External Security Threats Research Articles

"Digital Nationalism" as the Embodiment of the Chinese Doctrine of the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence"

The article focuses on the special public international relations emerging among the subjects of public international law regarding the enforcement of state sovereignty in the conditions of digitalization of the economy and ensuring national interests in the field of security. The subject of the study is the Chinese doctrine of public international law. The author analyzes the legal regulations in the field of digital economy in China. The Chinese model of "digital nationalism" is being analyzed. The state sovereignty over the cyberspace is being embodied through the category of "cyber sovereignty" and the doctrine of "five principles of peaceful coexistence". The state has to implement the policy of "digital nationalism" to ensure its sovereignty. The Chinese theory of public international law is based on the doctrine of the peaceful existence of nations with different political, economic, social and cultural systems, based on a set of five fundamental principles, which facilitate the achievement of common goals while maintaining a balance of national interests. State sovereignty is the crucial point of this doctrine, since peaceful coexistence of nations is achieved through mutual respect for sovereignty. The concept of a "community of common destiny" defines the goal identified by China implementing the five principles of peaceful coexistence. The Chinese approach to the implementation of cyber sovereignty does not imply the "Balkanization" of global cyberspace, on the contrary, it is supposed to maintain the ground for the development of international legal norms in the field of information security. Therefore, the Chinese concept of cyber sovereignty, which is based on "digital nationalism", embodies the logical and expected reaction of national authorities to internal and external security threats. The Chinese theory of public international law is not a scholastic construct, but an objective reality.

Modernizing or equalizing? Defence budget and military modernization in the Philippines, 2010 – 2020

ABSTRACT The Republic Act (R.A.) 10,349, otherwise known as the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program, is a recapturing of the AFP’s initial efforts at modernizing. Successor to R.A. 7898, the document reorients the priorities and the fiscal responsibilities of the Philippine government in ensuring the modernization of the armed forces into the twenty-first century. The concept of modernization 25 years onward has matured but it has barely deepened in implementation much to the detriment of AFP itself. Despite warnings of external security threats, the study has found nominal evidence hinting at the defence budget’s continuous prioritization of internal security threats. The study has likewise found that modernization funds set forth by R.A. 10,349 are not utilized to “modernize” the armed forces in the truest sense of the word. The study recommends addressing this issue of prioritization before any further attempt at military modernization.

Distributed Authentication Model for Secure Network Connectivity in Network Separation Technology.

Considering the increasing scale and severity of damage from recent cybersecurity incidents, the need for fundamental solutions to external security threats has increased. Hence, network separation technology has been designed to stop the leakage of information by separating business computing networks from the Internet. However, security accidents have been continuously occurring, owing to the degradation of data transmission latency performance between the networks, decreasing the convenience and usability of the work environment. In a conventional centralized network connection concept, a problem occurs because if either usability or security is strengthened, the other is weakened. In this study, we proposed a distributed authentication mechanism for secure network connectivity (DAM4SNC) technology in a distributed network environment that requires security and latency performance simultaneously to overcome the trade-off limitations of existing technology. By communicating with separated networks based on the authentication between distributed nodes, the inefficiency of conventional centralized network connection solutions is overcome. Moreover, the security is enhanced through periodic authentication of the distributed nodes and differentiation of the certification levels. As a result of the experiment, the relative efficiency of the proposed scheme (REP) was about 420% or more in all cases.

Challenges for Security Threat of Ethiopia in Using Subaltern Realist Security Theory Perspective

Subaltern is the postcolonial approach to study international relation from the week states’ perspective. It is the offspring of realism which focuses on internal vulnerability is a major source of insecurity. The paper is applied as a framework to explain security threats in Ethiopia and reviewed papers that are writing on Ethiopian national security. This term paper reviewed and classified the Ethiopian security threats as internal and external. By consulting the bulk of literature and my daily academic talk with colleagues; Poverty, famine, recurrent and drought, National integrity (consolidating Ethnic conflict federalism), The danger of succession and state failure, Democratization and election issues are identified as Internal security threats. On the other hand Terrorism, Proliferation of arms, Fragile Relation with Neighboring governments, Nile politics and neighboring countries’ spreading civil wars are claimed to be External security threats. To sustain the sparkle of democracy and development achieved throughout the last decades, it is imperative to work aggressively and focus on the country’s internal vulnerability

