Session 6: Deterrence Theory & the Security Dilemma

The article for class on Tuesday reiterates points made by the author Morgenthau in his piece, titled: Politics among nations. Like Morgenthau, John Herz states that the primary motive of states is the acquisition of power. Herz asserts that the reason states are motivated to gain power, however, is because states are concerned about their security. The author explains that nations pursue more and more power in order to protect themselves from any threats; real or imagined. However, their pursuit of power makes other nations insecure as well and thus, forces the other states to make possession of greater power their main aim also. He terms this impetus behind power-gain as the ‘security dilemma’ and writes that it leads to a ‘vicious cycle of security and power accumulation.’

This assertion of the author brings the Deterrence theory of international conflict to mind. Deterrence theory, as explained by the ever reliable Wikipedia, relies on discouraging un-friendly states from committing to an action which has not yet initiated or to dissuade them from doing the bid of other nations for them. It believes that the imagined presence and severity of repercussions for particular actions are inversely related to the actions taken by states. The theory reemphasizes John Herz’s security dilemma and vicious cycle. It became popular during the cold war during which time nuclear weapons were seen as the major deterrent and it was believed that a nuclear weapon, even a slightly inferior one as compared to the adversaries’, would be a substantial threat given that the weapon would survive a surprise attack by the enemy. To link the concept closer to home, Pakistan seems to be a strong adherent of the Deterrence theory given its policy on nuclear weapons and their importance.