StudyOSStudyOS CBSE Study Material, Class 5–12

Security in the Contemporary World

NCERT Class 12 · Political Science Based on NCERT Class 12 Political Science textbook · Free CBSE study kit

Everything you need to ace this chapter, in one place.
Notes · Mind Map · Quiz · Assertion-Reason · Case Studies · Question Bank · Past Papers

Get Full Study Kit →
Studying with friends? Send them this chapter.

Chapter Notes

Overview
This chapter explores the concept of security, moving beyond the traditional focus on military threats to include non-traditional threats like poverty, disease, and environmental degradation. It is essential in the syllabus to help students understand that security is not just about protecting borders but also about protecting individuals and communities. The one big idea a student must walk away with is that security is a contested and evolving concept, shaped by context, and that both state-centric and human-centric approaches are necessary for a comprehensive understanding.
Key Concepts (19)
Security
Freedom from threats to core values, especially those that are extremely dangerous and could damage those values beyond repair.
e.g. A country facing a military invasion is a security threat because it endangers sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Traditional Notions of Security (External)
A conception of security where the greatest danger to a country is from military threats originating from another country, endangering core values of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
e.g. India's concern about a military attack from Pakistan or China is a traditional external security concern.
Deterrence
A security policy concerned with preventing war by promising to raise the costs of war to an unacceptable level for the attacking side.
e.g. India's nuclear weapons program is often justified as a deterrent against potential nuclear attacks from neighbours like Pakistan and China.
Defence
A security policy concerned with limiting or ending a war by denying the attacking country its objectives and turning back or defeating the attacking forces.
e.g. The Indian Army's operation to defend its territory during the 1999 Kargil War is an example of defence.
Balance of Power
A component of traditional security policy where countries work to maintain a favourable distribution of military, economic, and technological power relative to other countries, especially potential threats.
e.g. India's efforts to modernise its military and build economic strength to counterbalance China's growing power in Asia.
Alliance Building
A coalition of states that coordinate their actions to deter or defend against military attack, often formalised in written treaties based on national interests.
e.g. The US-led NATO alliance, where member states agree to defend each other if attacked.
Traditional Notions of Security (Internal)
Concerns about violence or the threat of violence within a country's borders, including threats from separatist movements, civil wars, and internal conflicts.
e.g. India's security concerns regarding militant groups in Nagaland, Mizoram, Punjab, and Kashmir seeking to break away from the country.
Disarmament
A cooperative security measure requiring all states to give up certain kinds of weapons, often through international conventions.
e.g. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) banned the production and possession of these weapons.
Arms Control
A cooperative security measure that regulates the acquisition or development of weapons, rather than abolishing them entirely.
e.g. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 limited the number of countries that could have nuclear weapons by allowing only those who tested before 1967 to keep them.
Confidence Building
A process in which countries share ideas and information with their rivals about military intentions and plans to demonstrate they are not planning a surprise attack, thus avoiding war through misunderstanding.
e.g. India and Pakistan sharing information about their troop movements along the border to prevent accidental escalation.
Non-Traditional Notions of Security
A conception of security that goes beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats affecting human existence, such as poverty, disease, natural disasters, and terrorism, with the referent being individuals, communities, or all of humankind.
e.g. The threat of global warming to the Maldives, where rising sea levels could submerge a large part of its territory.
Human Security
A non-traditional view of security focused on the protection of individuals rather than states, encompassing both 'freedom from fear' (violent threats) and 'freedom from want' (economic and social threats).
e.g. The UNDP's 1994 Human Development Report argued that security has been too narrowly interpreted in relation to nation-states, forgetting the legitimate concerns of ordinary people.
Global Security
A non-traditional view of security that emerged in the 1990s in response to global threats like global warming, international terrorism, and health epidemics, which no single country can resolve alone.
e.g. The global effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring international cooperation on vaccine development and distribution.
Terrorism
Political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately, seeking to change a political context or condition by force or threat of force.
e.g. The 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in America by Al Qaeda.
Human Rights
Rights classified into three types: political rights (freedom of speech and assembly), economic and social rights, and rights of colonised people or ethnic and indigenous minorities.
e.g. The debate over whether the UN should intervene to stop human rights abuses, such as the genocide in Rwanda or the Indonesian military's killing of people in East Timor.
Global Poverty
A source of insecurity where half the world's population growth occurs in just six countries (India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia), leading to disparities between rich and poor nations and contributing to migration and conflict.
