In a globalising world, the challenge of threats of violent conflict is being fundamentally transformed. Complex interdependence is leading to a ‘new security dilemma’ in which non-state actors are increasingly localised and resistant to outside intervention, challenged more by socio-economic modernisation than by traditional forms of interstate conflict. As a result, there is a growing shift to a policing model, involving: prioritisation of socio-economic development in a more open world economy, civilianisation of the state, a shift towards a law enforcement approach to the control of violent conflict and aggressive behaviour, a greater emphasis on international diplomacy, global governance and peacekeeping, the rise of ‘civilian states’ in foreign policy, and the emergence of greater global awareness and governmentality. Together, such trends are leading to an uneven but growing civilianisation of security itself, ‘from warriors to police’.