European Strategic Autonomy: The Test Case of Iran

Abstract The ideal of the European Union (EU) as a global peace and security actor is increasingly clashing with the reality of a multipolar world defined by militarised conflict, and a loosening of the formerly close trans-Atlantic relationship with the United States. European policy-makers have identified strategic autonomy as a possible remedy in the face of a growing number of internal and external security threats. This paper adds to the conceptualisation of strategic autonomy by contextualising its current usage and political genealogy. Empirically, European strategic autonomy is examined concerning the efforts to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal after the Trump administration had ceased US participation in May 2018. In particular, the paper assesses the European response to counter the re-imposed unilateral United States (US) sanctions against European individuals and entities by updating the so-called blocking regulation, and setting up a special purpose vehicle (spv) for facilitating trade with Iran. The results show that the European struggle toward achieving strategic autonomy has largely failed, but that it holds valuable lessons to approximate this ideal in the future.

A Survey on Various Attacks and Countermeasures in Wireless Sensor Networks

The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is an evolving technological base comprising spatially dispersed, autonomous tiny sensing devices called nodes. Today, wireless sensor networks are not exclusively limited to military uses such as frontline surveillance. However, they are still used in various industrial and civilian applications, including industrial process tracking and operation, robotic health monitoring, vibration and flame monitoring, healthcare systems, home automation, and traffic management. Nodes, such as temperature, hermetic, vibration, pressure, leisure seizure, or pollutant parameters, are deployed independently to cooperatively control mammal or environmental conditions. The compulsion of security issues occurs in the Wireless Sensor Network to be accepted with complete zip honesty, confidentiality, authentication during contact. In this paper, we analyze the security criteria, internal and external security threats and attacks that can be done, and the mechanism used in the Wireless Sensor Network to address such security issues.

Correlates of South Korean Public Opinion on Nuclear Proliferation

What explains South Korean public opinion on nuclear weapons development? Despite the US security commitment, most South Koreans consistently support independent nuclear weapons development. To solve this puzzle, we investigate the mechanisms of security threat and security commitment under which individuals develop their opinion on nuclear proliferation. An original survey of 1,988 South Korean adults shows empirically supported correlates of South Korean public opinion on nuclear proliferation. Public support for proliferation is largely shaped by external security threats: nuclear threats from North Korea and China, but also the latent nuclear superiority of Japan. Public opposition to proliferation is fostered by the perceived credibility of the US security commitment, but not by its perceived effectiveness. The results provide insights into South Korean public opinion on nuclear proliferation and can inform the design of a nonproliferation policy tailored to South Korea.

A Novel Security Methodology for Smart Grids: A Case Study of Microcomputer-Based Encryption for PMU Devices

Coordination of a power system with the phasor measurement devices (PMUs) in real time on the load and generation sides is carried out within the context of smart grid studies. Power systems equipped with information systems in a smart grid pace with external security threats. Developing a smart grid which can resist against cyber threats is considered indispensable for the uninterrupted operation. In this study, a two-way secure communication methodology underpinned by a chaos-based encryption algorithm for PMU devices is proposed. The proposed system uses the IEEE-14 busbar system on which the optimum PMU placement has been installed. The proposed hyperchaotic system-based encryption method is applied as a new security methodology among PMU devices. The success of results is evaluated by the completeness of data exchange, durations, the complexity of encryption-decryption processes, and strength of cryptography using a microcomputer-based implementation. The results show that the proposed microcomputer-based encryption algorithms can be directly embedded as encryption hardware units into PMU and PDC devices which have very fast signal processing capabilities taking into considerations the acceptable delay time for power system protection and measuring applications and quality metering applications which is 2 ms and 10 ms, respectively. While proposed algorithms can be used in TCP or UDP over IP-based IEEE C37.118, IEC 61850, and IEC 61850-90-5 communication frameworks, they can also be embedded into electronic cards, smartcards, or smart tokens which are utilized for authentication among smart grid components.

