessment of regional perception of relations in the Asia-Pacific region and a study of trade between two parties. The author does not limit himself to one methodological approach, drawing from the Balance of Threat Theory, the concept of security dilemma and analyzing political discourse and structure of bilateral trade. The results of the analysis indicate the existence of relatively permanent and significant barriers, suggesting that the Sino-Russian relations will not reach a higher level of intensity than is the case at present. The current form of cooperation enables both parties to pursue common interests without risking an assertive reaction from the United States. Only sudden and far-reaching changes, harmful to both countries, have a chance to bring about a convergence of China’s and Russia’s interests sufficient to create a fully operational alliance.

Diagrams of Power and Strategic Decision Making: the Case of Strategic Alliances in the Automotive Industry

Research question: This paper, on the example of strategic alliances in the automotive industry, investigates how diagrams could be useful in studying complex power relationships. Motivation: The relative power of individuals and institutions is a crucial driving force of their interactions. It is however hard to evaluate because the interactions can take place simultaneously or sequentially in different markets or forums. Diagrams of power, that this study introduces, help us abstract the relative power of agents. This enables us to use insights of decision and game theory, especially those from the literature, in strategic decision making under uncertainty (Courtney, Kirkland, & Viguerie, 1997), to arrive at successful and sustainable solutions. They enable us to view relationships between firms as security dilemmas (Posen, 1993), which can explain why emerging market multinationals (EMMs) treat the acquired companies as strategic partners (Kale, Singh, & Raman, 2009). Idea: Diagrams of power and security dilemma help us better understand strategic alliances in the automotive industry. Moreover, we believe that diagrams of power could both offer new insights to scholars and represent an intuitive tool for businessmen and policy makers less experienced with advanced mathematical methods. Data: To quantify the power of several automotive producers, we have used selected contemporary data items from their annual reports and the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. Tools: The tool we introduce to better understand power relationships between automotive producers are the diagrams of power. We then apply them to two cases from the industry to better understand the strategic interactions within alliances. Findings: We demonstrate that diagrams of power can help managers define the goals of strategic alliances, minimize the risks of their establishment and management, and recognize the problems and opportunities that arise in strategic partnerships due to security dilemmas, a concept that originated in the study of wars. Diagrams of power enrich the analytical toolkit of the existing literature, enabling faster understanding of the relationship between agents as well as decision making based on more complete information. Contribution: This paper introduces diagrams of power – a tool for study of strategic interactions – and applies the concept of security dilemma to the study of the automotive industry.

Refining the Line of Distinction between Ethnic Conflict and Security Dilemma: Towards a Theory of Identity Driven Ethnic Conflict

ABSTRACT The concept of security dilemma has been widely applied to ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia and the post-Soviet space. This paper argues that for both methodological clarity and policy formation, we should distinguish between ethnic conflicts caused by security dilemma and ones triggered by ethnic identity. It is argued that identity plays a different role in security dilemmas, but a major one in identity-based ethnic conflicts. Although ethnic identity may be at stake in the operation and dynamics of security dilemma, it is not the causal variable in the outbreak of ethnic conflict. Identity-based conflicts may reproduce many of the features of the security dilemma but have other causal factors. Distinguishing between the differing role of identity in security dilemma and identity based-ethnic conflicts may further our understanding of why certain conflicts have become so intractable, while others are relatively easier to resolve. For testing the hypothesis, empirical evidence is presented from two conflicts in the post-Soviet space with variations in the causal variable.

Dilema Keamanan dan Respons Kolektif ASEAN Terhadap Sengketa Laut Cina Selatan

Artikel ini bertujuan menjelaskan dua aspek politik keamanan di Laut Cina Selatan. Pertama, peran kolektif ASEAN dalam usaha memelihara stabilitas keamanan di Laut Cina Selatan dengan melihat pada aspek sistem keyakinan masing-masing negara yang berkepentingan. Kedua, konfigurasi kekuatan ekstra-regional dalam lingkup pengaruh pada kawasan yang dipersengketakan. Analisis dalam artikel ini menggunakan konsep Dilema Keamanan dan teori Persepsi. Data dan informasi dalam artikel ini diperoleh melalui telaah literatur dari sumber sekunder yang diinterpretasikan sehingga menghasilkan penjelasan yang bersifat analitis deskriptif. Artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa sebagian negara penuntut Laut Cina Selatan yang tergabung dalam ASEAN memiliki sistem keyakinan yang berbeda dalam mempersepsikan ancaman keamanan yang semakin diperumit oleh konfigurasi kekuatan ekstra-regional.

