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2. The East Mediterranean Gas Forum: Convergence of Regional and Energy Security Concerns
- Author:
- Stefy Joseph and Aneeta Thomas Peedikayil
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- As energy insecurity remains an imminent characteristic of energy security, it can simultaneously influence the securitization of non-energy referent objects in other sectors (Adamides and Odysseas 2015). This leads one to examine the geopolitical underpinnings behind the formation of the EMGF which by and large has affected the region as a whole. Egypt, the region’s star player has always played a fundamental role in harbouring relations based on energy and regional security and hence its relations with Greece, Cyprus, Israel, France, Italy and the EU needs examination in the wake of the establishment of the EMGF. The EMGF has been kept as the central pillar in understanding the international political economy behind the energy and regional security convergences by the above-mentioned member states. The objective behind undertaking this study has been to point out the inadequacies in establishing the EMGF which has inevitably shaped the geopolitics of the region.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Gas
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3. Las políticas de seguridad y defensa como valor público y bien común
- Author:
- Xavier Torrens
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Una nueva perspectiva de la seguridad y la defensa centradaen el enfoque de bienes comunes abre la puerta a una relaciónentre Estado y sociedadcon gobernanza. De hecho, se trata deuna nueva forma de legitimación políticadel uso de la fuerza para garantizar la seguridadrealzándola como bien común(Ostrom, 1900) y como valor público (Moore, 1998). En el escenario actual de riesgos, cada vez la política de seguridad se desarrolla más allá de lo que algunos han llamado en decir lo estrictamente securitario. En este sentido, la teoría de los bienes comunes es un marco conceptual clave para comprender la transformación y el cambio de paradigma en las políticas de seguridad. Las cuestiones que se plantean en este monográfico giran en torno al marco teórico-conceptual de los bienes comunes, o bien a algunos de sus elementos. Desde la perspectiva de los bienes comunes, la seguridady la defensa, y sus políticaspúblicas, tienen en cuenta el valor que se crea a partir de las dinámicas entre distintos actores.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Governance, and Society
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
4. Derecho humano a la seguridad:Prevención del Extremismo Violentocon Vasili Grossman
- Author:
- Verónica Yazmín García Morales Morales
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- El presente estudio aborda el derecho humano a la seguridad desde el enfoque de la Prevención del Extremismo Violento. La Prevención del Extremismo Violento (PEV) es una estrategia en el marco de Naciones Unidas enfocada a fortalecer el respeto de los derechos humanos. La PEV aborda el extremismo violento que conduce al terrorismo desde el enfoque de la prevención y de los derechos humanos. Lo más relevante de esta perspectiva es su innovación para garantizar la seguridad como derecho humano. Es más, la PEVsurge como respuesta a las políticas de seguridad antiterroristas que se consideran insuficientes para erradicar este fenómeno. Las medidas de acción de la PEV, por tanto, van más allá de lo que en sentido estricto se conoce como política securitaria. La educación y la cultura tiene así una función importante en la PEV, como también ponen de relieve las políticas de la UNESCO. El análisis que se desarrolla expone una propuesta de espacio dialógico que aplica la medida de educación, cultura y sensibilización a través de la literatura. Se reflexiona así, a partir del diálogo con Vida y destino de Vasili Grossman, sobre el extremismo violento y los derechos humanos.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Rights, United Nations, Literature, and Countering Violent Extremism
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
5. Seguridad y defensa,de bienes públicos puros aun enfoquede bienes comunes
- Author:
- Valente Tallabs
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Frente a la crisis de Estado moderno derivados de cambios globales y amenazas emergentes, frente a las limitaciones y vacíos que actualmente tiene para poder proveer seguridad y defensa, frente a la desvalorización y crítica que sociedades contemporáneas tienen respecto a estas funciones por ser poco democráticas y usualmente unilaterales, conviene hacer una análisis que considere una comprensión más amplia de estos conceptos como bienes públicos puros, para comenzar a contemplarlos como bienes comunes, lo que permitiría un nueva relación entre Estado y sociedad.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Public Goods, and Commons
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
6. Grayzone Aggression: The Need for Deterrence by Denia
- Author:
- Elisabeth Braw
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Cyber deterrence needs to rely on a combination of deterrence by punishment of select attacks and deterrence by denial. By definition, punishment means that deterrence has failed, but given that it’s impossible to deter all cyber attacks and intrusions, Western governments with offensive cyber capabilities could retaliate against specific cyber attackers. The harm done to targets of such retaliation and the arbitrary nature of how they’re selected for punishment would increase the cost in most cyber attackers’ cost-benefit analysis. The public also expects the government to avenge, particularly egregious cyber attacks.
- Topic:
- Security, Cybersecurity, Deterrence, and Non-Traditional Threats
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
7. Outer Space, Information Warfare, and the Truth
- Author:
- Gabrielle Lim and Joan Donovan
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Despite the distance, outer space and Earth are linked. However, our increasing dependence on space-based assets makes parsing the multitude of challenges and tradeoffs more difficult. Amidst talks of great power competition, space weapons, and commercialization there are equally pressing issues concerning production of knowledge, truth, and accountability. Though these topics sometimes overlap with national security (as with arms treaties or interstate war), they also affect the broad concept of human security—the wellbeing and safety of individuals and communities. As states and international organizations consider what to do to ensure the sustainable development and use of outer space, concerns should go well beyond simply reducing the level of debris, whether asteroids should be mined, or what qualifies as a space weapon.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Strategic Competition, and Information Warfare
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and Space
8. Cyber-Nuclear Weapons: Impact on the Modern Warfare Landscape
- Author:
- Shabana Fayyaz and Baqir Malik
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- The popular trends of information technologies have created a virtual world around the globe with the domain of cyberspace, which offers plenty of opportunities and challenges. In the last few years, several events have been described in terms of cyber warfare or the use of cyber weapons, leading to critical international security concerns. At the same time, there is little research on the definitions and power of what constitutes a cyber weapon and how it can be profiled. In the age of globalization and with the dynamic digital environment a new way of strategy and thinking is developing to introduce the new weapons, which has challenged the strategic environment around the globe and changing the concept of warfare in 21st century. The present article is to develop a preliminary hypothesis for to identifying the power of cyber weapon and how it relates with the nuclear weapon to examining the changing landscape of modern warfare. The comparative analysis of cyber weapons and nuclear weapons will help to understand the exact nature of cyber weapons with comparison of nuclear weapons to conclude which one is more preferable and dangerous in modern warfare techniques. The paper is divided into three sections. First part is brief introduction of genesis of cyber weapons, nature, evolution and its different types. The second part is comparison of cyber weapons to the nuclear weapons based on diverse characteristics (developing of weapons, security, arsenal, uses, target etc.). The third part is an analysis cyber weapon vis-a-vis nuclear weapon on the impact level. The paper conclude that the development of cyber-nuclear weapons has significantly altered the nature of contemporary warfare techniques. As technology continues to advance, the use of a cyber weapons has becomes increasingly likely, which could result in devastating consequences. It is important for nations to develop effective cybersecurity measures and maintain a strong nuclear deterrence strategy to prevent such scenarios from occurring.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Cybersecurity, and Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
9. PART I: The Singleton Paradox On the Future of Human-Machine Teaming and Potential Disruption of War Itself
- Author:
- Ben Zweibelson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Advanced Military Studies
- Institution:
- Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Technological innovation has historically been applied in war and security affairs as a new tool or means to accomplish clear political or societal goals. The rise of artificial intelligence posits a new, uncharted way forward that may be entirely unlike previous arms races and advancements in warfare, including nuclear weapons and quantum technology. This article introduces the concept of a singleton as a future artificial intelligent entity that could assume central decision making for entire organizations and even societies. In turn, this presents what is termed a “singleton paradox” for security affairs, foreign policy, and military organizations. An AI singleton could usher in a revolutionary new world free of war and conflict for all of human civilization or trigger a catastrophic new war between those with a functioning singleton entity against those attempting to develop one, along with myriad other risks, opportunities, and emergent consequences.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Machine Learning, Transhumanism, and War Studies
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
10. Leadership in police work applied to critical contexts: An integrative review and scientific mapping using VOSviewer and Google Trends tools
- Author:
- Lucius Paulo de Carvalho, Ana Paula Grillo Rodrigues, and Marcello Beckert Zappellini
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- The aim of this study is to identify cutting-edge studies on the phenomenon of leadership applied to police work, especially in critical contexts, based on an integrative literature review. The integrative review made it possible to survey publications on the subject in the Scopus, Web of Science, Ebsco Host, ScienceDirect, Core, and SciELO databases. Scientific mapping is complemented with the use of VOSviewer and Google Trends tools. The integrative review resulted in 15 studies that fit the research strategy, bringing different leadership approaches, such as instrumental, transformational, charismatic, consultative, ethical, authentic, military, destructive, and laissez-faire, through qualitative and/or quantitative studies. For bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer, the research corpus was expanded to 63 articles, admitting documents that studied leadership with firefighters, military personnel, and police officers. The analysis showed almost no co-authorship link between the 129 authors. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords reveals that leadership strongly links with law enforcement, police, management, crisis management, emergency management, and decision-making, establishing a close relationship between these concepts and a semantic map that underlies the field of study. The analysis of trends by Google Trends in the science category indicates the stability of interest in the topic of leadership in the world. However, the theme of police leadership produced results close to zero. The findings reveal that few studies address leadership in police organisations, and even fewer if critical, dangerous contexts are examined. The trends analysed indicate that worldwide scientific interest in the subject remains low and the theme must be further explored.
