The global security environment has changed dramatically during the past decade. We live in a world in which security is clearly divisible and perceptions about key security challenges differ not only among the great powers of the international system, but also from one region of the globe to another.

That is evident in US President Barack Obama’s distinction between 'wars of necessity' and 'wars of choice'; in ongoing intra-NATO debates about defining threats in different regions of the globe; in the divergent ways Canada, Russia, and the US perceive Arctic security as melting ice opens up the Northwest Passage; in continuing debates about the humanitarian imperative, the place of sovereignty, and status of Western norms that appear to legitimize interventionism; and in new areas of concern such as cyber warfare, the security of the internet, internet piracy, and internet governance. CIGI’s Global Security program focuses on a range of issues in global security, conflict management, and governance, including regional security, Responsibility to Protect, Arctic governance, and internet security and governance.