Security has long been a central organizing concept of international relations.
Until the 1980s, students of the discipline understood its simple essence in
terms of arms races and balances of power. However, the issues have changed
considerably in the 1990s, and this text aims to help students understand these
changes. Many attempts have been made to redefine the concept, leading to a
proliferation of terms such as true security, global security, common security
and environmental security, but there has been little precision associated with
the use of these terms which have often been used in confusing and contradictory
ways. In attempting to help students deal with the