- Topic:
- Security, Leadership, Crisis Management, and Police
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
11. Introducción a “Recursos desiguales: retos de la seguridad en la encrucijada de la sostenibilidad”
- Author:
- Rosa Ana Alija Fernández
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- En lo que va de década,el mundo está asistiendo a una sucesión vertiginosa de amenazas a la seguridad: desde la agresión de Rusia a Ucrania, que ha reavivado tensiones militares entre potencias que parecen evocarla Guerra Fría–con amenaza nuclearincluida–,hasta la pandemia de la COVID-19, la carestía de alimentos, la escasez de energía, o los efectos de la aceleración del cambio climático yla degradación medioambiental. Calificar este último bloque de “nuevas amenazas” sería despreciar la realidad de buena parte de la población mundial, que lleva décadas experimentándolas, y que ya fueron señaladascomo amenazas a la paz y la seguridad por Kofi Annan en su informe Un concepto más amplio de la libertad(SGNU, 2005: párr. 78). Lo que resulta realmente novedoso es que ahora están impactando de lleno en los países desarrollados, que ya no pueden limitarse a tratar de repeler los efectos de estosfenómenos en otros puntos del planetacomo parte de su agenda de seguridadnacional(Wilkin, 2002: 634, 641).Por el contrario, empiezan a constatar que la rápida expansión desde los años 90 del modelo económico neoliberal en un planeta que dispone de recursos limitados está generando ya riesgos a supropia seguridad nacional, además de a la seguridad internacional.Así, poco ha tardado en comenzar a materializarsela previsión realizada porPaul Rogers,quienha señalado que en las dos próximas décadas habrá tres factores predominantes de inseguridad global: i) una turbulenta economía mundial basada en un sistema neoliberal fallido que está incrementando las brechas socioeconómicas, ii) los límites medioambientales a la actividad humana, y iii) el arraigo de una cultura de la seguridad centrada en el uso de fuerza militar como respuesta a las amenazas, incapaz de asegurar la paz y la estabilidad en un mundo socioeconómicamente dividido y medioambientalmente constreñido (Rogers,2019: 139).
- Topic:
- Security, Natural Resources, Inequality, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
12. De la Agenda para la Paz a Nuestra Agenda Común: la “sostenibilidad” de la paz
- Author:
- Eugenia López-Jacoiste Díaz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- El presente artículo analiza el alcance de las agendas políticas de la Naciones Unidas en relación con la paz y la seguridadinternacionales.La percepción integral de las relaciones entre “paz”, “seguridad”y “desarrollo”justifica las nuevas perspectivas multidimensionales, preventivas ysostenibles de toda actividad de construcción y consolidación de la paz, que sigue siendo el principal propósito de esta Organización.En Nuestra Agenda Común(2021), el Secretario General contempla acciones concretas de muy diversa índoley diversidad de materias paraerradica las causas últimas que generan inseguridad y que son un obstáculo para el desarrollo sostenibleal que aspira la comunidad internacional de conformidad con laAgenda 2030. Apuesta porunamayor inversión en prevención y consolidación de la pazcon medidasque van desde el control de armamentos hasta la financiación de las estructuras de consolidación de la paz, pasando por la erradicación de la violencia, en particular contra la mujer,y la búsqueda de nuevos modelos asociativos y cooperativos, pero más allá de los acuerdos previstos en el capítulo VIII de la Carta.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
13. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - a Lethal Weapon of Tomorrow for Terrorists
- Author:
- Aleksander Olech
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
- Institution:
- Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
- Abstract:
- Terrorism has been used as a form of combat for centuries. Over the years, the tools used by terrorists have evolved. While attacks with cold weapons still take place, nowadays terrorists also use explosives, machine guns, guided missiles and increasingly often drones. The present growth of the arms market has led to terrorist groups being heavily militarized, as they can successfully acquire modern weapons and subsequently use them in their attacks. This state of affairs has directly affected the security of states and societies, and subsequently became a principal subject of discussion on international security forums. Contemporary global terrorist threats also harness artificial intelligence that supports weaponized robots, missiles, as well as clusters of killer drones. This narrative arose a few years ago, indicating that terrorists may have a vastly greater array of options at their disposal because they may cooperate with some states that would back them up. The chance for terrorist organisations to gain access to artificial intelligence technologies only increased due to the global competition surrounding it. Due to this potential spreading, terrorists will have a chance to operate weapons supported by AI. These events then merge into a deeply concerning scenario which conceivably may have to be confronted. The threat of terrorist organisations possessing and using swarms of drones does not seem to be very distant.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Terrorism, Weapons, Drones, and Artificial Intelligence
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
14. Anxiety, Ambivalence and Sublimation: ontological in/security and the world risk society
- Author:
- John Cash
- Publication Date:
- 04-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- This article aims to expand the social-theoretical and psychoanalytic range of research on ontological in/ security, by exploring parallel concerns addressed by Beck, Kristeva, Butler and Zizek. These include, first, the psychic roots of othering processes and their encoding into cultural repertoires. Second, the difficulties and possibilities of displacing othering processes within national and international politics. Third, the disruptive effects of globalising processes on the symbolic efficiency of cultures and on their encoded defences against ontological insecurity. Fourth, the crucial significance for political and international relations of the qualitative characteristics of those defences against ontological insecurity that gain predominance within cultural repertoires and their variable norms of recognition. Likewise, the significance of those norms of recognition that challenge established norms and successfully reorganise cultural repertoires.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Political Theory
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
15. Environmental Security in the Anthropocene
- Author:
- Simon Dalby
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- Simon Dalby is a Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, where he teaches in the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He is author of Anthropocene Geopolitics (University of Ottawa Press 2020) and Rethinking Environmental Security (Edward Elgar 2022).
