This study examines the legal framework for the protection of classified information in Kosovo, focusing on the role of the Agency for the Protection of Classified Information (APCI). The selection of APCI as the focal institution stems from its central role in implementing Kosovo's legal and institutional framework for classified information, following the country's efforts to align with Euro-Atlantic standards. In a newly established state like Kosovo, protecting sensitive information is crucial for national security. The study compares Kosovo's model with those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), and Western Balkan countries, highlighting its alignment with international standards. Through a comparative analysis, it evaluates how these practices affect APCI's operations and its significance in strengthening Kosovo's security capacities. The findings show that while Kosovo has made significant strides in establishing its legal infrastructure, APCI faces challenges related to human resources and technical capacities. The study suggests concrete measures for the full operationalization of APCI, including improvements in professional resources and international cooperation. These recommendations are essential to ensure that APCI fulfills its duties in line with international standards and successfully protects Kosovo's classified information.
In the context of growing competition in the information space, digital diplomacy is gaining key importance for the strategic security of states. This study analyzes how Russia and Kazakhstan use the YouTube platform to promote their foreign policy narratives, shape the image of the state, and strengthen digital sovereignty. Based on a qualitative analysis of 60 videos (30 for each country) published by official government channels between 2020 and 2024, differences in strategies, visual codes, tonality, and patterns of interaction with the audience were identified. The Russian approach is characterized by an aggressive narrative, antagonism to Western structures, and a high degree of ideologization. Kazakhstan, on the contrary, relies on the pragmatic promotion of the image of a stable, open, and modernizing state. The article documents that digital diplomacy in the context of platform algorithms is becoming an element of both foreign policy projection and ensuring internal stability. The conclusions emphasize that digital content management and citizen participation in international dialogues are becoming new challenges and opportunities in ensuring the strategic security of states.
This article examines human-artificial intelligence (AI) teaming in Ukrainian combat operations from 2022 to 2025, exploring the integration of AI systems with human decision-making in military contexts and how crisis-driven innovation can lead to human-AI teaming. The research addresses three questions: the effectiveness of human-AI teams compared with human-only or fully autonomous systems; the effect of organizational structures on the sustainability of AI integration; and strategic implications for the development of the doctrine and international security governance in the case of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The methodology uses mixed-method comparative case study analysis of three different Ukrainian systems: the Geographic Information System (GIS) Arta geospatial intelligence platform, the reconnaissance-strike unmanned aerial vehicle complex, and volunteer-supported decentralized targeting networks. Data collection was a combination of technical reports, operational battlefield metrics, and the standards of the NATO doctrines. Findings show that Ukrainian human-AI systems show good tactical performance in permissive electromagnetic environments with response times of 30 to 45 seconds and targeting accuracy of two meters but have significant vulnerabilities to electronic warfare—31% mission failure rates. Volunteer networks are highly resilient and have slower decision cycles. The research adds to strategic security, deterrence theory, military innovation theory, and organizational theory through the identification of mechanisms by which human-AI systems affect the stability of deterrence and offers recommendations for the development of the doctrine and international governance of AI for NATO.
This article critically examines if the public-private partnerships (PPPs) help the European Union strengthen its cyber resilience, a challenge that is now closely tied to the Union's broader strategic security goals. The discussion does not rely on one single angle. It moves back and forth between the legal side—looking at instruments such as the Network and Information Systems 2 (NIS2) Directive, the Cybersecurity Act, the proposed Cyber Resilience Act, and the Cyber Solidarity Act—and the lessons that come from practice. Examples include the dismantling of Operation Avalanche, the experience of the European Cyber Security Challenge, and the information-sharing efforts of the European Financial Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). These are not abstract cases: In several member states, incident detection became roughly a quarter faster and the volume of ransomware attacks fell once cooperation mechanisms were put in place. At the same time, nobody would claim the situation is solved. Trust between institutions and companies is still fragile, national responses remain fragmented, and the lack of trained professionals is felt everywhere. Complex interdependence is a useful concept here because it shows why PPPs cannot be treated as quick technical fixes. They are, instead, part of the structural foundations of cyber resilience in a digital environment. What the EU needs, therefore, is not only harmonized legislation and reliable incentives, but also workable ways to build and sustain trust among very different actors who often approach the problem from opposite perspectives.