e.g. Most of the world's armed conflicts now take place in sub-Saharan Africa, which is also the poorest region of the world.
Refugees
People who flee from war, natural disaster, or political persecution and cross international borders, as distinct from migrants who voluntarily leave their home countries for better economic opportunities.
e.g. Kashmiri Pandits who fled violence in the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s are an example of internally displaced people, not refugees, as they remained within national borders.
Cooperative Security
An approach to security that relies on international cooperation (bilateral, regional, or global) involving states, international organisations, NGOs, and other actors, with military force used only as a last resort and collectively sanctioned.
e.g. India sending troops abroad on UN peacekeeping missions in support of cooperative security initiatives.
India's Security Strategy
A four-component strategy: strengthening military capabilities, strengthening international norms and institutions, meeting internal security challenges through democracy, and developing the economy to lift citizens out of poverty.
e.g. India's decision to conduct nuclear tests in 1998 was justified in terms of safeguarding national security, while its support for the Kyoto Protocol reflects its commitment to international norms.
How It Works
Traditional Security Policy Response to Military Threat
  1. Step 1: Identify the threat — another country endangering core values like sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity through military action.
  2. Step 2: Choose a response — surrender (rarely advertised), deterrence (prevent war by raising costs), or defence (limit or end war by defeating the attacker).
  3. Step 3: Implement balance of power — build up military, economic, and technological power to maintain a favourable position relative to potential threats.
  4. Step 4: Form alliances — coordinate actions with other states through treaties to increase effective power against a common threat.
💡 Students often confuse deterrence (preventing war) with defence (fighting a war that has already started). Deterrence is about making the cost of attack too high; defence is about winning the war once it begins.
Cooperative Security through Disarmament, Arms Control, and Confidence Building
  1. Step 1: Disarmament — states agree to give up certain types of weapons entirely (e.g., biological and chemical weapons through BWC and CWC).
  2. Step 2: Arms control — states regulate the acquisition or development of weapons without abolishing them (e.g., NPT limits nuclear weapons to pre-1967 states).
  3. Step 3: Confidence building — states share information about military intentions and plans to avoid war through misunderstanding or misperception.
💡 Disarmament means giving up weapons entirely; arms control means regulating them. The superpowers pursued arms control for nuclear weapons because they did not want to give them up.
Non-Traditional Security Threat Identification
  1. Step 1: Identify the referent — who is being secured? (individuals, communities, or all of humankind, not just the state).
  2. Step 2: Identify the threat — what is endangering the referent? (e.g., terrorism, poverty, disease, environmental degradation, human rights abuses).
  3. Step 3: Assess the threat's severity — does it threaten the very existence of the referent? (e.g., global warming threatening the Maldives, HIV-AIDS threatening Southern Africa).
  4. Step 4: Determine the response — cooperative strategies involving international organisations, NGOs, and states, with military force as a last resort.
💡 Not every disease or distress qualifies as a security threat. It must threaten the very existence of the referent. For example, a common cold is not a security threat, but a pandemic like HIV-AIDS that kills millions is.
India's Security Strategy Implementation
  1. Step 1: Strengthen military capabilities — build up armed forces and develop nuclear weapons (tested in 1974 and 1998) to safeguard national security against neighbours like Pakistan and China.
  2. Step 2: Strengthen international norms and institutions — support the UN, non-alignment, disarmament, and equitable international economic orders like NIEO and Kyoto Protocol.
  3. Step 3: Meet internal security challenges — use democratic political system to allow communities to articulate grievances and share power, preserving national unity against separatist movements.
  4. Step 4: Develop the economy — lift citizens out of poverty and reduce inequalities, using democratic pressure to combine economic growth with human development.
💡 India's security strategy is not purely military; it also relies on democracy and economic development as tools for internal security. Students often forget the economic and democratic components.
Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes
⚠ Confusing Deterrence with Defence
✗ Deterrence is the policy of defending the country when war breaks out.
→ Deterrence is about preventing war by threatening unacceptable costs, not about fighting a war. Defence is the actual military action to limit or end a war.
✓ Deterrence is a security policy aimed at preventing war by making the cost of attack too high for the adversary, while defence is the policy of limiting or ending a war once it has started.
⚠ Mistaking Arms Control for Disarmament
✗ The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is an example of disarmament because it limits nuclear weapons.
→ Disarmament requires giving up weapons entirely. The NPT does not abolish nuclear weapons; it only limits the number of countries that can have them. It is an arms control treaty.
✓ The NPT is an arms control treaty because it regulates the acquisition of nuclear weapons by allowing pre-1967 nuclear states to keep them while prohibiting others from acquiring them. It does not achieve disarmament.
⚠ Assuming Traditional Security Ignores Internal Threats
✗ Traditional security only focuses on external military threats and ignores internal security completely.