- Topic:
- Security, Environment, Politics, and Anthropocene
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
16. Desradicalizacióny desvinculación:aspectos formales y teóricos
- Author:
- Roberto Muelas Lobato and David García
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- La radicalización constituye una de las mayores problemáticas a nivel securitario y social. No obstante, el número de detenciones en los últimos años han llevado a replantearse reforzar los modelos de intervención en su relación con la desvinculación y la desradicalización. Como consecuencia, la atención está cambiando hacia los procesos de desvinculación/desradicalización. Tratando de aunar los conocimientos sobre la temática, en el presente manuscrito se realiza una revisión de la literatura que trata de identificar y valorar algunos de los factores y modelos de desvinculación, desradicalización y/o reinserción desarrollados en estas últimas décadas. En primera instancia se conceptualizan la desradicalización, entendida como un proceso social y psicológico por el que el compromiso de un individuo con la radicalización violenta y su participación en ella se reducen hasta el punto de que ya no corre el riesgo de implicarse y participar en actividades violentas, y la desvinculación, proceso mediante el cual un individuo experimenta un cambio de rol o función que suele ir asociado a una reducción de la participación en la violencia. Posteriormente, se analizan los principales factores de empuje y atracción que se han encontrado en la literatura, destacando, por un lado, la desilusión con la estrategia o las acciones del grupo radical y, por otro lado, las relaciones con personas fuera del grupo y las demandas familiares. A continuación, se hacen explícitos siete modelos teóricos propuestos desde distintas disciplinas que tratan de explicar los procesos de desvinculación, desradicalización y/o reinserción social. Entre estos modelos, encontramos la trayectoria de desvinculación,el modelo de inversión,el modelo 3N,el modelo pro-integración,los bucles de refuerzo,el modelo de las dinámicas de la desvinculación y el modelo fénix de desvinculación. Finalmente, se discuten algunas de las similitudes y diferencias de estos modelos y sus principales limitaciones.
- Topic:
- Security, Disengagement, Deradicalization, and Theoretical Models
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
17. Selected Problems of Security Control in Civil Aviation Based on Own Empirical Research
- Author:
- Gabriel Nowacki and Bohdan Paszukow
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The paper refers to the evolution of methods, new technologies, and devices in security control processes in light of civil aviation requirements, procedures, and increased flow of passengers. The research problem has been defined as follows: How shall the international airport security controls function in the context of regulatory and operational conditions and current and future threats? In reference to the problem, the research hypothesis was defined as follows: Security control in civil aviation consists of screening persons and detecting prohibited articles and mainly depends on the professional competence of security staff and the proper selection and maintenance of electronic assistive devices. Professional competences refer to personnel’s knowledge, experience, qualification, monitoring, operational supervision, and quality control as part of their tasks. The development of new technologies requires the appropriate selection, commensurate with risk analysis, of electronic assistive devices, including equipment, methods, technical means, and their maintenance in a proper technical condition. The paper presents the results of empirical research conducted amongst experienced aviation security forums. Because of its complexity and unpredictability, this problem still leaves a wide margin for improvement and efficiency. The following research methods were used to solve the research problem: theoretical methods and empirical methods: diagnostic survey and expert interview.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Terrorism, and Aviation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
18. The Role of Material Stocks in the National Security System
- Author:
- Malgorzata Grzelak
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The article consists of two parts. The first part describes the essence of the national security system and its structure. Using the Ishikawa diagram and the value chain, the authors presented the shortcomings of the national security system and a sequence of actions that can improve it. The second part of the article is devoted to material stocks and their role in the analyzed system. The survey research presented in this part of the article confirmed the importance of material stockpiles in ensuring national security. In addition, the research highlighted the need for government organizations to cooperate in the continuous replenishment of material stocks during a crisis.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, National Security, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
19. PLAN E: A Grand Strategy for the Twenty-first Century Era of Entangled Security and Hyperthreats
- Author:
- Elizabeth G. Boulton
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Advanced Military Studies
- Institution:
- Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
- Abstract:
- A transdisciplinary research project investigated the idea of framing climate and environmental change (CEC) as a new type of threat: a hyperthreat. Traditional military analytical methods were used to assess the hyperthreat and its context and develop ideas about how an adequate response could be conceived. This approach contrasts to prior literature and longstanding geopolitical discourse that identify the risks of taking a securitization approach. Instead, the author argues that it is now riskier not to consider CEC within a mainstream geopolitical and nation-state security strategy. When the hyperthreat of CEC is centered as the main threat to be contained, and its relationship to other threats is analyzed, startling new pathways to stability emerge. The research developed a new theoretical approach called “entangled security” to develop an initial new “grand narrative” and “grand strategy” (PLAN E). This article offers a vision of how military theory can be reimagined to support new policy directions and security priorities.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Environment, Military Strategy, and Non-Traditional Threats
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
20. Proposed method for building an anti-drone system for the protection of facilities important for state security
- Author:
- Jędrzej Łukasiewicz
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) pose a threat to buildings and facilities important to the security of the state. As they are able to operate like individual aircraft, the number of ways they can be used for terrorist activity is practically unlimited. Anyone in charge of a facility that is crucial for the reliable functioning of a state is obliged to ensure an acceptable level of security. Since drones can be used to attack protected structures, they need to be protected by an anti-drone system. The paper proposes a method for assessing the effectiveness of systems for detecting and neutralising unmanned aerial vehicles. In order to suggest a new method for assessing the effectiveness of anti-drone systems, an analysis of the scientific literature and other documents describing existing anti-drone systems has been carried out. Attacks involving the use of drones, both in wartime and in incidents of terrorism, are also analysed and existing anti-drone solutions assessed. Because there are a variety of technical solutions for the detection and neutralisation of drones, and different location and weather conditions, a universal method is proposed based on probability calculations and neutralisation of drones, using mathematical formulas. This method allows for the effectiveness of the entire anti-drone system to be assessed on the basis of measuring the probability of detection and neutralisation of drones in real conditions. The proposed method allows the effectiveness of the currently existing anti-drone systems to be evaluated and for new methods for detecting and neutralising drones to be proposed. This method, based on mathematical calculations, enables software to be written for simulating anti-drone systems on computers and for the effectiveness of these systems to be confirmed before their construction in a protected facility.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Weapons, and Drones
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
21. Intelligent terrorism as a security threat to critical infrastructure
- Author:
- Ossi Heino
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- This paper considers terrorism as potentially ‘intelligent’, as a threat capable of abusing the critical infrastructures of societies and the related methods for knowledge production. Respectively, it sees critical infrastructures as attractive mediums for terrorist influence. The paper describes the contrast between the logic of providing security and certainty for critical infrastructures and the threat of terrorism, which is evolving in terms of its systemic capacities and intelligence. The way security is provided within critical infrastructures and the way intelligent terrorism could operate seem to separate from each other, thereby creating vulnerability. The paper seeks to enhance the conceptual understanding of this question by describing and closing the gap created by the intellectual separation. By doing so, the article will shed light on the conceptual dimension of the (in)security that has gone unnoticed in the interface between critical infrastructures and terrorism. It outlines the aforementioned dilemma and provides conceptual understanding that makes it easier to grasp and communicate further. The paper shows that the intellectual separation has weakened the possibilities for theoretically understanding and practically recognising terrorism as a phenomenon that is becoming systemically more conscious, more intelligent and potentially increasingly capable in a form of violence that exploits the basic structures of societies and the related knowledge methods for its own purposes. As a conclusion, the paper stresses the importance of profoundly critical tools. Such tools are often perceived as being undesirable or even counter-productive in figuring out the mechanism through the very means utilised in providing for security.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Rationality
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
22. Preparing critical infrastructure for the future: Lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic
- Author:
- Amelia Tomalska
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- The objective of this paper is to provide a view on the problem of insufficient state protection of critical infrastructure throughout the Covid-19 crisis. The paper looks at this problem with regard to the definition of critical infrastructure, its content, and also the limitations of current approaches to critical infrastructure protection. The examples relating to the Covid-19 crisis show the practices adopted and suggest possible steps forward. The research methodology implemented in this research is based on a critical analysis of the existing literature. The themes described in this paper show there is an urgent need to change current critical infrastructure protection approaches to a resilience-based modus operandi. Specifically, this paper highlights the need to shift the understanding of critical infrastructure from an object-oriented approach towards essential services/functions and to highlight its complex, socio- technical nature. It also highlights the deficiencies of current, prevention-based approaches to critical infrastructure protection such as the insufficient focus on identification and management process of vulnerabilities, especially in relation to (inter)dependencies resulting from interconnections with other systems. The gravity of the situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite its negative connotations, can be used as an opportunity to examine the real condition of protection of critical infrastructure. The pandemic suggests that there is much left to be done and because of the unpredictability of the future, we need to start acting as soon as possible.