Cooperation as an (un)expected effect of energy security dilemma: The case study of Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia

The paper analyzes the significance of energy infrastructure for the concept of energy security, the basis of energy security dilemma concept that relied on the need for the protection and strengthening energy infrastructure and the effects of such a dilemma as well. The central hypothesis refers to the positive outcomes of the energy security dilemma, i.e., the assumption that, unlike the classical security dilemma, the energy security dilemma encourages states to cooperate instead of refraining them from doing so. Hence, the focus of authors? attention contains the analysis of three Balkan countries? energy arrangements - Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia - undertaken in order to strengthen their own energy security. The period of research covers the end of the 19th and the entire 20th century highlighting the Cold War period. Comparative historical approach to this topic implies observing the envisaged subject of research in a given historical and political context, especially due to the fact that these countries have changed their borders and status several times throughout history. In that sense, it is necessary to highlight key historical, political and economic characteristics of the countries that marked the appropriate period and made (im)possible undertakings in the field of energy security. The conclusion reached by the authors suggests that the main initiator of the development of energy infrastructure was the increased need of these countries for energy in order to meet their own needs due to accelerated industrialization and urbanization. In addition, within the analyzed case study of Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia, conclusion remarks refer to the fact that energy infrastructure, as well as the need for its protection and strengthening, can contribute to the connection of states, both physically and institutionally, despite their political classification during the Cold War.

Muslims as Victims of Security Dilemma in the West

Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in the world, and Muslims are the fastest-growing ethnocultural minority communities in the Western world. However, Muslims, especially living in Western countries, have increasingly become the victim of a contemporary form of racism and xenophobia—that is Islamophobia. Survey reports conducted across Western nations have underlined the fact that a significant number of respondents are critical of the Muslim minority community and that this negative trend poses a challenge for these Muslim minorities’ ethnocultural freedom and equality. Today, mainstream Muslims in the West are victims of both Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-like terrorism and Islamophobics. Within this context, this study analyses the causal relationship between the West’s sense of insecurity and Islamophobia through the lens of the realist concept of security dilemma using a qualitative approach.

Anti-Muslim Hate: Muslims are Victims of the Islamophobia-Founded Security Dilemma in the West

Anti-Muslim Hate: Muslims are Victims of the Islamophobia-Founded Security Dilemma in the West Yusuf Nebhan Aydin, Ph.D. Abstract Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in the world, and Muslims are the fastest-growing ethno cultural minority communities in the Western world. However, it is a regret table fact that Muslims, especially living in Western countries, have increasingly become the victim of a contemporary form of racism and xenophobia that is Islam phobia. Survey reports conducted across Western nations have underlined the fact that a significant number of respondents are critical of the Muslim minority community and that this negative trend poses a challenge for these Muslim minorities’ ethno cultural freedom and equality. Today, mainstream Muslims in the West are the most obvious victims of both ISIS-like terrorism and Islam phobic’s. Within this context, this study analyses the causal relationship between the West’s sense of insecurity and Islam ophobia through the lens of the realist concept of security dilemma using a qualitative approach. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jgpc.v4n2a3

China’s Peaceful Rise and the Security Dilemma: A Theoretical Assessment of the Possibility and Inevitability of War

The People’s Republic of China’s rapid accession to great power status has shifted the centre of gravity in international relations. China’s rise has produced a heated debate between scholars and policy makers concerning whether or not China can rise peacefully. History is riddled with numerous examples that illustrate the potential conflict that a rising power can produce. The security dilemma concept provides a useful theoretical framework for assessing the probability of war and is essential for understanding the role of misperception in exacerbating and mitigating international conflict. Rapidly growing military expenditures, the U.S. pivot to Asia and the triangular relationship between Beijing, Washington and Tokyo seem to suggest a chaotic future. However, cooperation between these states and the pursuit of foreign policies that address deep insecurities are a source of optimism and hope. China’s peaceful rise is entirely possible and dependent on a genuine desire to mitigate the destructive consequences produced by the security dilemma.

Balancing, Bandwagoning or Hedging? Independent Ceylon’s Reaction to Regional Hegemony

The foreign policy of Ceylon under the premiership of D.S. Senanayake maintained a distinct alignment with its former coloniser Great Britain. The zenith of this relationship was the defence agreement which came into effect upon independence in 1948. Utilising the existing scholarship on neorealism and the concept of security dilemma, analysis of the reasons behind this strategic alignment exposes the threat perception Ceylon faced from its regional hegemon, India. This study surveys such threat perceptions faced by the island at the time of independence and argues that this led to a balancing strategy with Britain. It first locates Ceylon’s foreign policy employing the taxonomies of balancing, bandwagoning and hedging and then examines how Ceylon’s extra-regional alignment with the UK enabled her to eschew from a security dilemma with India.