→ The chapter explicitly states that traditional security does concern itself with internal security, but after WWII, powerful countries like the US and Soviet Union focused more on external threats because internal peace was more or less assured for them.
✓ Traditional security includes internal security concerns, but the focus on external threats became dominant after WWII for powerful countries that faced no serious internal threats. For newly independent countries, internal threats like separatist movements were a major concern.
⚠ Confusing Migrants with Refugees
✗ Refugees are people who voluntarily leave their home countries for better economic opportunities.
→ Refugees flee from war, natural disaster, or political persecution, while migrants voluntarily leave for better economic opportunities. States are generally supposed to accept refugees but not necessarily migrants.
✓ Refugees are people who flee from war, natural disaster, or political persecution and cross international borders. Migrants voluntarily leave their home countries, often for economic reasons. The distinction is important because international law obliges states to accept refugees but not migrants.
⚠ Thinking Non-Traditional Security Includes All Problems
✗ Non-traditional security includes any kind of disease or distress, like a common cold or a minor flood.
→ To qualify as a security problem, an issue must threaten the very existence of the referent (a state or group of people). A common cold does not meet this criterion, but HIV-AIDS in Southern Africa does.
✓ Non-traditional security threats must share a minimum common criterion of threatening the very existence of the referent. For example, global warming threatens the existence of the Maldives due to rising sea levels, while HIV-AIDS threatens the existence of populations in Southern Africa.
Compare & Contrast
Referent (who is being secured)
Traditional Security
Non-Traditional Security
Traditional security secures the state with its territory and governing institutions, while non-traditional security secures individuals, communities, or all of humankind.
Approach to weapons
Disarmament
Arms Control
Disarmament requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons entirely (e.g., BWC and CWC), while arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons without abolishing them (e.g., NPT).
Timing and purpose of military action
Deterrence
Defence
Deterrence is about preventing war by raising the costs of attack to an unacceptable level, while defence is about limiting or ending a war once it has started by defeating the attacking forces.
Reason for leaving home country
Migrants
Refugees
Migrants voluntarily leave their home countries for better economic opportunities, while refugees flee from war, natural disaster, or political persecution.
Exam Focus
Marks pattern: This chapter typically appears in board exams with 2-3 MCQs (1 mark each), 1-2 short answer questions (3 marks each), and 1 long answer question (5 marks). Total weightage is approximately 10-12 marks.
Most asked: Difference between traditional and non-traditional security · Components of traditional security (deterrence, defence, balance of power, alliance building) · India's security strategy (four components) · Human security and its narrow vs. broad concepts · Disarmament vs. arms control (NPT, BWC, CWC) · Terrorism as a non-traditional threat · Cooperative security
Don't skip: Long answer question on India's security strategy (5 marks) — must be prepared thoroughly.; Short answer question comparing traditional and non-traditional security (3 marks) — very frequent.; Question on the four components of traditional security (deterrence, defence, balance of power, alliance building) — often asked as a 3-mark or 5-mark question.
One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)
  1. Security implies freedom from threats to core values that could damage them beyond repair.
  2. Traditional security focuses on military threats from other countries to sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
  3. Deterrence prevents war by raising costs; defence limits or ends a war once it starts.
  4. Balance of power involves maintaining favourable military, economic, and technological strength relative to potential threats.
  5. Alliances are coalitions of states that coordinate to deter or defend against military attack.
  6. Disarmament requires giving up certain weapons entirely; arms control regulates their acquisition or development.
  7. The NPT is an arms control treaty that limits nuclear weapons to pre-1967 states, not a disarmament treaty.
  8. Confidence building involves sharing military information to avoid war through misunderstanding.
  9. Non-traditional security expands the referent from the state to individuals, communities, or all of humankind.
  10. Human security focuses on protecting individuals from violent threats (freedom from fear) and economic/social threats (freedom from want).
  11. Global security emerged in the 1990s to address global threats like climate change, terrorism, and pandemics that require international cooperation.
  12. Terrorism is political violence targeting civilians deliberately and indiscriminately to change a political context.
  13. Global poverty and disparities between North and South contribute to migration, conflict, and insecurity.
  14. Refugees flee war or persecution; migrants voluntarily leave for economic reasons.
  15. Cooperative security involves international cooperation through states, IOs, NGOs, and other actors, with force as a last resort.
  16. India's security strategy has four components: military strength, international norms, internal democracy, and economic development.
  17. India justified its 1998 nuclear tests as necessary for national security in a region with nuclear-armed neighbours.
  18. Democracy itself is a security strategy because it allows communities to articulate grievances and share power, reducing internal threats.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. Which of the following best defines security in traditional international relations?