- Topic:
- Security, Infrastructure, Resilience, COVID-19, and Protection
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
23. Abstraction-decomposition space for critical infrastructure systems: A framework for infrastructure planning and resilience policies
- Author:
- Stig Rune Sellevåg
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- The objective of this work has been to propose a framework that will aid governments with the development of more coherent and effective infrastructure planning and resilience policies through a system-of-systems approach that is grounded in theory for complex sociotechnical systems. The framework has been developed by using a work domain analysis (WDA). The WDA consists of an abstraction hierarchy analysis and a part-whole decomposition. Together, the abstraction hierarchy and the part-whole description form the abstraction-decomposition space (ADS) for which the system constraints apply. By imposing constraints, the WDA promotes design for adaptation where actors within the system are allowed to adapt their behaviour as they find appropriate without violating the system’s constraints. The proposed ADS consists of five levels of abstraction and four levels of decomposition. By applying the ADS, it will aid decision making related to the overall purposes of the critical infrastructure system, the values and priority measures that are used to assess the system’s progress towards the functional purposes, as well as formulation of infrastructure needs that are necessary to achieve the functional purposes. The framework is formative in the sense that it reveals how work can be done in the critical infrastructure system. This is important because it is not feasible to prescribe, describe and risk assess all possibilities for action that are available in complex sociotechnical systems, especially when dealing with unforeseen events. Future research should focus on finding science-based yet useful in practice ways for establishing values and priority measures that encompass sustainability issues and resilience standards.
- Topic:
- Security, National Security, Infrastructure, Resilience, Economic Security, and Adaptation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
24. High power wireless power transfer for the future of the battlefield challenges
- Author:
- Mohamed Zied Chaari, Rashid Al-Rahimi, and Otman Aghzout
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- A significant challenge for the military lab is to reduce the weight of a combatant’s battery on the battlefield. Soldiers use electronic devices powered by wearable batteries in landings, operational combat with the enemy, and defensive exercises. Soldiers should always fully charge their wearable batteries before carrying them. The average weight of the battery is approximately 20 kilograms. During military operations, fighters have numerous electronic devices, such as night-vision goggles, headphones, LMR, navigation systems, VHF radios, and sensors. There is a high probability that fighters will lose their lives if the battery they take is uncharged or empty. Many research studies have tried to increase fighting time and maintain soldier life and links based on these devices. In this work, a wireless power transmission system with an RF microwave station and RF/DC converter circuit incorporated into a bulletproof vest will be designed. This system can harvest RF microwave energy to recharge or energize the wearable battery during a military operation. The challenge here is to develop a compact device that can capture the maximum RF strength to charge batteries carried by soldiers. The proposed device therefore considers all parameters to provide sufficient energy to power a computer at 13 watts. The strength of the RF power varies with the distance between the microwave power station Pin = 100 W and the receiver circuit.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Armed Forces, and Military
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
25. Climate-Migration: A Security Analysis within the Context of Green Theory
- Author:
- Tayyar Ari and Faith Bilal Gokpinar
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
- Abstract:
- This study aims to discuss climate migration as a relatively new global issue with various dimensions and to widen the current perspective within global politics to be more inclusive and ecocentric. This study argues that traditional international relations theories and practices are ineffective in discussing and analyzing climate migration as a new global security problem. After a discussion of the conceptual problems, the traditional paradigms of international relations, their policy implications, and the traditional actors will be identified as the primary sources of this problems. Finally, we will conclude that the application of an ecocentric perspective, with holistic characteristics, will provide a better understanding of the current problems.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Environment, Migration, and Green Technology
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
26. "Is the Internet Trying to Kill Us?" And other Technology Security Unknowns In the New Roaring Twenties
- Author:
- Miles Taylor
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Machines are poised to transform life as we know it... and America isn’t ready. A hundred years ago, machines remade the world. Society in the 1920s was transformed by a proliferation of cars, radios, movies, and airplanes, dramatically altering the way we lived, worked, and played. We did not know it then, but the sweeping technology revolution was poised to change the way we fought, too. The 1930s saw a revolution in military affairs as warfare became deadlier and faster-paced, a foreseeable consequence of the previous decade’s innovations.278 This nevertheless caught many nations by surprise, such as those affected by the German blitzkrieg. We are entering a New Roaring Twenties, and again we are unprepared for how it will affect national security in the decades to come. Make no mistake: today’s innovations will be tomorrow’s economic drivers, which is why we should be actively investing in the bleeding-edge tech of the future. But we must also be vigilant about how such developments will affect our security at home and reshape international conflict, or else risk a reordering of the global balance of power. This article previews several emerging technology dilemmas, what’s being done about them, and why—in some cases—it’s already too late.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Internet, and Innovation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
27. The Climate-Security Century: Three Climate Hotspots
- Author:
- Mark Nevitt
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- The climate-security century is here. With global temperatures rising, climate change is poised to massively destabilize the physical environment. This century may well be defined by our ability (or inability) to reduce our collective greenhouse gas emissions. We must also adapt and respond to climate change’s multivariate security impacts. From raging wildfires in Australia and California to melting ice sheets and permafrost in the Arctic, climate change acts as both a threat accelerant and a catalyst for conflict. Climate change is also unlike any other traditional security threat. It accelerates and exacerbates existing environmental stressors—such as sea level rise, extreme weather, drought, and food insecurity—leading to greater instability. Climate change impacts are already taking center stage this century, forcing us to think more broadly about climate change’s relationship with human security and national security. Complicating matters, climate-driven temperature increases do not rise in a neat, uniform fashion around the globe. The pace of climatic change unfolds unevenly and erratically. Some parts of the world—such as the Arctic—are warming at a rate two to three times faster than the rest of the world. Three specific climate-security “hotspots” foreshadow greater destabilization and serve as climate “canaries in a coal mine”—a sneak preview of our climate-destabilized future.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, National Security, and Human Security
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
28. Pandemic Preparedness: A Conversation with Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo (Interviewed by Dana Hatic)
- Author:
- Jennifer Nuzzo and Dana Hatic
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Fletcher Security Review (FSR): Dr. Nuzzo, thank you for taking the time to speak with FSR today. I would love if you could give us a brief introduction and tell me about what your role has been like since the start of the pandemic. Jennifer Nuzzo (JN): I am an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I am also a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. I have been involved working on COVID-19 since the first news of an outbreak in China. I run a project called the Outbreak Observatory, which does operational research to improve outbreak responses. One of our activities is to publish a weekly blog, which we do to take stock of what is going on in the world and to try to learn about events—even if we are not actively doing research projects on them, just reminding people that things are happening all the time.
