This book has two purposes .One is to further understanding of the concept of human security，its roots，and the reasons for its emergence in international relations in the post -Cold War era.The second is to enquire into the ways in which the United Nations shapes norms in international re-lations.The book was written as part of the much larger UN Intellectual History Project，headquartered at the City University of New York under the direction of Professor Thomas G .Weiss.
The analysis illustrates that the emergence of human security is a specific historical illustration of a very long historical conversation about the relationship between the state and the individual，what states can ex-pect from people，and vice versa，and what the boundaries of individual autonomy and raison d'état are.This conversation is not simply a Western one；comparative analysis of historical thought show s that these questions are universal .Different societies come out with different answers，but the questions are universal .And there appears to be widespread agreement on certain fundamentals，not least that human beings ought to be free from arbitrary and systematic violence and that states have an obligation to pro-tect their citizens .
Secondly，the analysis suggests the slow evolution of interna-tionally accepted norms concerning the behaviour of states in respect Third，the analysis establishes the central role of the United Nations in normative evolution in international relations，as a forum for con-sensus-building by states，as an advocate of change，and as a source of legitimation for normative preferences .The case of human securi-ty also illustrates the creative interaction between states and their or-ganizations on the one hand，and civil society actors on the other in generating normative change .To be sure，we have also sought to in-corporate a discussion of the conceptual challenges and risks associat-ed with the“deepening”and“widening”of the notion of security：we agree that the ultimate referent of security has to be the human be-ing，but we have reservations about the uncritical horizontal exten-sion of the notion to include anything that impacts on his/her general w ell being .
We are particularly happy that this book has been translated for publication in Chinese .China is a central player in the United Na-tions and in international society as a w hole .T here is a tendency in the West to assume that our ideas and preferences are universal . T hat is not so .Success in normative change requires the active par-ticipation of China and other rising states in the international system .
We are very grateful to Zhejiang University Press for publishing the book，to Professor Xiaofeng Yu for organising the project，and Dr .Zhang Yan for translating it .We eagerly await the reception and response of our Chinese colleagues to our account of the UN and hu-man security .
S .Neil MacFarlane and Yuen Foong Khong
2010.8.28