  • A. Freedom from all possible threats to a person or country
  • B. Freedom from extremely dangerous threats to core values like sovereignty and territorial integrity ✓
  • C. Military strength superior to all neighbouring states
  • D. Economic development and technological advancement

Answer: B — Option B correctly captures that security is limited to extreme threats affecting core values, not all possible threats (which would paralyse decision-making).

Q2. What does the concept of 'deterrence' mean in traditional security policy?

  • A. Actually going to war with an aggressor to defeat them
  • B. Preventing war by making the cost of attacking unacceptably high ✓
  • C. Signing peace treaties with neighbouring countries
  • D. Building internal police forces to maintain domestic law and order

Answer: B — Deterrence specifically means preventing war before it starts by raising costs, not fighting (A), signing treaties (C), or domestic policing (D).

Q3. According to the text, why did the USA change its alliance from supporting Islamic militants in Afghanistan in the 1980s to attacking them after 2001?

  • A. Because the Soviet Union had become too powerful
  • B. Because the international community demanded it
  • C. Because national interests changed when Al Qaeda attacked America on 9/11 ✓
  • D. Because Islamic militants requested US military training

Answer: C — Alliances shift with national interest; when Al Qaeda's interests conflided with US security (9/11 attack), the alliance ended and became adversarial.

Q4. Which statement about balance of power is correct? Assertion (A): Balance of power refers to maintaining roughly equal military strength with potential threats. Reason (R): Countries believe that very powerful neighbours may become aggressive in the future.

  • A. Both A and R are correct, and R is the correct explanation of A ✓
  • B. Both A and R are correct, but R is not the correct explanation of A
  • C. A is correct but R is incorrect
  • D. Both A and R are incorrect

Answer: A — Both statements are correct; the reason (power imbalance invites aggression) explains why countries pursue balance of power strategy.

Q5. What is an alliance in international relations?

  • A. A permanent friendship between two countries that never changes
  • B. A formal coalition of states coordinated by treaty to deter or defend against military attack ✓
  • C. An organization designed to eliminate all wars globally
  • D. A trade agreement between neighbouring countries

Answer: B — An alliance is specifically a formalised military/security coalition; it is not permanent (A), not globally peace-making (C), and not just trade (D).