- Topic:
- Security, Interview, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and United States of America
29. Post-Covid Security Landscape: A Conversation with Raffaelo Pantucci
- Author:
- Raffaello Pantucci
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Fletcher Security Review (FSR): Thank you for joining FSR today. To begin, what challenges do you believe countries or security practitioners will face in preventing terrorism or countering violent terrorism in a postCOVID-19 world? Raffaelo Pantucci (RP): There are going to be a lot of challenges. The difficulty with trying to make judgments about what is going to happen in a post-COVID world is that we are not in the post-COVID world yet. We are still in the midst of the pandemic, so a lot of this work and assumptions that we look into are based on assessments of what we think could happen. I think a number of things will happen. First, I think we are going to see real pressure on security forces’ resources. On the one hand, kinetic security forces—police and intelligence services—probably will not suffer too much. But the real dilemma will come with some of the upstream funding. Money is being used to try to stop people from being drawn to violent groups in the first place. Countering violent extremism projects will face immense challenges since it is very hard to understand and make direct causal links between the issues the programs are addressing and the ultimate threats. We are going to see a push on budgets and that will result in cuts for security forces. These will have an impact in different ways in different places. Unfortunately, terrorist threats are global. You can have a good grip on your threat matrix, but it has links across borders which are beyond your control. This creates a potential risk if a country you are connected to does not have a grip on their security and are under the same sort of budgetary pressures, then it is possible you will see a negative knockon effect.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, Interview, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
30. Grievance in Space and Time: The State, Militias, and the Irredentist Temptation
- Author:
- Bradford McGuinn
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- The armed militia is an emblem of political decay. With the weakening of institutions designed to regulate the ambitions and anxieties of those inhabiting a state, and with the erosion of a political culture meant to confer legitimacy upon the rituals of governance, martial energy once held to constitutional prescription in the service of impersonal public rule can be redirected toward private purpose. Dissenting factions within a governmental structure, groups seeking its overthrow, or militias fighting within society itself challenge the viability of states, stability in their regions, and international order. This essay will consider ways in which narratives of grievance play dangerously upon the triangular system of mutual obligation that ideally orders interaction between a state, society, and the military. In this configuration of civil-military relations, the state exercises a “legitimate monopoly” on the production of violence, binding militaries to civilian control. Acting as an acid upon the alloy of this triangle, allowing leakage of “privatized” violence, is a dissatisfaction with a configuration of geography, politics, and culture of such intensity that reality can be considered oppressive.
- Topic:
- Security, Armed Forces, State, and Militias
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
31. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Political Warfare and Propaganda
- Author:
- James J. F. Forest, Daniel De Wit, Kyleanne Hunter, Emma Jouenne, Glen Segell, Lev Topor, Alexander Tabachnik, Donald M. Bishop, Phil Zeman, Michael Cserkits, and Anthony Patrick
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Advanced Military Studies
- Institution:
- Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
- Abstract:
- The digital age has greatly expanded the terrain and opportunities for a range of foreign influence efforts. A growing number of countries have invested significantly in their capabilities to disseminate online propaganda and disinformation worldwide, while simultaneously establishing information dominance at home. Each of the contributions to this issue addresses the central theme of influencing perceptions and behavior. First, Daniel de Wit draws lessons from a historical analysis of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), America’s intelligence and special operations organization in World War II. In addition to its efforts to collect intelligence on the Axis powers and to arm and train resistance groups behind enemy lines, the OSS also served as America’s primary psychological warfare agency, using a variety of “black propaganda” methods to sow dissension and confusion in enemy ranks.82 As noted earlier, psychological warfare plays a significant role in the conduct of today’s military operations, so de Wit’s research offers important historical lessons for contemporary campaign planners. Next, Kyleanne Hunter and Emma Jouenne examine the uniquely troubling effects of spreading misogynistic views online. Their analysis of three diverse case studies—the U.S. military, the incel movement, and ISIS— reveals how unchecked online misogyny can result in physical behavior that can threaten human and national security. Glen Segell then explores how perceptions about cybersecurity operations can have positive or negative impacts on civil-military relations, drawing on a case study of the Israeli experience. Lev Topor and Alexander Tabachnik follow with a study of how Russia uses the strategies and tactics of digital influence warfare against other countries, while continually seeking to strengthen its information dominance over Russian citizens. And Donald M. Bishop reveals how other countries do this as well, including China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela. Each is engaged in these same kinds of efforts to control the information that circulates within their respective societies, while using various forms of propaganda against other countries to strengthen their influence and national power. Phil Zeman’s contribution to this issue looks at how China and Russia are trying to fracture American and Western societies through information, disinformation, economic coercion, and the creation of economic dependencies— in many cases capitalizing on specific attributes and vulnerabilities of a target nation to achieve their strategic objectives. Through these efforts, he concludes, China and Russia hope to prevent the will or ability of American or Western states to respond to an aggressive act. Next, Michael Cserkits explains how a society’s perceptions about armed forces can be influenced by cinematic productions and anime, drawing on a case study comparison of Japan and the United States. And finally, Anthony Patrick examines how social media penetration and internet connectivity could impact the likelihood that parties within a conventional intrastate conflict will enter negotiations. As a collection, these articles make a significant contribution to the scholarly research literature on political warfare and propaganda. The authors shed light on the need for research-based strategies and policies that can improve our ability to identify, defend against, and mitigate the consequences of influence efforts. However, when reflecting on the compound security threats described at the beginning of this introduction—involving both cyberattacks and influence attacks—a startling contrast is revealed: we have committed serious resources toward cybersecurity but not toward addressing the influence issues examined in this issue. We routinely install firewalls and other security measures around our computer network systems, track potential intrusion attempts, test and report network vulnerabilities, hold training seminars for new employees, and take many other measures to try and mitigate cybersecurity threats. In contrast, there are no firewalls or intrusion detection efforts defending us against digital influence attacks of either foreign or domestic origin. Government sanctions and social media deplatforming efforts respond to influence attackers once they have been identified as such, but these efforts take place after attacks have already occurred, sometimes over the course of several years. The articles of this issue reflect an array of efforts to influence the perceptions, emotions, and behavior of human beings at both individual and societal levels. In the absence of comprehensive strategies to more effectively defend against these efforts, the United States risks losing much more than military advantage; we are placing at risk the perceived legitimacy of our systems and institutions of governance, as well as our economic security, our ability to resolve social disagreements peacefully, and much more.83 Further, many other nations are also facing the challenges of defending against foreign influence efforts. As such, the transnational nature of influence opportunities and capabilities in the digital age may require a multinational, coordinated response. In the years ahead, further research will be needed to uncover strategies for responding to the threat of digital influence warfare with greater sophistication and success.
