Security dilemma | International Relations, Conflict Resolution | Britannica
security dilemma, in political science, a situation in which actions taken by a state to increase its own security cause reactions from other states, which in turn lead to a decrease rather than an increase in the original state’s security. Some scholars of international relations have argued that the security dilemma is the most important source of conflict between states. They hold that in the international realm, there is no legitimate monopoly of violence—that is, there is no world government—and, as a consequence, each state must take care of its own security. For this reason, the primary goal of states is to maximize their own security. However, many of the actions taken in pursuit of that goal—such as weapons procurement and the development of new military technologies—will necessarily decrease the security of other states. Decreasing the security of other states does not automatically create a dilemma, but other states will tend to follow suit if one state arms. They cannot kno