Political Science and Security Studies Journal

Election Election Security Challenges and the Implications for Election Management in Nigeria

Ayodeji Awopeju — 2026-07-05

The objective of the study is to examine the nature and characteristics of election security in Nigeria, identify the major challenges associated with its implementation, and analyse their implications for effective election management. Particular attention is paid to assessing the role of security agencies in preventing electoral violence and ensuring the integrity of electoral processes. The study employed a qualitative research design. The data were collected from secondary sources, including academic literature, journal articles, legal documents, reports of international organisations, media publications, and documents of the CLEEN Foundation. The collected data were analysed using content analysis. The theoretical framework was based on the Frustration–Aggression Theory and the Institutional Trust Theory. The findings indicate that election security alone does not guarantee free and fair elections. Major challenges identified include poor coordination among security agencies, political interference in security operations, ineffective law enforcement, and human rights violations. These factors undermine public confidence in the electoral process and constrain the effectiveness of election management institutions. The study recommends greater consensus-building in election management in Nigeria. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by deepening understanding of the relationships among election security, electoral violence, and election management in emerging democracies. It also demonstrates the relevance of combining behavioural and institutional perspectives in analysing electoral security challenges. The findings may assist election management bodies, security agencies, policymakers, and other stakeholders in improving election security strategies, strengthening professional standards among security personnel, and enhancing public trust in electoral processes.

Between Promise and Peril: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Indonesia’s Counter-Violent Extremism Strategy

Raneeta Mutiara — 2026-06-30

This qualitative research examines the ways in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being utilised to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE) in Indonesia, as well as the obstacles that hinder its broader implementation. The study aims to answer two key questions: (1) How can AI concretely enhance Indonesia's P/CVE efforts? (2) What limitations and challenges emerge when incorporating AI into these efforts? For the study, a purposive sample of fifteen AI experts was recruited from the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), the Counterterrorism Special Detachment 88 (Densus 88), academics, AI startups, civil society organisations (CSOs) focused on digital rights, and former terrorist offenders. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed through thematic coding in Atlas.ti. The findings indicate that AI currently aids Indonesian P/CVE operations in three main ways: monitoring social media activities, complementing conventional P/CVE efforts, and detecting online extremism efficiently. The challenges include algorithmic biases, a lack of public trust towards the government’s use of AI, and legal barriers to integrating AI into P/CVE efforts. The study also underscores useful recommendations, including collaboration among relevant stakeholders, adherence to ethical principles, and investment in public training on AI use. This research presents timely insights for policymakers, technology developers, and civil society by exploring how AI can be ethically and effectively incorporated into P/CVE strategies in Indonesia. The findings aim to inform the development of more inclusive, rights-respecting AI frameworks that balance national security needs with public trust. Beyond local relevance, the study contributes to global debates by offering a bottom-up perspective from the Global South that challenges Western-centric models of technology governance. It demonstrates how Indonesia’s experience provides a transferable framework for other nations navigating the dual promise and peril of AI in securitisation, while also interrogating the competing logics of security and human rights within multi-stakeholder governance models for emerging technologies.

Evaluating Middle Eastern Political Instability Through Internal Dynamics, External Intervention, Political Leadership

Ariful Amin Talukdar — 2026-06-30

The research examines Middle Eastern political instability through a comprehensive framework, which connects internal factors, external military actions, and political leadership to investigate both Syria and Iraq as primary research examples. The study demonstrates that political leadership acts as a control mechanism, which determines how sectarian divisions, economic inequality and institutional weaknesses lead to either conflict or authoritarian rule or social division. The study uses qualitative comparative analysis to show that domestic pressure on leaders determines their political response, which produces three distinct paths for political development. External intervention establishes a relationship with domestic leadership, which results in leaders increasing their personal power while creating ongoing instability in their positions. The research demonstrates that regime survival or removal does not guarantee political stability, because institutional resilience together with leadership accountability are the main factors that maintain stability. The study investigates Middle Eastern instability through leadership analysis as its main research element, which results in better understanding of the issue and the practical value of the study lies in the possibility of applying these insights for governance improvement and conflict resolution in the Middle East and across the globe. The study opens prospects for further research into the political instability in other countries like the South East Asian countries, East European countries, South American countries, etc. considering the factors involving internal dynamics, external intervention, and political leadership in those countries requiring an expanded evaluation and the application of mixed research methods. The current article is evaluative in nature.

Experimental Verification of the Model for Developing Foreign Language Writing Competence in Future Masters in National Security