- Topic:
- Security, National Security, Politics, Science and Technology, Military Affairs, Women, Radicalization, Cybersecurity, Internet, History, World War II, Propaganda, Deterrence, Disinformation, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Digital Policy, Psychological Warfare, and Misogyny
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Japan, China, Israel, Global Focus, and United States of America
32. Intrastate cultural and socio-political influences and the realisation of national security: A two-level correlational analysis
- Author:
- Dimitrios G. Pantazis
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to examine how specific domestic social, political, and cultural motives affect the formation and implementation of national security agendas. The following assumptions drive the research rationale behind this essay: Security-making processes are considered non-similar among states due to different domestic political processes, cultural discourses, and socialisation patterns. Therefore, national security agents are constantly being guided by various intrastate settings, which construct attitudes that are ultimately reflected in policy formation and implementation through strategic behavioural manifestations. The realisation of national security is thus dependent on each state actor’s existent strategic culture, and given that, such choices cannot be contemplated in a strictly rational way. The methods of literature review and multi-layered analysis are applied throughout this study. In particular, this text’s reasoning is based on contextualisation, identification, categorisation of variables, and correlational implications. In relation to the findings, the theoretical examination of the objects assessed provides adequate clarification on the interaction between the domestic motives, decision-makers’ perspectives, and strategic cultural manifestations. Specifically, it was critically identified that the two last concepts can have a complementary function during security-making processes, hence producing unique outcomes for each state actor. Consequently, this paper wishes to contribute by giving direction for future research and broader methodological implications on the role of intrastate socio-political and cultural motives as sources of strategic culture and determinants of national security-making attitudes; without ignoring other factors that can respectively affect the aforementioned schemes.
- Topic:
- Security, National Security, Politics, Culture, and Decision-Making
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
33. Modelling computer networks for further security research
- Author:
- Zsolt Bederna and Tamás Szádeczky
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Security and Defence Quarterly
- Institution:
- War Studies University
- Abstract:
- Computer networks are usually modelled from one aspect, e.g., the physical layer of the network, although this does not allow the researcher to understand all usage of that device. We aim to develop a model which leverages all aspects of a networked computer and, therefore, provides complete information to the scientist for all further security research, especially that related to the social sciences. Network science is about the analysis of any network, from social to protein. It is much easier to analyse computer networks with technical tools than protein networks. It is, therefore, a straightforward way to crawl the web as Albert-Laszlo Barabasi did to model its connections, nodes, and links in graph theory to analyse its internal connections. His analysis was based solely on the network layer. Our methodology uses graph theory and network science and integrates all ISO/OSI (computer networking) layers into the model. Each layer of the ISO/OSI model has its topology separately, but all of them also work as part of the complex system to operate the network. It therefore creates a multipartite graph of the network under analysis. Furthermore, the virtual private networks (VPNs) and application usage are also integrated as nodes and links. With this model, the computer network infrastructure and usage data can be used for further non-computing related research, e.g., social science research, as it includes the usage patterns of the network users.
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Networks, and Computer Science
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
34. Paving the way to the Security Council: NGOs’ activism on women’s and children’s issues
- Author:
- Yamya Rocha Rebelo
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
- Institution:
- Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
- Abstract:
- The relationship between the United Nations Security Council and Non- Governmental Organizations has scarcely been considered in scholarship on international security. This lack of academic interest contrasts with accounts on the engagement of NGOs in the production and advancement of UNSC discussions on women and children. By drawing on international relations and social movements’ theoretical contributions, the paper traces NGOs’ strategies to participate in UNSC thematic debates. By looking at the actions of the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, the analysis finds that NGOs have built coalitions among themselves and maintained networks with friendly countries and UN specialized agencies to capitalize on favorable political and institutional opportunities and expand the access to the security sector.
- Topic:
- Security, Gender Issues, United Nations, Children, Women, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
35. The Enduring Relevance of Naval Power: Reflections on Defence, Security and Power Projection of Sea Frontier
- Author:
- Samuel Oyewole
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The sea/maritime domain is a critical frontier of human exploration and exploitation for food production, transportation, commerce, research, communication, mining, defence, security, power projection and prestige in international system. These made it a frontier of strategic cooperation, competition and conflict. Consequently, the sea has been militarised by littoral states, which have led to the rise of naval powers, across time and space. Naval power is strategically relevant in defence, security and power projection, as evident in its roles in warfare, deterrence, policing, and diplomacy across history. This is even more pronounced during the golden age of naval power, when the roles of the navy were decisive in outcomes of war, territorial defence and conquest, empire building and maintenance, bargaining, industrialisation, commerce and global policing. However, the strategic relevance of naval power has undergone notable changes with the rise of air, nuclear and space powers. Against this background, this article examines the enduring strategic relevance of naval power over the last century, vis-à-vis its challenges and prospects among other instruments of force and frontiers of defence, security and power projection that have emerged.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Navy, and Maritime
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
36. Prioritization of Multilaterialsm Agreements on Export Control of Defense Products and Sensitive Technologies by Hierarchical Analysis Process
- Author:
- Luiz Octavio Gaviao, Luciano Dias Dutra, and Sergio Kostin
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- This paper proposes a model to support the decision to choose which multilateral export control regime of defense products and sensitive technologies in which Brazil does not yet participate, namely, Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group and Zangger Committee, should be prioritized for adhesion. For the development of this model, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used, considered adequate for solving problems where criteria are qualitative and decisions tend to be based on personal experiences. The hierarchical structure of the problem used seven criteria (Country Legislation, Regulatory System, Licensing Structure, Enforcement Capacity, International Cooperation, Costs of Adhesion and Benefits for the Defense Industrial Base) to compare the three mentioned agreements. A questionnaire was set up and specialists related to National Defense were selected to answer them, after which their answers were collected, standardized, processed and analyzed. At the end, the agreements were ordered by preference to support decision making, illustrating the application of the proposed model.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Multilateralism, and Defense Industry
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
37. Security Studies in International Relations: Evolution, Approaches and Contemporary Challenges
- Author:
- Ali Muhammad and Sugeng Riyanto
- Publication Date:
- 07-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- This article examines the growth and evolution of security studies since its emergence to the end the Cold War. Security studies as a subfield in international relations was dominated by realist approach during the Cold War. However, by the of the cold war, the concept of security was debated between the widener–deepener. Not only about the concept, but variety of theoretical approaches also emerged to challenge the traditional realist/liberal approach, such as, constructivism, critical theory, feminism, human security and postcolonialism. There were crucial differences in how these competing approaches constituted referent objects, the sectors to which security is applicable, and epistemological position as well.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Theory, Intellectual History, and Post Cold War
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
38. Who Feels Climate Anxiety?
- Author:
- Sarah Jaquette Ray
- Publication Date:
- 10-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- In the simplest terms, the answer is: it depends on who perceives it as a threat, and what “anxiety” means to them.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Environment, and Natural Disasters
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
39. Cybersecurity Politics – Conceptualization of the Idea
- Author:
- Marek Gorka
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The cybersecurity issue discussed in the paper is seen from the perspective of political science with the indication that the subject under discussion concerns the multifaceted nature of the state’s actions, which consists of political, economic, social, and cultural factors. At the same time, the work also intends to prove that cybersecurity is not only a domain of technology because it is the mentioned aspects that shape the conditions of stable development of the state and its citizens in a space dominated by cyber technology in a much more decisive way. Given the growing role of cybertechnology in almost all areas of human life, its importance also forces and inspires political science to question the shape and model of modern policy, which is significantly evolving under the influence of new technologies. On the one hand, emerging cyber threats reveal the weakness of the state and the dependence of state institutions on cybertechnologies, but on the other hand, existing cyber incidents may also motivate many governments to take action to increase the level of cybersecurity.
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, Politics, Cybersecurity, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
40. Mass Migration as a Hybrid Threat? – A Legal Perspective
- Author:
- Sascha Dov Bachmann and Anthony Paphiti
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- Migration as a weapon sounds like a policy statement by resurgent nationalistic parties (and governments) in the West. However, politics and the human cost aside, what if an adversary (both state and non-state actor) does exploit the current global crisis of mass migration due to globalization, war, and political unrest? This article will look at the ongoing mass migration to the European Union within the wider security context of the so-called hybrid threats and/or ‘grey zone’ tactics. It looks at the various legal categories of migration as how the law can be weaponized as so-called ‘lawfare’ to undermine the existing legal frameworks distinguishing between legal and illegal migration. The authors recognize the possibility that this article will be used as an argument by the political actors involved for their nationalistic and anti-migration politics and policies. Yet, we believe that the potential of abusing the current vacuum for political gains along ideological party lines makes it necessary to provide a wider legal-security focused perspective on mass migration.
