• Traditional Notions of Internal Security:

Traditional security must also concern itself with internal security. After the Second World War, for the most powerful countries on earth, internal security was more or less assured. After 1945, the US and the Soviet Union appeared to be united and could expect peace within their borders. In Europe, most of the powerful countries faced no threat from groups or communities living within those borders.

• Traditional Notions of External Security:

The period after the Second World War was the Cold War period in which the US led Western alliance faced the Soviet–led Communist alliance. The two alliances feared a military attack from each other. Some European powers, in addition, continued to worry about violence in their colonies, from colonized people who wanted independence.