Viacheslav Lobko — 2026-06-30

This article reports the design, procedure and results of a pedagogical experiment conducted to verify the effectiveness of the authors' model for developing foreign language writing competence in future masters in national security who study a foreign (Croatian) language from scratch. The study aims to answer two key questions: (1) how should the experimental verification of such a model be organised under the constraints of small language groups typical of higher military educational institutions (HMEIs)? (2) does instruction under the proposed model and pedagogical conditions produce a statistically significant advantage over traditional instruction? The model comprises target, methodological, content, procedural and diagnostic-resultative blocks and is implemented through a set of pedagogical conditions. A natural open experiment covered four stages – ascertaining, intermediate, formative and interpretative – with the formative stage running through the 2021–2023 and 2023–2025 academic years in two experimental (EG 1, 2) and two control (CG 1, 2) groups formed from successive trainee intakes. Learning outcomes were diagnosed through two STANAG 6001-based test administrations. Given the small samples, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was applied, computed in SPSS and verified manually. The empirical value U = 0 for both administrations, with an exact two-tailed significance of p = 0.029 (p < 0.05), warranted rejection of the null hypothesis: the writing competence of EG trainees proved statistically significantly higher than that of their CG peers. The effectiveness of the pedagogical conditions was further corroborated by a group expert assessment (18 experts, group representativeness K_gr = 0.72), in which over 90 % of the experts confirmed the proposed conditions. The findings offer HMEIs an evidence-based, transferable framework for ab initio foreign language instruction aligned with NATO language policy, and demonstrate a statistically rigorous verification procedure suitable for the small cohorts in which military language training is typically delivered.

The Organization of Turkic States as an Emerging Model of Regional Integration in Eurasia

Oleh Matsovityi — 2026-06-30

Purpose. This study examines the institutional evolution of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and evaluates its contribution to regional integration, transport connectivity, energy security, and geo-economic cooperation in Eurasia. Methodology. The research applies an integrated qualitative framework combining comparative institutional analysis, systems analysis, document analysis, and regional integration theories, including neofunctionalism, constructivism, and intergovernmentalism. Findings. The study demonstrates that the OTS has evolved from a platform of cultural cooperation into a multidimensional regional organization promoting transport connectivity, economic integration, energy cooperation, digital transformation, and defense-industrial collaboration. The Middle Corridor is identified as the organization's principal geo-economic project, enhancing Eurasian connectivity, trade diversification, and institutional coordination. The analysis also highlights the growing importance of renewable energy initiatives and technological cooperation in strengthening regional resilience. Theoretical implications. The article proposes an integrated analytical framework that explains the hybrid institutional development of the OTS and conceptualizes it as an emerging model of geo-economic regionalism. Practical implications. The findings may support policymakers in strengthening regional governance, transport infrastructure, energy cooperation, digital modernization, and institutional coordination within the Organization of Turkic States.

Transforming Security and Defense Force Operations in Modern Conflicts

Vasyl Shkoliarenko — 2026-06-30

The article examines the operations of the security and defense forces as a complex object of scientific research in the field of national security. It is determined that modern operations are multidimensional in nature and combine military, intelligence, information, cybernetic, analytical and humanitarian components. The features of the operations of the security and defense forces in new-type wars are analyzed, which are characterized by network-centric approaches to management, the use of digital platforms, information and psychological influence, cyber operations and decision-making support systems. The concepts of “operations of the security and defense forces” and “operations of the security and defense forces in new-type wars” as an integrated system of military and non-military actions aimed at ensuring the national security of the state are substantiated. Special attention is paid to intelligence operations, which are considered as a system of organized activities for the collection, analysis, forecasting and dissemination of information about threats to national security. The role of intelligence exchange, the use of OSINT, predictive intelligence and artificial intelligence technologies in modern operations of security and defense forces is investigated. It is determined that the effectiveness of modern operations largely depends on the level of integration of information and analytical systems, the speed of data processing and interagency coordination. The essence of information and intellectual operations as important elements of the modern system for ensuring national security is revealed. It is established that the implementation of AI, machine learning and Big Data technologies contributes to the formation of a new model of management of security and defense force operations, focused on proactive response to threats, risk forecasting and ensuring information advantage. The need for further development of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of security and defense force operations in the context of modern hybrid threats is emphasized.

Institutional Transformation of Migration Governance in the Russian Federation: From Administrative Regulation to Securitization and Political Control

Volodymyr Hulyma — 2026-06-30

Purpose. To identify the main stages in the institutional transformation of the migration governance system in the Russian Federation between 1992 and 2026 and to determine how changes in the organizational status, subordination, and powers of the Federal Migration Service affected the balance between the administrative-service, control, and security functions of state migration policy. Method. The study employs a historical-institutional approach, process tracing, structural-functional analysis, and comparative temporal analysis. The empirical basis comprises regulatory and legal acts defining the status and competence of migration authorities in the Russian Federation, scholarly studies on migration governance and securitization, and reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the application of Russian administrative and legal mechanisms in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Findings. Four stages in the development of Russian migration governance are identified: institutional establishment and a socio-administrative orientation in 1992–2001; the integration of migration functions into the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2002–2011; the organizational autonomization of the Federal Migration Service in 2012–2016; and the reintegration of migration governance into the Ministry of Internal Affairs following the abolition of the Federal Migration Service in 2016. The findings demonstrate that these structural reorganizations did not constitute a linear transition from a “social” to a “repressive” institution. Nevertheless, they created conditions for the gradual predominance of control and security functions over service-oriented functions. Theoretical implications. The study refines the application of the securitization concept to the analysis of migration policies pursued by authoritarian states. Practical implications. The findings may be used to assess the risks faced by foreign nationals and residents of the temporarily occupied territories as a result of the application of Russian migration, registration, and citizenship procedures. Article type: Theoretical-analytical and historical-institutional article.