Internal and External Security Challenges of Nepal

Nepal has been a home to diversified settlement in terms of ethnicity, religion, dialect and culture since its outset in civilization. It also lies between two great military and economic giants of Asia – India and China – that are hostile to each other. While these bring abundant opportunities for Nepal, it possesses several internal and external security threats. Nepal suffers from cyber-attack, environmental degradation, pandemic, ethnic, racial or religious conflicts, inequality and poverty, extremism, human trafficking, corruption, migration and trans-boundary crime. In addition, Nepal also faces several security threats, traditional and non–traditional, including terrorism and insurgency. These threats possess serious implications on peace and security of Nepal and the South Asian region. There is a need of serious study about the major internal and external security challenges that Nepal faces in recent decades. This study aims at examining some of the major security challenges, explore the factors behind it, and attempt to suggest few policy recommendations to the government of Nepal to deal with them. The study is conducted by reviewing the primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data includes documents of the government agencies, press release, joint statement and organizational reports. It also includes the interviews with security experts, bureaucrats, policy makers and academicians. Similarly, secondary data includes books, news reports, academic journals, seminars report and reports of research institutes and think tanks. The study highlights that Nepal should prepare itself to meet with the emerging internal and external security challenges what have emerged in recent times. With the rise of India and China, two adversarial powers in the region, Nepal possess extreme challenges in days to come. Similarly, hardly any countries of the world had prepared itself to deal with recent pandemic like COVID-19 that has shattered even the most powerful countries of the world. Taking lessons from these, it is time for Nepal to learn and prepare to mitigate the challenges.

Developing Application in Anticipating DDoS Attacks on Server Computer Machines

The use of server computer machines in companies is primarily a web hosting server that is very easy to experience threats, especially external security threats such as attempts to infiltrate, hacking, viruses, and other malicious attacks. Having a secure server is indispensable for working online and especially if involved in business-related network transactions. The Server's realization to be safe from threats is to protect the server machine's security on the hardware and software side and pay attention to network security that goes to the server machine. Generally, firewall applications on router devices have configuration limitations in securing the network, namely non-integrated applications. In other words, it is necessary to manage the perfect firewall configuration to anticipate Distributed Daniel attacks of Service (DDoS) attacks. Therefore, this study aims to integrate existing firewall applications for router devices into an integrated program to secure the network. The methodology used is the Network Development Life Cycle (NDLC). The research results on this developed application program can overcome DDoS attacks without setting up a firewall on the router device and can automatically monitor DDoS attack activities from outside the Server. Securing servers from DDoS attacks without setting up a firewall on the router device and automating the monitoring of DDoS attack activity from outside the Server are the novelties of this study that have not been available in previous studies.

Enhancing Bilateral Cooperation: Indonesia-Russia Defense Relations

This research aims to elaborate further on Indonesia and Russia bilateral cooperation by utilizing defense relations in the Southeast Asia region. Indonesia’s defense cooperation with Russia is a strategy of sustaining foreign and defense policy instruments abroad to achieve interests and protect national sovereignty. This study uses a descriptive analysis of qualitative approach, and done through literature-based relating to the problems that arise. Additionally, journals, related documents, and websources are also used as supporting data. It employs neorealism approach in understanding bilateral defense relations. Thus, by strengthening Indonesian defense diplomacy, how Indonesia national interests is able to pursue closer defense cooperation with Russia, and how this collaborationcontributes to Indonesian defense diplomacy regionally in encountering external threat. However, through the ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum, Indonesia’s defense diplomacy utilized strategy which aim to generating mutual confidence, and reducing potential threats that can arise from the external threat. Indonesia, so far, has utilized its defense diplomacy by intensifying defense cooperation with Russia to foster a sense of mutual trust and enhancement effort in national defense capabilities to anticipate any potential external security threats. Indonesia’s effort to enhance its regional power reputation for implementing foreign and defense policy at the international level, particularly at upgrading its national defense system. This research revealed that by strengthening economic cooperation and defense diplomacy, Indonesia would secure its defense cooperation with Russia and vice versa. As the most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, 3rd world largest democraciesand significant regional power, intentionally has a strategic interest in maintaining peace and stability.

