International relations theory
The security dilemma has become one of the significant theoretical ideas in international relations which are being used to address most of the problems in international relations. The security dilemma is a form of defensive realism, which is used to create peace even from war. It is this dilemma that has been used to explain events such as the cold war, international politics and also in maintaining peace in conflict areas. The security dilemma has been used by other people as a tool for understanding different international relations. However, sometimes this has not been successful. This is because of the different complexities in defining issue of the security dilemma. As observed by the Tang, security dilemma sometimes can arise from simple acts of states security even with no intentions of harming another state. For instance, as Tang observes, a nation’s strength of improving its security can weaken another state’s security. This can lead to a countermeasure which can be repeated by the other state. It is through these measures that a security conflict may arise. States are not sure of their neighbor’s future intentions and thus the security dilemma is unintentional. However, states can regulate the security dilemma by psychological measures. It is; therefore, wrong to use security dilemma as a tool for understanding international relations. States maybe in a security dilemma but with no intentions to attack the other state. Many times as observed, the security dilemma is just as a measure of preparedness in case of attack. It is important to analyze the security dilemma before making any attempt to explain the international relations between different states. In conclusion, international theory approaches the issue of the security dilemma in critical dimension since sometimes the security dilemma can be a mere issue of countermeasures which may not provoke any negative international relationship.