- Topic:
- Security, Migration, Immigration, Law, Border Control, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
41. Public Security and Public Order – Conceptual and Institutional Scope
- Author:
- Janusz Gierszewski and Andrzej Pieczywok
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The publication aims to analyze public security and public order in conceptual and institutional terms as an analytical category of security sciences. The legislator defines neither public security nor public order. So far, they have been treated mainly as categories of administrative law. It is therefore important to assign them analytical content in the new scientific discipline. The research results allowed for the presentation of the thesis that public security and public order are mainly connected with protection against pathological phenomena occurring in the public space, which are minimized by institutions established to ensure it. These categories should constitute the research field (subject) of the security sciences. The research problem formulated in the form of the question: How are public security and public order treated in definitional and institutional terms? The problem was solved based on a critical analysis of the literature. The paper uses theoretical research methods, including analysis of literature and phenomena occurring in society and inference – as a cognitive factor of the subject of analysis. A critical analysis of the literature on this issue played a large role in the cognitive process.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Theory, Public Policy, and Social Order
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
42. Cybercrime on the Example of Selected Botnets
- Author:
- Przemysław Mazurczak
- Publication Date:
- 01-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- The article presents threat analysis resulting from botnet activity on the Internet. Botnet networks are a very common tool among cybercriminals. They enable the acquisition of large amounts of data from computers infected with the virus that creates the given network entirely subordinated to its creator. Currently, many unidentified botnets are a threat to Internet users. Those identified and diagnosed answer the problem of how dangerous a botnet is in the hands of cybercriminals. The article presents statistics and analysis of selected botnets. Currently, there is a decline in the interest in botnets in cybercrime, although many new threats appear, suggesting that botnets will continue to be popular and are still a dangerous weapon in the hands of criminals.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Digitalization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
43. Multilateralism and the Superpower
- Author:
- Jeremy Greenstock
- Publication Date:
- 02-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- American Diplomacy
- Institution:
- American Diplomacy
- Abstract:
- Editor’s note: The author served as UK Ambassador to the UN 1998-2003. The UN, with its network of institutions and agencies, is the only truly global organisation. It is a great experiment, not in global governance, because the political direction of the UN lies firmly in the hands of sovereign nations, but in providing both norms and tools for managing the international arena 1. Its system is flawed and may well be unimprovable. But what it tries to do, and does, is indispensable for the avoidance of catastrophic war and for the development of a sustainable world. The UN as an institution is also, not unlike the American Constitution, an adversary of raw power. Born in an era of war and empire, its charter and principles provide shelter and help for weaker nations, and set limitations on the capacity of the strongest countries to throw their weight around selfishly—the generator of empires and wars. It came into being at the instigation of the great powers, and so they know —or they used to know—what they were creating and why. The United States was at the centre of it, seeing it as a great step towards the ending of the era of imperialism. The UN is not just about what happens in the Security Council. The work of the Secretariat, the funds, agencies and programmes, and indeed of several of the intergovernmental institutions such as ECOSOC, is primarily dedicated to every aspect of international development. They act on the premise that if a large part of the world is racked by poverty and disease, the more fortunate part will not have a stable environment in which to enjoy their relative success. The history of regional conflict over the last 75 years bears this out. As the UK’s Permanent Representative between 1998 and 2003, with a permanent place on the Security Council, I made a point of setting my inevitable focus on the Council’s work in the context of this wider UN purpose. The maintenance of international peace and security is an essential component of sustainable development, not just an end in itself.
- Topic:
- Security, United Nations, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Multilateralism, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and United States of America
44. Research Perspectives and Boundaries of Thought: Security, Peace, Conflict, and the Anthropocene
- Author:
- Judith Nora Hardt
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- The geological era of the Anthropocene is expected to trigger a paradigm shift across the natural and social sciences. Within International Relations(IR), the arrival of the planetary has generated various debates that range from questioning the very future of the discipline to proposals for how to fix IR. This article takes stock of different research perspectives from three disciplines, namely IR, Earth System Sciences and New Materialism/Posthumanism. With reference to these different perspectives, it examines the ways in which peace, conflict and security are related to the Anthropocene. This panoramic overview reveals also certain demarcations between the research approaches, disciplines and study fields, and aims to trigger future research on overcoming these boundaries of thought and push the research on Anthropocene thinking further.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Conflict, Peace, and Anthropocene
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
45. An Introduction to ‘Peace, Conflicts and Security in the Anthropocene: Ruptures and Limits’
- Author:
- Ignasi Torrent
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Throughout the last two decades, numerous disciplines across the natural and social sciences have witnessed the increasing influence of an emerging set of contemporary theoretical trends that delve into the entanglements between the human and its material milieu (see Haraway, 2016; Latour, 2005).Beyond rigid attributed labels, including new materialisms,Actor-Network theory, speculative realisms and object-orientedontology, amongst others, the genealogy of these theoretical movements arguably traces back to the confluence of two mutually reinforcing processes. On the one hand, the current unprecedented techno-scientific progress in areas such as Earth System Sciences and Science and Technology Studies has led to compelling narratives on unsettling events, including the potential effects of global warming as well as the uncertain future implications of developments in fields as, for instance, Artificial Intelligence. As a result of these challenges and speculations, the hypothetical finitude of the human being on the planet, far from abstract apocalyptic discourses, has become a strikingly perceptible experience. In other words, the stories about the distinctive, superior and masterful character of the human on Earth increasingly seem to fade, and its future seems unquestionably inextricable from broader beyond-the-human phenomena(see Tsing, 2015).The present age in which the human has compromised its own existence, or at least its position of dominance, to anthropogenic processes that surpass the sphere of human control has been defined by many scholars as the Anthropocene (see Crutzen &Stoermer, 2000).On the other hand, the tenets of this growing theoretical rubric claim the exhaustion and incapacity of the post-positivist paradigm, arguably the dominant register within critical theory over the last forty years, as unable to provide analytical tools that enhance the comprehensive understanding of the repositioning of the human in the Anthropocene era(see Bryant, Srnicek &Harman, 2011).To be precise, the limits of textual, discursive and semiotic methodological techniques are exposed as insufficient to capture and examine how Anthropocenic processes of transformation are reconfiguring the role of the human on the planet, let alone the relations with its environment.
- Topic:
- Security, Conflict, Peace, and Anthropocene
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
46. Securitising Covid-19? The Politics of Global Health and the Limits of the Copenhagen School
- Author:
- Daniel Elder Duarte and Marcelo Mello Valenca
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Contexto Internacional
- Institution:
- Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked controversies over health security strategies adopted in different countries. The urge to curb the spread of the virus has supported policies to restrict mobility and to build up state surveillance, which might induce authoritarian forms of government. In this context, the Copenhagen School has offered an analytical repertoire that informs many analyses in the fields of critical security studies and global health. Accordingly, the securitisation of COVID-19 might be necessary to deal with the crisis, but it risks unfolding discriminatory practices and undemocratic regimes, with potentially enduring effects. In this article, we look into controversies over pandemic-control strategies to discuss the political and analytical limitations of securitisation theory. On the one hand, we demonstrate that the focus on moments of rupture and exception conceals security practices that unfold in ongoing institutional disputes and over the construction of legitimate knowledge about public health. On the other hand, we point out that securitisation theory hinders a genealogy of modern apparatuses of control and neglects violent forms of government which are manifested not in major disruptive acts, but in the everyday dynamics of unequal societies. We conclude by suggesting that an analysis of the bureaucratic disputes and scientific controversies that constitute health security knowledges and practices enables critical approaches to engage with the multiple – and, at times, mundane – processes in which (in)security is produced, circulated, and contested.
