Abstract
According to an extended concept of security, the nation state is no longer the sole privileged reference object of security. The traditional model of national security is developing, from state security understood in military terms to a broader concept including also international, economic, social, environmental and human rights dimensions of security.
The meaning and relevance of the concept is being extended "upwards" - to international organisations - and "downwards" - to regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations, communities and individual citizens.