Political Science and Security Studies Journal

External Actor Influence on Non-State Actors and Its Impact on Syria’s War

Ariful Amin Talukdar — 2026-09-30

This article examines how external sponsorship of non-state actors affected the trajectory of the Syrian civil war between 2011 and December 2024. It compares two sponsorship relationships: the United States–Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) partnership and Iran’s support for Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian armed groups. The comparison focuses on four dimensions: mechanisms of external support, the degree of sponsor influence over the supported actor, effects on territorial and military capacity, and implications for conflict management and political settlement. The study employs a qualitative comparative case-study design and thematic analysis of academic publications, policy reports, official documents, and specialist analyses. Sources were selected for their relevance to the research question and assessed through source triangulation, with particular attention to consistency across scholarly, governmental, and specialist accounts. The findings indicate that the two sponsorship models produced different patterns of influence. U.S. support for the SDF was comparatively conditional and operationally focused, particularly on countering the Islamic State, while the SDF retained significant political objectives of its own. Iranian support for Hezbollah and allied militias was more deeply embedded in a broader regional security network and was closely connected to the survival of the Assad government. Both relationships altered local balances of power and complicated the prospects for a negotiated settlement, but the evidence does not support treating external sponsorship alone as the cause of the war’s duration. Rather, external support interacted with domestic fragmentation, regime strategies, regional rivalries, and the changing territorial balance. The article argues that proxy relationships are best understood as mechanisms that reshape the incentives and capabilities of conflict actors rather than as single, independent causes of conflict prolongation. The study is limited by its reliance on secondary sources and its focus on two sponsorship relationships.

Integration of Intelligence Processes into NATO’s Strategic and Operational Planning System

Vasyl Shkoliarenko — 2026-09-30

The evolving security environment, characterized by hybrid threats, multidomain operations, rapid technological change, and growing volumes of information, requires closer integration of intelligence into NATO’s strategic and operational planning. Existing Alliance concepts, including Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR), Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), the NATO Operational Planning Process (OPP), and the Comprehensive Approach, provide complementary foundations but do not independently provide an end-to-end intelligence governance architecture. The aim of this study is to examine the evolution, organizational architecture, and functional integration of NATO intelligence within strategic and operational planning and to develop a conceptual model for intelligence-driven planning. Using qualitative conceptual, comparative, structural-functional, and process analyses of NATO doctrinal and policy documents and relevant academic literature, the study identifies functional relationships among intelligence requirements, collection, processing, analysis, decision support, operational execution, assessment, feedback, and organizational learning. The proposed model treats intelligence as a continuous governance function linking strategic objectives to operational decisions and assessed effects. It complements JISR, MDO, OPP, and the Comprehensive Approach while incorporating artificial intelligence, decision-support systems, geographic information systems, big data analytics, and C4ISR/C5ISR as enabling capabilities that support human-centered decision-making. The conceptual contribution is an integrated framework for continuous intelligence-to-decision traceability and adaptive feedback across the planning lifecycle. Its practical value lies in supporting interoperability, planning refinement, multinational exercises, capability development, and subsequent empirical validation of intelligence integration mechanisms.

Regional Defense Cooperation and Collective Security: The Case of the Saudi–Turkish–Pakistani Alliance in the Middle East

Fawaz Khamees — 2026-09-30

This article examines the Saudi–Turkish–Pakistani Alliance defense coalition as a test case for whether trilateral security cooperation can advance collective security in the Middle East. Applying Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) to a case that deliberately spans the Middle Eastern and South Asian security complexes. The study develops a five-part conceptual typology “strategic alignment, security cooperation, defense alliance, collective defense, and collective security”, and applies it through qualitative document analysis and structured cross-national comparison across six dimensions: strategic drivers, capability complementarity, institutional characteristics, convergence and divergence of national interests, constraints on institutionalization, and implications for regional deterrence. The analysis finds that the coalition codifies a binding mutual-defense clause that exceeds informal strategic alignment but has not achieved the institutionalization “a joint command, standing forces, a published treaty text, or a demonstrated response to an actual attack” that would place it within collective security in the stricter, universalist sense; it is best classified as a nascent collective-defense alliance. The study concludes that the coalition marks a genuine departure from the region's reliance on external security guarantees and bilateral arrangements, but that its evolution into a durable collective-defense or collective-security framework remains, on present evidence, an open empirical question.