Debates on military artificial intelligence (AI) remain skewed toward great power dynamics, oscillating between techno-optimist celebrations of speed and techno-pessimist warnings of collapse. This binary overlooks how middle powers, operating under nuclearized rivalry and asymmetric sanction risk, embed restraint into organizational and technical practice. This article develops Systems Restrained Realism (SRR), a framework that extends defensive realism into the machine age by theorizing restraint as a deliberate doctrinal posture rather than a symptom of incapacity. Using Pakistan as a critical case, the study draws on expert interviews, procurement manuals, and UN submissions to demonstrate how restraint is operationalized through latency as doctrine, embedded organizational oversight, and localized training regimes designed to mitigate classifier fragility. The findings reveal that while India's accelerationist AI trajectory projects capability and ambiguity, Pakistan engineers restraint into systems and decision loops, externalizing it through normative signaling at UN forums. This posture highlights a structural asymmetry: Great powers can afford AI misfires under the banner of innovation, while middle powers face punitive scrutiny for errors, incentivizing opacity over transparency. By foregrounding SRR, the study challenges dominant narratives that equate restraint with weakness and automation with stability. It argues that in an era of machine-speed conflict, survival may hinge not on what states automate but on what they refuse to.
Insider threats pose significant risks to critical assets within the United States. The US intelligence community has already experienced the consequences of insider compromise, such as the unauthorized release of classified material to WikiLeaks and foreign adversaries. Traditional mitigation strategies have struggled to keep pace with the evolving threat landscape. This article recommends updated interventions to detect and prevent insider threats within the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. A review of current research and best practices reveals three targeted strategies. First, organizations must prioritize the detection and reporting of anomalous behaviors that often precede insider incidents. Achieving this requires broad workforce involvement, engaged leadership, and a resilient security culture. Second, comprehensive risk assessments should enhance traditional background investigations by focusing on vulnerabilities linked to specific assets. Third, implementing and enforcing a social media policy can reduce susceptibility to social engineering and ideological manipulation. By aligning interventions with organizational risk profiles and behavioral patterns, agencies can proactively reduce insider compromise. A prevention-oriented approach, grounded in behavioral insight and workforce empowerment, offers the most effective defense against this evolving and persistent national security threat.
The rapid evolution of civilian-origin technologies repurposed for defense is reshaping the foundations of logistical advantage and altering the conditions under which armed forces operate. Modern missions rely on an extensive ecosystem of infrastructures—port terminals, cloud services, data platforms, and civilian contractors—whose reliability frequently lies beyond the authority of public institutions. This environment gives rise to shadow logistics, a network of civilian systems largely absent from conventional doctrine yet capable of producing significant operational disruptions when failures occur. Case studies show that some dark assets, whether physical or informational, can act as multipliers of effectiveness while simultaneously creating systemic vulnerabilities exploitable by state and non-state actors, including terrorist groups. Research on critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, and supply chain governance reveals how civilian systems may become instruments of leverage or coercion, sometimes unintentionally. The analysis also exposes a persistent blind spot in planning processes, notably the limited consideration given to extraterritorial digital services, commercial data brokers, and globally distributed cloud architectures that underpin essential functions. Strengthening logistical resilience requires more precise mapping of interdependencies, more robust public-private partnerships, fuller integration of civilian systems into multi-domain operations, and sovereign capabilities capable of sustaining continuity during periods of geopolitical tension.
The growing dependence of states on digital infrastructures has elevated national information security to a matter of strategic importance. This study examines the role of special services (intelligence agencies) in protecting against cyber threats, focusing on their legal, operational, and technological functions. Using a combination of comparative legal analysis, case law review, expert surveys, and statistical modelling across 20 countries, the research highlights both strengths and limitations of current approaches. The findings demonstrate that states with clear and specific legislation on intelligence and cybersecurity achieve a 26% higher rate of preventive success than those with ambiguous frameworks. Strong judicial oversight also correlates with significantly lower rates of privacy breaches (12% compared to 32% under weak oversight). However, the results must be interpreted cautiously, as the definition, categorization, and reporting of cyber incidents vary widely across jurisdictions. Some countries classify any intrusion attempt as an attack, while others only record confirmed breaches, leading to systemic underreporting and limiting the reliability of cross-national comparisons. This study contributes to bridging legal, technical, and operational perspectives by underscoring the importance of standardized definitions and reporting practices. The practical implications are threefold: (1) to guide policymakers in designing clearer legislative frameworks; (2) to strengthen mechanisms of international cooperation and intelligence-sharing; and (3) to inform the integration of emerging technologies such as AI and quantum encryption into intelligence practice. The results emphasize the need for both national reforms and coordinated international standards to enhance resilience against the evolving cyber-threat landscape.
