Security is about the means that states use for the maintenance of territorial integrity, internal cohesion and political order. It involves the prevention of any threats and the use of force. National security is understood as a comprehensive framework which links the needs of domestic stability, economy and ideology to a states' national interest and strategic framework. Despite the fact that states are primarily concerned with their national security and spend much of their time and budgets to enhance this, conflicts have not decreased the world over. In Asia, the nature and range of conflicts has actually increased; the numbers of civilian casualties has continuously gone up and individuals, communities and groups actually feel more insecure today.

Perception of threats is the most important starting point for a conflict between collective groups and the resulting approaches for security by them. Understanding how a threat is perceived can be much more complicated a process than usually conceived. And threats are usually more constructed than simply given as real. The social and political dynamism surrounding construction of threats involves a complex interplay among state and non-state actors, identities and interests of collective groups involved, legitimisation of those identities and interests, and competition for available resources.

At the same time, threats do not automatically escalate into violent conflicts. They do only under certain conditions. Threats undergo a process of negotiation and redefinition by different actors and for different purposes. They are also heavily affected by existing security actors, and their beliefs and customs, and also by those who want to challenge such structure and customs. Understanding the competition and negotiation surrounding the construction of threats and their link with existing and emerging security practices, will provide us better with how to handle resulting conflicts.