Teaching English for Specific Purposes to Master’s Students in National Security: A Multimedia Approach

Inna Semeniako — 2026-09-30

This study examines the methodological features of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to Master’s students in national security through a multimedia approach. It identifies the professional, cognitive, communicative, and socio-psychological competences relevant to this context and analyzes the pedagogical potential of authentic materials, project-based learning, web-quests, and web-cases. The study employs a conceptual and methodological design based on content and contextual analysis of ESP-related educational requirements and relevant literature, together with comparative analysis, classification, systematization, and generalization of pedagogical practices. The analysis indicates that a multimedia approach can support the integration of language learning with professionally oriented national security tasks, particularly when authentic materials and scenario-based project activities are used. Project-based learning and web-quests provide structured opportunities for professional communication and analytical work, whereas web-cases are identified as a promising method requiring further implementation and evaluation in this educational context. The multimedia approach offers a coherent framework for combining ESP objectives with professionally relevant content, interactive learning, and guided self-study. Its effectiveness, however, depends on appropriate methodological support, access to suitable digital resources, and further empirical evaluation.

The Joint Expeditionary Force in the European Security System: Institutional Evolution and Prospects for Partnership with Ukraine

Vitalii Kraskovskyi — 2026-10-01

This article examines the opportunities and limitations of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) as a regional defense cooperation framework and assesses prospects for partnership with Ukraine. It uses a qualitative case study design and documentary analysis of official materials and research publications, covering 2014 to 1 September 2026. The theoretical framework combines defense minilateralism with an institutional approach. The findings indicate that the JEF’s evolution combines organizational continuity with changing political priorities and expanding activities. Its flexibility enables interested states to participate in specific activities, while effectiveness depends on national decisions, resources and coordination with NATO. Evidence from exercises and NORDIC WARDEN demonstrates multinational coordination but is insufficient to establish the JEF’s independent deterrent effect. The analysis traces the expansion of agreed arrangements for Ukraine’s involvement and distinguishes partnership intentions from verified implementation outcomes. It proposes cooperation priorities in maritime security, critical infrastructure protection, unmanned systems and staff training, alongside conditional scenarios for JEF development to 2030. The study contributes by linking institutional analysis of the JEF with an assessment of mechanisms for partnership with Ukraine. Its principal limitation is reliance on open sources and limited evidence of operational outcomes.

The Credibility Crisis of Extended Nuclear Deterrence.

Edmond Chick — 2026-09-30

Extended Nuclear Deterrence (END) is a core component of alliance politics which originated during the Cold War. This study will argue that extended nuclear deterrence is currently suffering from a severe credibility crisis due to structural shifts in the global environment, and that these developments are not well explained through current theoretical models. Through qualitative analysis of end-deterrent relationships in which the U.S., NATO, Japan, South Korea, and potentially Ukraine are involved, this study introduces two new constructs (credibility diffusion & deterrent decoupling), as well as two new theoretical models (responsive credibility model; asymmetric entanglement model for extended deterrence). The study shows that the ability of extended nuclear guarantees to be credible rests much less on nuclear capability than it does upon political cohesion, control of the narrative, domestic audience cost, and the degree of entanglement between allied command systems. These results indicate that traditional assumptions regarding the stabilization effect of extended deterrence need to be significantly revised in a period of Hybrid Warfare, Multipolar Competition, and decreasing Solidarity among Allies. Finally, the study provides policy suggestions for maintaining credibility for extended deterrence guarantees and outlines a potential research agenda for empirically validating the claims made in the paper.