Q6. Why does the traditional view of security focus primarily on external military threats rather than internal threats?

  • A. Because internal threats are always handled by local police forces
  • B. Because the international system lacks a central authority to regulate behaviour, unlike domestic governments ✓
  • C. Because countries are required by international law to ignore internal problems
  • D. Because internal threats are not relevant to a country's survival

Answer: B — In anarchy (no world government), states face unpredictable external threats; domestic governments regulate internal violence, making external threats the primary security concern.

Q7. According to the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report cited in the text, what major criticism was made of how security was traditionally understood?

  • A. It focused only on economic security and ignored military threats
  • B. It was interpreted too narrowly, centred on nation states rather than ordinary people's daily safety concerns ✓
  • C. It included too many non-military threats and confused decision-making
  • D. It gave too much power to United Nations peacekeeping forces

Answer: B — The UNDP report explicitly criticised the narrow, state-centric view and called for including human security concerns of ordinary citizens in daily life.

Q8. Which of the following is NOT a component of traditional security policy? Option 1: Deterrence Option 2: Defence Option 3: Wealth redistribution to reduce poverty Option 4: Balance of power

  • A. Only Option 3 is NOT a component ✓
  • B. Only Option 1 is NOT a component
  • C. Only Option 4 is NOT a component
  • D. Options 2 and 3 are NOT components

Answer: A — Traditional security includes deterrence, defence, balance of power, and alliances; wealth redistribution is a non-traditional human security concern, not a traditional military policy.

Q9. The text argues that viewing every threat as a security threat would lead to which outcome?

  • A. Stronger military spending in all countries
  • B. More United Nations interventions worldwide
  • C. Paralysis of decision-making because the world would appear saturated with dangers ✓
  • D. Greater international cooperation and peace

Answer: C — The text explicitly states that taking an overly broad view of security threats would paralyse decision-making by making everywhere appear full of dangers.

Q10. HOTS: If a country is significantly more powerful than its neighbours and faces no immediate military threat, according to traditional security logic, why might it still maintain a strong military?

  • A. To show off its wealth and technology to other nations
  • B. Because balance-of-power thinking suggests that future power imbalances could invite aggression from others against the weaker neighbours ✓
  • C. Because international law requires all countries to have identical military strength
  • D. Because military spending automatically increases economic development

Answer: B — Traditional security logic assumes powerful states may become aggressive in future; thus even secure countries maintain strength to manage unpredictable long-term power shifts and prevent rivals from gaining dangerous advantages.

Flashcards

What is the basic definition of security in traditional international relations?

Security is freedom from extremely dangerous threats that could damage core values like sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity beyond repair.

What are the three basic policy choices a government has when facing military threat?

Surrender, prevent war through deterrence by raising costs to unacceptable levels, or defend by fighting back to deny attacking country its objectives.

Define deterrence in the context of traditional security policy.

Deterrence is the strategy of preventing war by convincing a potential attacker that the cost of attacking would be too high to bear.

What is balance of power in traditional security thinking?

Balance of power is maintaining roughly equal or favourable military strength relative to other countries, especially powerful neighbours or past adversaries, to prevent aggression.

What is an alliance and why do countries form them?

An alliance is a formal coalition of states coordinated by treaty to deter or defend against military attack by increasing their combined power relative to threats.

Give one example of how alliances can change based on national interest.

The USA allied with Islamic militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union in the 1980s but attacked them after 9/11 when Al Qaeda's interests conflicted with American security.

Why are threats in the international system (outside borders) greater than internal threats according to traditional security?

The international system lacks a central authority to regulate behaviour, unlike a government within a country, so states face unpredictable military threats from other states.

What does the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report say about how security was traditionally understood?

The report criticised that security was interpreted too narrowly, focused on nation states rather than ordinary people's legitimate concerns about safety in daily lives.

Why should not every threat to a person or country be considered a security issue?

Taking such a broad view would saturate the world with security issues and paralyse decision-making; only extremely dangerous threats to core values should count.

What is the key difference between traditional and non-traditional security perspectives?

