The revival of the security dilemma in the context of Sino-Indian rivalry

States undertake various investments in the field of defense in order to maintain their presence in the international system and be prepared for potential threats. These investments, made with the aim of enhancing security in line with good intentions, are interpreted as a threat by states that favor the continuation of the status quo. These states, seeking to preserve the status quo, respond by enhancing their defense capabilities, which in turn initiates a vicious cycle of threat perception. This cycle, based on the process of interpreting and responding to threats by the parties, is defined as the security dilemma. The concept, which assessed the development of defense capabilities solely through military criteria during the Cold War, has proven insufficient in explaining security relations in the post-Cold War era due to the emergence of a new world order and the increasing number of actors. Some states, whose intergovernmental relations are evaluated through the lens of the security dilemma, cannot be accurately analyzed due to the limitations that emerge from this concept, making the resolution of security issues more difficult. One such relationship where this is reflected is between China and India. These two states experience disagreements in many areas, yet the traditional security dilemma (1950-1990) proves inadequate in analyzing this situation. This study aims to develop the traditional security dilemma, which limits states' power capacities to defense-offense criteria and has become inadequate under current conditions, within the framework of modern global standards and to reanalyze China-India relations from this new perspective. In this context, the study focuses on the question: 'How do different types of security dilemmas affect China-India relations from the perspective of the new security dilemma?' To answer this central question, historical, comparative, descriptive, qualitative and case study research methods were employed. The scope of the study is limited to the period from the identification of the security dilemma to the present, and from the official beginning of China-India relations to the present day. Based on the findings, the security dilemma was classified into eight different types: economic, military, societal, identity-based, terrorism-related, nuclear, and cyber. It was determined that in China-India relations, security dilemmas occur in the economic, military, identity-based, nuclear, and cyber domains. Among these dilemmas, the economic security dilemma is the one that most shapes China-India relations, and it was found that in the case of China and India, conflicts have shifted from military defense areas to economic competition. After the Cold War, more focused on "security dilemma" and the concept was tried to be developed from different aspects. Robert Jervis brought a new perspective to the concept by stating that the important thing in the security dilemma is reading intention. With the changing structure in the international system as a result of globalization, the security dilemma has been removed from the dimension analyzed only with states and reduced to society and individual. In this context, security dilemma studies have begun to be analyzed specifically in areas such as social security dilemma, ethno-religious security dilemma, structural security dilemma, perceptual security dilemma, cyber security dilemma, nuclear security dilemma and identity-based security dilemma. Ken Booth and Nicholas Wheeler developed a new definition of the essence of the concept, unlike the studies that enable the concept of security dilemma to be examined in different dimensions. Booth and Wheeler argued that what is often described as a security dilemma is actually a security paradox and that the concept of security dilemma is to stay in between on "choice" and has been accepted. Since the concept of the Security Dilemma was introduced by John Herz, there have been a number of developments in different fields. In the international system after globalization, the emergence of individuals, groups and societies other than states, the rapid advancement of technology, and the emergence of structures such as religion, ethnicity and culture have led to the formation of different approaches in the concept of security dilemma. However, the examination of the economic issue, which is one of the most affecting the modern international system, states and other non-state actors, in terms of security dilemma has been ignored. The concept of security dilemma, which was used to express the situation of the bipolar structure during the Cold War, was generally approached as defense enhancement. Assessing the nature of inter-state power with the defense and attack criteria held by the states has been insufficient to measure the powerful state of the modern world. Nowadays, states compete in economic, technological, scientific and many different fields outside the field of defense. In this case, it can perceive not only the developments in the military field but also the developments in other areas as a threat to its existence and create a security dilemma. There are many areas and regions that create security dilemmas between China and India. There are many areas of conflict and struggle that can trigger war between two rising powers, such as the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and land border problems. The parties accept any attempt of each other as a threat to them and enter into a competition race in response to this threat situation. In the Traditional Security Dilemma, the states that increase their defense perception in the perception of threat are entering into economic competition instead of defense today. The rivalry and struggle in the relations of China and India, the two emerging great powers, concentrated more in the field of economic competition than in the military defense race. The parties that develop projects for economic development perceive this development as a threat and put forward a new economic development project in order to eliminate the threat. In this context, is the transformation of interstate competition from a military defense and attack environment to an environment of economic defense and rise, is it the new war model of the modern world? Although there are many issues that could cause conflict between China and India, is it the economic security dilemma that prevents the two states from clashing? The main purpose of the study, prepared in the light of these questions, is to reveal to what extent the economic security dilemma has affected the China-India competition.