Book excerpt: The traditional conception of security as national security against military threats has changed radically since the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945. The perceived nature and sources of threats have been widened as well as the objects of protection, now including individuals, societies, the environment as such and the whole globe. In International Law and Changing Perceptions of Security the contributors reflect on whether and how changing concepts and conceptions of security have affected different fields of international law, such as the use of force, the law of the sea, human rights, international environmental law and international humanitarian law. The authors of this book have been inspired by Professor Said Mahmoudi to which this Liber Amoricum is dedicated.