Racing toward Tragedy?: China's Rise, Military Competition in the Asia Pacific, and the Security Dilemma

In the post–Cold War period, scholars have considered the Asia Pacific to be ripe for military competition and conflict. Developments over the past decade have deepened these expectations. Across the region, rising military spending and efforts of various states to bolster their military capabilities appear to have created an increasingly volatile climate, along with potentially vicious cycles of mutual arming and rearming. In this context, claims that China's rapid economic growth and surging military spending are fomenting destabilizing arms races and security dilemmas are widespread. Such claims make for catchy headlines, yet they are rarely subject to rigorous empirical tests. Whether patterns of military competition in the Asia Pacific are in fact attributable to a security dilemma–based logic has important implications for international relations theory and foreign policy. The answer has direct consequences for how leaders can maximize the likelihood that peace and stability will prevail in this economically and strategically vital region. A systematic empirical test derived from influential theoretical scholarship on the security dilemma concept assesses the drivers of bilateral and multilateral frictions and military competition under way in the Asia Pacific. Security dilemma–driven competition appears to be an important contributor, yet the outcome is not structurally determined. Although this military competition could grow significantly in the near future, there are a number of available measures that could help to ameliorate or manage some of its worst aspects.

Anarchy, Self-Help, and Migrants

Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma: Russia, Europe and the United States. By Mikhail A. Alexseev Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 294 pp., $70.00 (ISBN: 0-521-84988-8). Ever since Herbert Butterfield (1951) and John Herz (1951) published their foundational works on the “security dilemma,” the concept has come to define what Nicholas Wheeler and Ken Booth (1992:29) have called the “quintessential” dilemma—penetrating “right to the heart of the theory and practice of international relations.” During the Cold War, the security dilemma concept appeared to frame accurately the arms competition between the United States and the Soviet Union (see, for example, Jervis 2001). During the 1990s, despite the end of the superpower confrontation, the security dilemma remained as perhaps the dominant explanation for the outbreak of ethnic conflicts, especially in Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa (see, for example, Posen 1993; Kaufman 1996; Snyder and Jervis 1999). For Mikheil Alexseev, the concept is equally valuable as an explanatory tool with regard to migration. In Immigration Phobia and the Security Dilemma , Alexseev suggests that the security dilemma serves to exaggerate fears about migrants such that they are seen as potential threats to national identities and economic interests. In making this point, Alexseev is not alone. In the 1993 Identity, Migration and the New Security Agenda , Ole Waever et al. (1993) argued that the emerging security agenda in Europe was not so …

Misperception and ethnic conflict: Transylvania's societal security dilemma

This article proposes that instances of ethnic violence can profitably be viewed through the concept of a societal security dilemma. It begins by arguing that the explanatory value of the security dilemma might be enhanced by shifting the focus of the concept away from its traditional concern with state sovereignty to an emphasis on ethnic identity instead. This is proposed through combining the security dilemma with the Copenhagen School's notion of societal security. In this way, the article claims that the resultant societal security dilemma is able to capture certain dynamics between ethnic groups that its traditional variant necessarily misses. The article then goes on to show how ethnic violence between Hungarians and Romanians in the Transylvanian city of Tirgu Mures can be partly explained by the societal security dilemma concept. It argues that many Romanians were mobilized on the basis of the misperception that Hungarian societal security requirements necessarily threatened their own identity. The article concludes that misperceptions on both sides were enabled by the weakness of the Romanian State; that insufficient mechanisms existed for the clear, unambiguous signalling of intentions.

Former Yugoslavia:

This article provides a critical examination of recent attempts by International Relations theorists to apply the security dilemma concept to the intra-state level to explain the outbreak of ethnic violence and war. It critiques the work of Barry Posen, Stuart Kaufman and Erik Melander. In doing so, the central claim of the article is that a specifically Butterfieldian interpretation of the concept is required if the security dilemma is to manifest its greatest explanatory value; where conflict between the parties involved is directly the product of misperception. It demonstrates how in failing to employ such a conception, Posen, Melander and Kaufman's work either completely neglects or fails to address satisfactorily what is arguably the essence of the security dilemma; what Butterfield came to describe as a `tragedy'. The article thus concludes that the application of the concept in terms of the former Yugoslavia is for the most part untenable.