Who Gets Smart: Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate

The precision strike complex represents a key element of military power for countries around the world. Nothing symbolizes the precision strike complex more than smart bombs—the guided aerial bombs that the United States first debuted in the Vietnam War. Yet, international relations scholars know little about these important weapons and what explains their proliferation. In this paper, we introduce new data on the proliferation of smart bombs from 1960-2017. We then theorize about the key drivers of proliferation, including an interaction between the security environment, regime type, and the interest of states in precision for reasons having to do with following the law of war. The results show that both internal and external security threats make countries more likely to acquire smart bombs, and that this effect is magnified when countries are democratic or are more likely to ratify treaties related to the law of war. GDP per capita and supply-side factors also appear key to explaining smart bomb proliferation.

Correlates of South Korean Public Opinion on Nuclear Proliferation

What explains South Korean public opinion about nuclear weapons development? Despite the US security commitment, a majority of South Koreans consistently support independent nuclear weapons development. To solve this puzzle, we investigate the mechanisms of security threats and security commitment under which individuals develop their opinion on nuclear proliferation. An original survey of 1,988 South Korean adults shows empirically supported correlates of South Korean public opinion on nuclear proliferation. First, public support for proliferation is largely shaped by external security threats: nuclear weapons threats from North Korea and China, and even superior nuclear latency threats from Japan. Second, public opposition to proliferation is shaped by the perceived credibility of the US security commitment but not by the perceived effectiveness. The results provide important insights for understanding the South Korean public opinion on nuclear proliferation and for designing a nonproliferation policy tailored to South Korea.

Application of Digital Twin Technology for Modelling of Information Security Level of Industrial Plant

Maintaining the high level of information security at all stages of production is one of the most important tasks of modern industrial plans. In this case, the complex (integrated) approach plays a special role in which information security is realized on maximum number of automated systems and communication channels. The article is devoted to the mechanism of modelling the realization of external and internal information security threats by means of digital twin application. The presented model is a generalized digital copy of all industrial automated systems.

Rethinking “Alliances”: The Case of South Africa as a Rising Power

ABSTRACT How does South Africa view international alliances? International relations (IR) scholars have been debating the end of alliances and the relevance of the alliance paradigm itself. South Africa presents an excellent test case for advancing these debates for three reasons. First, it has been committed to nonalignment yet engages in close and complex inter-state collaborations. Second, debates about the alliance paradigm have largely taken place in, and focused on, the Global North. And third, there is a gap in South African scholarship on this subject. This article examines the South African understanding of alliances through a systematic study of its academic and policy landscape including an analysis of 285 articles from South Africa’s five most highly ranked IR journals and key policy documents produced during the post-apartheid period. The article outlines how alliances are conceptualized and operationalized. It finds that the alliance concept in South Africa departs from the traditional understanding in the Global North: alliances are often driven by mutually shared political and developmental objectives rather than an external security threat. These objectives, combined with a perception of new economic opportunities, have led to an increase in the importance of South Africa’s strategic partnerships with rising powers, and reinforced its multi-alignment diplomacy.

Alternative Approach of ‘The Rational Actor Theory’ in North Korea Leader’s Behavior

Until now, The rational actor theory has been recognized as a very useful tool for interpreting international politics. At the same time, however, it has also been a subject of numerous academic controversies. The heart of debates is whether the actor s behavior can be objectified amid a lack of information about the actor s rational reference point . This raises questions about whether it is appropriate to use The rational actor theory as a tool to interpret North Korea s political decisions. This is because there is very little information on the reference point of North Korean policy-makers. Whether it is right to adopt the The rational actor theory as a tool to interpret North Korean policies with the little information, and how to supplement the problem of lack of information, if adopted, is an important task for researchers. After considering the problems pointed out above, it comes to the conclusion that it is reasonable to interpret their actions from the perspective of North Korean(internal actors) if they can have an objective explanation of the North s reference point. In this study, the views of both the inside and the outside are tried to be applied step by step in order to overcome the limits of the The rational actor theory . When finding out the key policy-makers, the final objectives and goals, and the process of achieving goals, which are the main factors in forming The rational actor theory , internal actors perspectives will be applied, and restrictions in the process of achieving the goal will be analyzed from the perspective of an external analyst. When the above analysis method is applied to the North Korean case, it can be inferred that Kim Jong-Un will set goals and act between the best and the lesser worst cases because he is a rational actor concentrated on interested in Regime interest . and His best goal is to secure regime interest without internal and external security threats, and the lesser worst is to secure only short-term regime stability with security threats. therefore, he will set a goal somewhere between these two options, and aim for the best.

