1. CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS: Comprehending the security-related concepts The security-related terminology and its derivatives raise a lot of interpretation problems from one country to another, from one political system to another, from a particular period of time to another. This is mainly due to different political and cultural approaches to security issues. However, for some years now, a consensus is gradually emerging, at the national and international levels, on the definition attributable to each term. That is why we deemed it necessary to introduce this book with a definition of security and some related concepts. But, to be honest, we must say that we do not hold any monopoly of knowledge, or any approach originality. We made this attempt at clarifying concepts on the basis of our own understanding of related notions, while also relying on the definition provided by others(individuals or corporate bodies), such as security specialists, international organisations such as the United Nations Organisations(UNO), European Union(EU), Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCED), African Union(AU), Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS), Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces(DCAF), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES), etc. 1.1. Security is a polysemic, cross-cutting and multidimensional concept. It is a mind set, a feeling, a sentiment. In this connection, Montesquieu said that« security is the quietness or peace of mind stemming from the opinion expressed by everyone on safety». In the conventional sense of the term, security is a situation in which a person or a thing is free from any danger, risk of physical or moral aggression, accident, theft or damage, etc. The modern and holistic concept of security encompasses various areas such as personal security, collective security, social, political, economic, legal, judicial, financial, food, 6