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Security
Until the end of the Cold War, the concept of security generally referred to nation-states maintaining their sovereignty and protecting their national interests from invasion or threats by foreign powers. For nearly half a century, from 1945 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the nation of Lenin and Stalin and the United States struggled for global supremacy through military build-ups and a nuclear arms race. Following the collapse, the decades-long tensions between the United States and now Russia gradually receded, giving way to additional notions of security based upon internal struggles, including civil war, and external provocation by terrorist groups. From the Kosovo Conflict in the late 1990's to the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 and Spain on March 11, 2004, what it means to be "secure" is now more nebulous than ever.
That is not to say, however, that the traditional, sovereign-based notion of security has disappeared. In addition to civil wars and terrorist attacks, the world faces growing threats from unchecked nuclear proliferation and a military buildup in nation-states like North Korea and Iran. In the face of these threats, a comprehensive, international approach is being taken to global security that focuses more on the protection of the individual than the sovereignty of the state. This approach consists of cooperative measures taken by nations and international organizations such as the United Nations, including peacekeeping missions, international treaties and conventions, and collective military action, measures in which nation-states often cede control over their national defense and security policies to external actors. While these measures may provide security for the person, they also have serious implications for the sovereignty of the nation-state.
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