Security threats are of a different kind now. They can be categorized as follows:
Terrorism:
Political attacks make the life of ordinary citizens difficult. The terrorists want the political circumstances to change. They try to bring about changes by threats or armed attacks. By unleashing violence, they make the people restless. They try to make the dislike and discontentment of the people their weapon against governments. Their activities include hijacking planes and bombing trains and markets and other places where people assemble. They attacked arid destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001. The government and the people are more cautious now against terrorists.
Human Rights:
We see that throughout the world there are human right violations. There is no unified thinking in any country about how to protect human rights. Recent incidents of human right violations are the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq, the ethnic cleansing in Ruanda and the mass killings of the people of Eastern Timor by the Indonesian army. All these prompted world leaders to have a talk. The talk was about whether the UN should interfere in such matters. The matter is still unresolved.
Global Poverty:
This is another factor of security threat. It is believed that the population in the underdeveloped countries will triple in 50 years. In countries where the population is low, the per capital income will be high. Therefore the economically advanced countries will prosper further whereas the poor countries will grow poorer. The gap between countries of the North and South will increase. People from the South countries immigrate to the North countries for better life and earning. This also creates a threat for the security of mankind.
Contagious Diseases:
Contagious diseases are another threat to mankind. AIDS, bird u, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) etc. are dangerous contagious diseases. These spread quickly from one country to another. A country’s success or failure in controlling these diseases affects other countries also. Recently swine-u spread all over the world. It is when a problem becomes a threat to a nation and its people that it becomes an international security threat.