Traditional security focuses on external military threats to the state, while non-traditional security includes internal human security concerns like poverty, disease, and environmental crises.

Important Board Questions

Define security in the context of traditional international relations. Give one example of a core value that security aims to protect. [2 marks]

Security = freedom from extreme dangerous threats to core values. Core values = sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity (e.g., a country's right to govern itself without foreign invasion).

Explain the concepts of deterrence and defence as two policy responses to military threats. Why might a government prefer deterrence over defence in security planning? [4 marks]

Deterrence = prevent war by raising costs; Defence = fight back if war starts. Preference: deterrence avoids actual war damage and loss of life; defence is reactive and costly. Develop each with one point explaining advantage.

Analyse why the traditional view of security focuses on external military threats rather than internal human security concerns. How does the 1994 UNDP report challenge this traditional view? [6 marks]

Traditional: anarchic international system lacks central authority → external threats; internal threats regulated by government. UNDP challenge: security too narrow, ignores ordinary people's daily safety (poverty, health, safety), people's core values matter too. Develop: (1) why traditional focuses external, (2) UNDP's critique of state-centrism, (3) why non-traditional (human) security matters in democracy.

Assertion-Reason Questions for Security in the Contemporary World

Q1. Assertion (A):

The United States shifted from supporting Islamic militants in Afghanistan to attacking Al Qaeda because national interests changed.

Reason (R):

Alliances are based on national interests and can change when those interests shift.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both statements are true, and the reason correctly explains the assertion. The chapter illustrates this principle with precisely this example, showing how the same actors can move from alliance to opposition based on changed strategic interests.

Q2. Assertion (A):

In traditional security theory, the greatest danger to a country's security comes from military threats originating outside its borders.

Reason (R):

Within countries, governments monopolize violence through law and order; internationally, no central authority exists to regulate state behavior.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both assertion and reason are true, and the reason provides the structural explanation for why external military threats are the traditional focus. The absence of a world government creates the anarchic environment where military threats from other states are primary concerns.

Q3. Assertion (A):

The concept of 'core values' in security discussions is straightforward and universally agreed upon.

Reason (R):

Different societies and governments do not always share the same definition of core values that need protecting.

Answer: D — A is false but R is true — The assertion is false; the reason is true. The chapter questions whose core values matter and notes that governments don't always align with citizen priorities, showing that 'core values' is contested and contested, not straightforward.

Unlock more Assertion-Reason questions in Premium — unlock →

Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for Security in the Contemporary World

Case Study:

India faces a complex security challenge in its neighborhood. Pakistan has increased military modernization along the India-Pakistan border, while simultaneously, India is concerned about non-military threats including terrorism, cross-border insurgency, and climate-induced migration from Bangladesh. Indian policymakers debate whether to allocate defense resources primarily to conventional military threats from Pakistan, or to address non-traditional security challenges like disease outbreaks, water scarcity, and internal social instability. Civil society groups argue that India's security should also include protecting the livelihood and daily safety of ordinary citizens, not just defending territorial borders.

Q1. According to traditional security theory discussed in the chapter, which threat would be the primary focus of India's security policy?

  • A. Climate-induced migration and environmental degradation
  • B. Military modernization by Pakistan threatening territorial integrity ✓
  • C. Disease outbreaks and public health challenges
  • D. Economic development and poverty reduction

Answer: B

Q2. The civil society perspective mentioned in the passage represents a shift toward which concept?

  • A. Balance of power strategy
  • B. Deterrence through military buildup
  • C. Human security—focusing on ordinary citizens' daily safety ✓
  • D. Alliance building with neighboring countries

Answer: C

Q3. India's choice to address both Pakistan's military threat and non-military threats reflects:

  • A. A purely traditional security approach
  • B. Recognition that security conceptions have evolved to include multiple types of threats ✓
  • C. A weakness in India's military strategy
  • D. Complete agreement between government and civil society

Answer: B

Q4. According to the chapter's framework, which of India's concerns would be most easily justified as a security threat requiring immediate action?

