It has been said that terrorism is the “the weapon of the weak”—an instrument that is used against an adversary with an overwhelming preponderance of conventional military power. If that is so, then security may be said to be “the preoccupation of the strong”—it reflects the need of the dominant power or powers to maintain the status quo. But both notions become more nuanced, for the concept of security is also used as a means of protection of the weak from the strong – the principle of security from the use and abuse of the arbitrary power of the state against the individual in the national sphere, for example; or security from the unilateral action of strong states against weaker states in contravention of international law.

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