- Topic:
- Security, Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
47. Naming Terror: Impact of Proscription on Negotiations with Non-State Armed Groups
- Author:
- Flavia Eichmann
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
- Institution:
- School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
- Abstract:
- This article explores what impact terrorist blacklists have on negotiated solutions to armed conflicts involving listed non-state armed groups. Even though conflicts that involve non-state armed groups do not usually end through these groups’ military defeat, governments around the globe tend to adopt hard-security approaches with regard to inner-state conflicts. Especially when groups resort to terrorist tactics, governments tend to be reluctant to engage peacefully with these actors and instead commonly rely on terrorist blacklists in order to delegitimize and restrict groups’ activities. While these blacklists are effective in criminalizing the operations of these groups, they can also severely impede peaceful dialogue and thus negatively impact the resolution of conflicts. Especially the work of NGOs and third-party peace practitioners is greatly constrained by criminalizing any form of interaction with listed groups. Additionally, in the absence of a universal definition of what constitutes a terrorist group, lists vary from country to country and the criteria for groups and individuals to get listed are often extremely vague. Furthermore, most lists fail to re-evaluate the proscribed groups on a regular basis and delisting procedures lack transparency. This article finds that blacklists severely disincentivize peaceful engagement with non-state armed groups and thus calls for a revision of contemporary proscription regimes in order to shift the focus of counterterrorism approaches towards viewing peaceful dialogue as a first option and not a last resort.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Terrorism, Non State Actors, Violent Extremism, Negotiation, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus and United States of America
48. The Influence of Diplomacy on Controversies: A Comparative Study Between Diplomatic Mediation and Armed Conflict
- Author:
- Cícero Ricci Cavini
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- International Security developed after the World War II, under the aspect of state protection. Traditional security currents have developed their theories in a Cold War environment, thus, there are epistemological elements of Rationalism and Positivism (Barrinha 2013; Lasmar 2017). The goal of this study is to observe the influence of diplomacy on international controversies, analyze real situations where diplomacy influenced the mediation choice and the armed conflict choice, and finally, deepen the knowledge of the consequences of war and mediation. The article has its theoretical framework on Post-Structuralism, characterized by Lasmar (2017) by the conditioning of the human being as meaning and attributor of the facts (social construction). In the International Security sphere, Post-Structuralism must nominate the threat or the protection as also the means for this. Therefore, it can expose the hidden intentions in the act of political construction (including political speech). The authors and researchers Christer Jönsson and Karin Aggestam question the preference of the states for mediation or war, and, given that, we intend to contribute with analysis under the diplomatic prism. Thus, we can align the revisited theory to the diplomatic actions, collaborating with the international security system.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Security, and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and Global Focus
49. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA) – Volume 12 Issue 03: COVID-19 and Terrorism
- Author:
- Raffaello Pantucci, Abdul Basit, Kyler Ong, Nur Aziemah Azman, V. Arianti, and Muh Taufiqurrohman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has redefined almost all spheres of modern life. While states around the world are redeploying their financial resources, energies and military capabilities to cope with the challenge of the coronavirus, terrorist groups across the ideological spectrum have positioned themselves to exploit the gaps created by these policy re-adjustments. Terrorist groups are milking people’s fears amid confusion and uncertainty to promote their extremist propagandas. The rearrangement of global imperatives will push counter-terrorism and extremism down the priority list of the international community. Anticipating these policy changes, existing counter-terrorism frameworks and alliances should be revisited to devise cost-effective and innovative strategies to ensure continuity of the fight against terrorist groups. With these considerations in mind, this special issue of the Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA) features four articles that identify and assess important security risks around COVID-19, given its far-reaching social, economic and geopolitical impact. In the first article, Raffaello Pantucci reasons that COVID-19 will have a deep-seated and prolonged impact across government activity, both in terms of the categorisation of risks, as well as the resources available to tackle other issues. Perceptions of risk around terrorist threats may shift, with states grappling with stark economic, social and political challenges. At the same time, security threats continue to evolve, and may even worsen. According to the author, some of the tools developed to deal with the pandemic can potentially be useful in tracking terrorist threats. However, resource constraints will require states, on a global scale, to think far more dynamically about how to adequately buffer much-needed security blankets both within and beyond their borders. In the second article, Abdul Basit outlines the opportunities and potential implications that COVID-19 has created for terrorist groups across the ideological divide. According to the author, terrorist groups have exploited the virus outbreak to spread racial hatred, doomsday and end-of-times narratives. Among jihadist groups, IS has taken a more totalitarian view of the coronavirus pandemic, while Al-Qaeda (AQ) and the Taliban have used it as a PR exercise to gain political legitimacy. Far-right groups in the West have spun it to promote native nationalism, border restoration and anti-immigration policies. Terrorist groups have increased their social media propaganda to radicalise and recruit vulnerable individuals. At the same time, these groups have urged their supporters to carry out lone-wolf attacks and use the coronavirus as a bioweapon. In the post-COVID-19 world, revisiting existing counter-terrorism frameworks to devise more adaptable and cost-effective strategies would be needed to continue the fight against terrorism. In the next article, V. Arianti and Muh Taufiqurrohman observe that the COVID-19 outbreak has had a varied impact on Indonesia’s security landscape. On the one hand, it has emboldened IS-affiliated Indonesian militant groups to step up calls for attacks, with the government seen as weakened amidst a worsening domestic health crisis. On the other, ongoing indoctrination and recruitment activities of militant groups have also faced disruptions. According to the authors, counter-terrorism strategies will need to be reoriented as circumstances evolve, particularly in dealing with the arrest of militants and the subsequent processes of their prosecution and incarceration. Finally, Kyler Ong and Nur Aziemah Azman examine the calls to action by far-right extremists and the Islamic State (IS), which reveals varying degrees of organisational coherence in the respective movements. According to the authors, such variations influence these two groups’ preferred techniques, tactics and procedures adopted in seeking to exploit the health crisis. For its part, IS has a more organised hierarchical structure, even if it has increasingly granted autonomy to its affiliates to plan and execute attacks. In comparison, the absence of a central authority, or command structure in the far-right, can lead to a fragmentation of interests. These factors invariably create uncertainties in how, when and where extremists of both ilk may seek to operationalise an attack.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, Health, Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Global Focus
50. Cybersecurity: State Attack and Response Strategies
- Author:
- Josephine Wolff and Ta-Chun Su
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Fletcher Security Review
- Institution:
- The Fletcher School, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- . One of the questions that has always been very interesting to me is “Who do we hold responsible when something goes wrong with cybersecurity?” While that is a technical question—because often when something goes wrong, there is a technical component since you are dealing with a computer and the Internet—it also very much has to do with what our liability regimes say, what our policies say, what our social norms and expectations say about who we hold accountable and who is expected to pay for the damage. So for me, I think cybersecurity is about trying to understand what we mean when we talk about the "secure Internet,” what it looks like to have a secure Internet, and who we hold responsible for all the different components of how you get there. To whom do we say “It’s your job not to answer the phishing emails,” or “It’s your job to look for bug traffic on the network.” How do we piece together that entirely complicated ecosystem of different stakeholders, and how do we identify what their different roles and responsibilities should be? ...
- Topic:
- Security, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, and Interview
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus