International insecurity

International insecurity results from the power relations of nation states. In the national sense 'insecurity' refers to the condition of a nation which is inadequately defended against dangers or aggression threatening its independence or territory from the outside. National and international insecurity are tied together and a contributory factor is the ever increasing destructiveness of wars. International insecurity may arise from the complexity of the strategic balance between superpowers and the arms race, from the persistence of armed conflicts, from the question of existing state borders and territorial claims. The attainment of national aims of a State and limitation of its freedom of action may also be effected by indirect economic and other non-military coercive action. The importance of non-military dangers in international life is growing rather than diminishing. Conflicts which would most likely have been expressed in the past by the application of military force, may now be implemented by the use of indirect coercive measures, economic or political. There are other potential factors of international insecurity, namely the threat of nuclear war, the economic imbalance between developed and developing countries, world food shortages, global pollution, and earth resources.