The many gendered faces of teachers’ views on schools and security

This article analyses the gendered nature of teachers’ views on schools and security. Current research on security emphasizes masculinity and the absence of femininity in relation to the security field – traditionally dominated by the military and emergency rescue services. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the areas of society that are new to the security field. Schools, pupils and teachers are gendered in many ways. What happens when security is added to this nexus? Existing, limited research suggests that this relationship may be both complicated and gendered. A qualitative content analysis is conducted based on interviews with teachers and principals from two municipalities in Sweden. It shows that teachers hold gendered views of their roles as security actors; of pupils in relation to security, as subjects of risks and sources of threats; and of external security threats. Men are embodied as positive or negative actors, whereas women are embodied mostly as powerless actors. Teachers give voice to a discourse focused on everyday insecurities. This is important, as the role of teachers (in particular women) as promoters of democratic citizens risks becoming undermined, and individual perspectives of security risk becoming replaced by national perspectives.

Transnational governance of cybersecurity: policy challenges and global inequalities in cyber capacity building

Connectivity infrastructure is constantly expanding, increasing internet access across countries, regions and socio-political contexts. Given the fast-changing geography of the internet, there is a growing demand to strengthen cyber capacity beyond national frameworks, in order to develop a transnationally coherent and coordinated governance approach to cybersecurity. In this context, cyber capacity building initiatives are increasingly central in international debates, with the ambition to support countries in the Global South in fostering their cybersecurity strategy from technical and policy perspectives. This article discusses the key factors explaining states’ efforts to enhance their cyber capacity. Based on a cross-national quantitative research approach, the findings contradict international relations (IR)-derived approaches to cybersecurity, which assume that countries develop their cyber capacity according to external security threats, domestic politics or norms. In line with existing research on the role that science plays in policymaking processes more broadly, our results suggest instead that a country’s science and technical knowledge is the most robust explanation for that state’s cyber capacity level. These findings emphasise the need for policymakers to support countries in the Global South in developing their cyber capacity beyond national security paradigms by strengthening education and technical skills in contexts lacking in this resource.

Medical Device Safety Management Using Cybersecurity Risk Analysis

Hospital biomedical engineering teams are responsible for establishing and regulating medical equipment management programs (MEMPs); these programs ensure the safety and reliability of medical devices. Concomitant with rapid technological advancements, medical devices have been developed that are now being integrated with information and communication technology. However, with the convergence of such diverse technologies, internal and external security threats are continuously increasing. Thus, to reduce medical device security threats, important devices must be identified and prioritized. In this study, we propose a multicriteria decision-making model that prioritizes medical devices by extending the Fennigkoh and Smith model to include security threats. First, we formulate criteria for evaluating medical device functions based on the classification of the medical devices according to their unique functions, connections, and data types. Then, through threat modeling, we develop a method of identifying and evaluating security threats to these devices. We discuss establishing a safer MEMP by analyzing the attack occurrence probability (AOP) and attack success probability (ASP) of medical devices and the inherent security threats that these devices face, none of which are considered in the existing model. Thus, by using the enhanced Fennigkoh and Smith model, our proposed approach enables the development of improved security-enhanced MEMPs, including cybersecurity risk assessments.

The Effects of the Current Security System’s Transformation on the Security of the Central European Nation States

The end of the bipolar world order at the end of the 20th century, which has had a strong impact on the global security system and particularly affected the Central European states to this day, gave rise to an analytical-evaluative approach to the security threats in the region. The topic of this doctoral research (‘An Analysis- and Evaluation-based Approach to the Security Threats in Central Europe’) is primarily the analysis and evaluation of the risk factors to the V-4 states, especially Slovakia and Hungary. The article analyses the external security challenges, risks, and threats identified on the basis author’s objective perception and can be primarily classified as ones within political and military dimensions. Of course, this does not dismiss the possibility that the threats not discussed in this study are non-existent. With the use of National Security and Defence Strategies and annual Security Assessment Reports the article presents the risk factors identified by Slovakia and the Czech Republic.