  • A. Cross-border terrorism threatening civilian lives and state sovereignty ✓
  • B. Gradual increases in literacy rates over decades
  • C. Minor fluctuations in bilateral trade volumes
  • D. Increases in private sector employment

Answer: A

Unlock more case studies in Premium — unlock →

Previous Year Questions (PYQ) for Security in the Contemporary World

Real CBSE board exam questions from past papers — free to attempt.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/1/1 · 1 mark

Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty refers to:

  • Peaceful use of nuclear energy
  • Spread of nuclear weapons
  • Development of nuclear fusion
  • Reduction of nuclear weapons stockpiles

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/1/2 · 1 mark

Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty refers to :

  • Peaceful use of nuclear energy
  • Spread of nuclear weapons
  • Development of nuclear fusion
  • Reduction of nuclear weapons stockpiles

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/2/1 · 1 mark

Which one of the following is related to the traditional notion of security?

  • Russia – Ukraine War
  • Continuous rise in the global temperature
  • 9/11 attack on USA
  • Spread of COVID-19 epidemic in the world

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/2/1 · 1 mark

Which one of the following statements is True about the concept of 'Co-operative Security'?

  • Initiating action by the developed countries against non-traditional threats.
  • Ensuring 'collective security' by the NATO countries in case of threats.
  • Strengthening internal security by various measures within a state.
  • Involving several countries to decide on a collective solution against non-traditional threats.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/2/1 · 2 marks

Highlight any four threats to non-traditional security.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/2/2 · 2 marks

Highlight any four threats of traditional security.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/4/1 · 6 marks

Analyse the non-traditional notion of security as a notion of human security.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/5/1 · 1 mark

Choose the correct full form of the 'SALT' treaty from the options given below:

  • Special Arms Limited Treaty
  • Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
  • Secret Arms Limitation Treaty
  • South Asia Local Treaty

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/3/2 · 6 marks

Explain the role of traditional notion of security in the contemporary world.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/1/1 · 1 mark

Match List-I with List-II correctly and choose the correct answer from the codes given below: List-I: (a) Violation of Human Rights (b) 'Mad-Cow' disease (c) Disarmament Treaty (d) 9/11 terrorist attack List-II: (i) Britain (ii) Chemical weapons convention (iii) World Trade Centre in America (iv) Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

  • (a) – (iv), (b) – (i), (c) – (ii), (d) – (iii)
  • (a) – (iv), (b) – (iii), (c) – (ii), (d) – (i)
  • (a) – (ii), (b) – (i), (c) – (iv), (d) – (iii)
  • (a) – (i), (b) – (ii), (c) – (iii), (d) – (iv)

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/1/1 · 4 marks

Highlight any two traditional measures which may be used by different countries to maintain their national security.

CBSE 2026 · Set 59/1/3 · 1 mark

Match List-I with List-II correctly and choose the correct answer from the codes given below: List-I: (a) Violation of Human Rights (b) 'Mad-Cow' disease (c) Disarmament Treaty (d) 9/11 terrorist attack; List-II: (i) Britain (ii) Chemical weapons convention (iii) World Trade Centre in America (iv) Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

  • (a) – (iv), (b) – (i), (c) – (ii), (d) – (iii)
  • (a) – (iv), (b) – (iii), (c) – (ii), (d) – (i)
  • (a) – (ii), (b) – (i), (c) – (iv), (d) – (iii)
  • (a) – (i), (b) – (ii), (c) – (iii), (d) – (iv)

See all 56 board PYQs for this chapter — open PYQ tab →

Class 12 Political Science Previous Year Questions, Chapter-wise

All 761 CBSE board questions from 2022–2026, sorted by chapter and question type. Free PDF download.

See all past board questions →

Next chapterEnvironment and Natural Resources →
Found this useful? Share it with your class group.

You've seen the free preview. Open the full interactive study kit — mind map, instant-graded quiz, progress tracking — free, no sign-in required.

Open Full Study Kit — Free →

Premium unlocks the full Question Bank, Daily Practice Papers, Chapter Quiz and Full Mock Papers for every chapter.