India-Central Asia relations have gained strategic significance driven by its historical ties, growing economic interests, and, most importantly, evolving security dynamics. This article deals with multifaceted security concerns such as drug trafficking, terrorism, radicalization, and the implications of instability in Afghanistan. The findings show that security concerns in the region, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, constitute a significant obstacle, alongside geographical challenges, to India's connectivity with the Central Asian Republics (CARS). India's rising aspiration to increase connectivity and build closer ties with the region in energy, trade, and commerce heavily relies on a peaceful, prosperous, and stable Central and South Asia. This article emphasizes the significance of the security question for all five CARS from their emergence to the present. It argues that the evolving threat environment in Central Asia creates a compelling case for India to pursue deeper security cooperation with the region's republics to promote regional stability and advance its strategic interests.
This article explores the geopolitical ramifications of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, focusing on how it has catalyzed strategic realignments among China, Russia, and Iran in Eurasia. By examining the withdrawal’s impact on the regional power dynamics, the article analyzes how these revisionist states have exploited the resulting power vacuum to assert their influence and challenge the existing international order. China has used this moment to expand its Belt and Road Initiative, Russia has felt emboldened to escalate its military actions in Ukraine, and Iran, despite regional setbacks, remains determined in pursuing its revisionist strategy in Eurasia. The study employs an analytic and qualitative methodology to identify patterns of geopolitical behavior and alignments. It also integrates relevant literature on post-unipolarity and multipolarity to frame these developments within the broader context of the shifting global order. Ultimately, the article demonstrates that the U.S. withdrawal has contributed to the emergence of a multipolar world, incrementally reshaping the contours of global power competition.
An objective evaluation of Afghanistan’s political and socioeconomic situation since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021 is crucial for understanding and addressing security issues at the national, regional, and global levels. Unlike most studies, this article provides new insights, offering a balanced assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and developing recommendations on dealing with the Taliban regime. By employing qualitative methods and a rational theory framework, this article argues that Afghanistan under Taliban rule is experiencing a mix of positive and negative trends. Major positive trends include the relative peace in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s real power and control over the country, the reduction in the cultivation and production of drugs, and the Taliban’s readiness for cooperation with international actors. In turn, major negative trends observed in Afghanistan include the continued terrorism threat, the rising religious extremism and fundamentalism, the intensifying humanitarian crisis, and the ongoing gross violation of human rights. Against such complexity, the most optimal strategy for the international community to deal with the Taliban should be based on RED principles: Recognition, Engagement, and Deterrence. This RED Strategy is not only an embodiment of the “carrot and stick” approach, but a comprehensive conceptual framework to motivate the Taliban to act accountably and responsibly.
This article seeks to show how our successes and overall strategic failing in Afghanistan – in particular, the swift takeover by Taliban forces despite two decades of nation-building and partnering – can be a teachable moment. Specifically, how a more realistic, grounded understanding of human nature and decision making, informed by concepts of human incentives, uncertainty, and risk, can assist us in certain warzones. This understanding may be critical in current and future conflicts where the (1) the formal governing system is ineffective, (2) said government tends to be unresponsive to the needs of lower-level leaders and the population, and (3) the culture lends itself to a stronger framework for localized self-governance and decision making. The author draws on existing military literature, local ABP/VSO outcomes, and insights into human nature and behavior. Broadly, the article fuses the following themes together in a way that is both academically sound and operationally feasible: Afghan culture and human behavior, bottom-up vs top-down governance, tribal engagement and village stability, US Military operational planning and risk assessment methodology (wargaming), and reconciling our approach with realities on the ground for future wars and conflicts.
