“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” –  Eleanor Roosevelt, Voice of America broadcast, November 11, 1951

(RAND, Nat. Security and Defense Policy Center)

International security encompasses all inter-state relations that shape and define policymaking for self-preservation and self-determination on the global stage. These relationships have taken different forms throughout history as the international anarchic state system developed, from the Napoleonic war-making era to the creation of the United Nations in the 20th century. A state’s security relies on the power to hurt and requires strategic policy development to figure out when, where, and how to use it. The end goal of securing a states’ population, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, is to bring peace and prosperity, but peace and the application of violence do not always seem to go hand in hand.

          To guide states’ diplomatic relations and strategy, it is vital to look at history for guidance.  Security issues today are impacted by underlying principles that have shaped state relations since the 1700s, when sovereign nations came into being and diplomatic norms began to form. The competitive arms race between the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, demarcated by nuclear proliferation, raised the potential of catastrophic civilian casualties with any threat of war. The importance of managing security issues increased tenfold in the face of such destructive capabilities between ideologically opposed blocs, and peace seemed nearly impossible. Yet, even after 50 years, the Cold War came to an end, and peace, or at least the semblance of it, was restored. Although current international security issues are not the same as those from the Cold War, the lessons learned during such an intense time are crucial as states and non-state actors continue to clash in efforts to preserve their populations and secure peace. 

         Some of the most pressing issues in international security today involve the rise of insurgencies and terrorist groups. Analyzing failed U.S. counterinsurgency strategies during the Vietnam war, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, will guide a deeper understanding of guerilla warfare and direct best practices in future field manuals. Similarly, policymakers in the Western and Eastern blocs were forced to handle nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. The tragic loss of life from the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 indicated the extraordinary damage of such weapons while the Damascus Incident of 1980, where a nuclear warhead nearly exploded on US soil, showed the fragility of nuclear diplomacy. States today harness nuclear power for benign projects like energy generation, but the threat to security still exists in states like North Korea or Iran, where unstable governments are present. This website explores the importance of historical issues in international security and applies key principles to modern-day issues as states continue to strive for peace.