Espionage counteraction as national security paradigm of 21st century

Abstract

The research relevance is determined by the advancement of technologies in contemporary society, which expand the possibilities and methods for committing espionage crimes. Accordingly, countering espionage in all its modern manifestations is an urgent task for the authorities and the legal system. The study aims to explore espionage, modern tactics, and strategies employed by global leaders to counter it, with a particular focus on the legal aspects. The primary approach utilized in this study is comparative legal analysis, which was used to analyse the approaches of states of several continents in countering espionage to protect national security. The formal legal method was also employed. The research involved a legal examination of the concept of “espionage” and explored various approaches adopted by states with differing economic statuses to combat contemporary espionage techniques. Additionally, a comparative assessment of national legal frameworks aimed at identifying new espionage methods, preventing criminal offences against national security, and mitigating the adverse effects of espionage on governmental, political, economic, and social domains was conducted. Primarily, the study holds theoretical significance, as it culminates in a comparative analysis of espionage countermeasures across states with varying economic capacities. These findings could potentially inform enhancements to espionage countermeasures within state systems, where such tools are obsolete and fail to address contemporary challenges effectively in the face of new technological ways of committing a criminal offence against national security by espionage