Many developing, landlocked countries, such as Nepal and Afghanistan, face significant challenges in accessing international markets, which hinders their development. These issues inspired the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, which grants landlocked states the right to navigate through coastal territories for trade. This article investigates how UNCLOS has influenced the transit and trade of Nepal and Afghanistan since the treaty's signing. The research examines the macroeconomic impacts of UNCLOS on these countries, focusing on trade trends and regional cooperation agreements. It analyzes how UNCLOS has facilitated increased trade and new economic activities while highlighting ongoing challenges, including reliance on neighboring ports, regional political instability, and infrastructural barriers. Additionally, the article evaluates UNCLOS's role in fostering regional collaboration and economic strategies for trade enhancement, alongside the contributions of organizations like the WTO in supporting landlocked states. Despite the legal frameworks established by UNCLOS, the overall impact on trade remains contingent upon global politics and the economic conditions of the countries involved. To optimize the benefits of UNCLOS for Nepal and Afghanistan, the article recommends policies that emphasize regional cooperation, infrastructure development, and engagement with international organizations to strengthen trade opportunities.
The American occupation of Afghanistan from 2001-2021 is widely regarded as a strategic failure, particularly after the Taliban took over the government in 2021. This work seeks to observe the strategic flaws of the 20-year occupation from the perspective of nation-building within the state. Using the theoretical lens of strategic culture and borrowing from Huntington’s discourse on the clash of civilizations, this article notes that nation-building failure in Afghanistan can be attributed to the ideological differences between the West and the Middle East. Using a descriptive qualitative approach and secondary sources such as books and peer-reviewed articles, the study employs thematic analysis to identify key areas of strategic flaws. The findings highlight three major areas of concern: strategic miscalculation and mission creep, over-militarization and over-reliance on hard power, and the hasty withdrawal of troops in 2021 without creating sustainable nation-building structures in Afghanistan. These flaws culminated in the Taliban’s take-over weeks after the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. In line with these findings, the study recommends that future strategies should incorporate the local culture of the native population into nation-building efforts, and it should have well-defined goals and exit timelines in order to prevent strategic failure, as in the case of Afghanistan.
Four years after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, the country under the clerics’ rule is peaceful but not stable. The country is internationally isolated, economically in crisis and socio-politically divided. Despite earlier pledges to share power with other Afghan parties and respect democratic rights of all Afghans,1 the Taliban swiftly reinstated many of their harshest policies, pushing women out of public life and allowing no dissent. Adhering to an ideology of radical exceptionalism, the ruling Taliban maintain control over the country through a totalitarian governance while keeping ideological ties with regional and global Jihadist groups. The situation complicates efforts to balance the drive of a hardline ideology with practical demands of running a government and engaging with the international community. In geopolitical terms, the Taliban regime has outwardly stated its commitment to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks on other countries. However, the ability and willingness of the Taliban to enforce this commitment are questionable and under scrutiny. This article evaluates the enormous challenges pertaining to legitimacy, governance, and economic hurdles facing the Taliban and whether the Taliban government, without embracing reforms, can survive amidst internal dissent, economic hardships, and international isolation. 1. Serajuddin Haqqani, What We, the Taliban, Want, the New York Times, February 20, 2020
This article explores the challenges and failures of nation-building under occupation Amidst an active warfare, using Afghanistan as a critical case study. Over two decades, the US-led intervention sought to establish stability and democracy but ultimately faltered due to misaligned strategies and systemic flaws. Efforts to impose Western governance structures clashed with Afghanistan’s deeply rooted tribal and cultural norms, fueling resistance and eroding legitimacy. The article identifies key shortcomings, including the neglect of local agency, cultural insensitivity, over-reliance on military solutions, and the perpetuation of dependency and corruption. It argues that nation-building by occupying forces is inherently flawed without prioritizing local ownership, cultural alignment, and respect for sovereignty. Drawing on lessons from Afghanistan, the article advocates for a localized and culturally adaptive approach to governance, emphasizing long-term commitment and integrated development strategies. These findings provide critical insights for rethinking international interventions and fostering sustainable, locally driven nation-building efforts.
