Highlight any two traditional measures which may be used by different countries to maintain their national security.
Highlight any two traditional measures which may be used by different countries to maintain their national security.
Official answer
Traditional security thinking focuses mainly on protecting the state from external military threats through the following measures.
Deterrence
- A country builds up sufficient military strength — including nuclear weapons where possible — to make the cost of an attack unacceptably high for a potential aggressor, thereby preventing war before it starts.
Alliance-building (balance of power)
- States form military alliances with other countries to pool strength against a common threat, as seen in Cold War blocs like NATO and the Warsaw Pact, ensuring no single power becomes overwhelmingly dominant.
Other accepted traditional measures include arms control agreements and maintaining large standing armies; all of these aim to prevent or win a war rather than address non-military threats like poverty or disease.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark each for two clearly named and explained traditional security measures (2 x 2 = 4 marks).
- 2.Accept: deterrence, alliance-building/balance of power, arms control, maintaining armed forces — any two with explanation.
- 3.No credit for non-traditional measures (economic/human security), as they are outside the scope of the question.
Hint
Traditional security concerns military threats between states; think deterrence and alliances, not poverty or disease.
Quick oral answer
Two traditional security measures are deterrence — building military/nuclear strength to discourage attack — and alliance-building, where states join together for collective defence against a common threat.
Common mistakes
- 1.Confusing traditional security with non-traditional/human security measures (poverty, disease, migration).
- 2.Naming a measure without explaining HOW it maintains security (e.g., writing only 'alliance' with no elaboration).
- 3.Giving only one measure instead of the two required.
Analysis and explanation
This question tests the 'traditional' (state-centric, military) notion of security as distinguished from the 'non-traditional' notion covered later in the same chapter.
Concept
- Traditional security assumes the main threat to a country comes from other states through war; hence its measures are military — deterrence, alliances, arms control, balance of power.
Exam trap
- Students frequently mix in non-traditional measures (poverty alleviation, human rights, disease control), which belong to a different part of the chapter — the question specifically asks for TRADITIONAL measures.
Real-world link
- The India–Pakistan and India–China nuclear deterrence relationships, and alliances such as NATO, are direct real-world illustrations of these very measures still shaping 21st-century diplomacy.
Interesting facts
NATO, formed in 1949 as a Cold War alliance under traditional security logic, still operates today with 32 member states.
The doctrine of 'Mutually Assured Destruction' (MAD) during the Cold War was a pure form of nuclear deterrence between the USA and USSR.
India's 'No First Use' nuclear policy is itself a traditional deterrence measure, signalling it will only use nuclear weapons in retaliation.
Question details
Q20 of 38 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Political Science
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section C
- Marks
- 4
- Type
- Long Answer
- Chapter
- Security in the Contemporary World
- Topic
- Traditional measures of national security
- Bloom's level
- understand
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 1: Contemporary World Politics — Security in the Contemporary World: the traditional notion of security
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional security?
Traditional security focuses on protecting the state from external military threats through measures like deterrence and alliances, while non-traditional security addresses threats like poverty, disease, migration, and human rights that affect people's survival and well-being beyond military conflict.
What is deterrence in international relations?
Deterrence is a traditional security strategy where a country builds sufficient military or nuclear strength to make any attack on it too costly for an aggressor, thereby preventing war rather than fighting one.