The article is devoted to the analysis of two dominant security concepts in the modern world. Given the long bipolarity of the world, due to the dominance of the Horde and Westphalian concepts of security, the question arises about the place of Ukraine in this coordinate system. In the process of research, a historical analysis of the emergence, formation and dissemination of two, alternative concepts of security, which are characteristic of countries with different governance models. It was found that Russia and China, given the geographical and geopolitical situation and the peculiarities of the historical process, adapted and creatively refined the Horde concept of security inherent in the state of Genghis Khan. Instead, Western European countries, and later the United States, formed a concept of security based on the principles laid down by the Westphalian system in the seventeenth century. The main features of the Horde concept of security (according to H. Chkhartishvili), which is based on strict centralization, sacredness of the ruler's personality and the dominance of privileges over rights, are highlighted.