The Journal of Regional Security Special Collections is a curated thematic section that brings together selected articles from previous issues of the Journal of Regional Security into one easily accessible ‘virtual issue’. Designed as a dynamic reference point for readers, it gathers the most relevant scholarship on pressing contemporary security themes in a single place, making it easier to navigate the journal’s rich archive. Current collections include Crises and Conflicts, Theory, European Security, Western Balkans, Global Security, Security and Society, and Security and Development. In particular, the European Security collection brings together articles that examine the evolving security architecture of Europe, including regional conflicts, institutional responses, defence cooperation, and the broader geopolitical challenges shaping the continent’s security landscape.
“Ontological security dynamics in the EU accession process of North Macedonia” by Jekić, Aleksandar, Journal of Regional Security 19 (2): 159-84 (2024).
Abstract: Ontological security studies emphasize the importance of routinized relations with others. European Integration is understood as a driver of such routinized relations, making it a source of ontological security and the EU an ontological security provider. Yet, as the case of North Macedonia illustrates, the process of EU accession goes along with bilateral disputes and can trigger concerns about ontological (in)security. To fully understand the dynamics of ontological security-seeking and -provision in the EU, the article investigates its limitations in the context of enlargement. This is done through a qualitative analysis of public statements of Macedonian representatives in the period between the Bulgarian veto in 2020 and the French proposal in 2022. Results indicate that the EU’s role as a provider of ontological security in the Macedonian case highly depends on the perceived credibility of EU membership, as the latter is seen as a means to gain external recognition and thereby ensure the maintenance of a coherent sense of the Self. Perceptions of low membership credibility, however, challenge the ability of maintaining a coherent sense of the Self and turn the EU into a depriver of ontological security.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-49142
“Innovation in the defence industry from the end of the Cold War to the war in Ukraine” by Mészáros Alexandra, Ágnes, Journal of Regional Security 19 (1): 97-117 (2024).
Abstract: Since the end of the Cold War, the defence industry has emerged as a leader in innovative technologies, and the Russo-Ukrainian war has provided a unique opportunity to test these technologies in a real combat scenario. As a result of the geopolitical events of February 2022, the European defence industry has faced unprecedented political, economic, and technological changes. This study examines these transformations through semi-structured, open-ended, in-depth interviews with twenty-five experts across ten European countries, analysed using qualitative content analysis, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While perspectives on the necessity of defence innovations vary, there is considerable market demand for both disruptive innovations and the advancement of conventional technologies. However, despite the theoretical benefits, the current uncertain environment leads policymakers to view international defence collaborations as insecure. Consequently, SMEs develop military technological innovations either independently or with domestic partners. This study’s novelty lies in its foundation on real empirical data, contributing practically applicable insights to the existing literature on the subject.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-42865
“The tale of two empires: Ukraine between the West and Russia” by Doboš, Bohumil, Journal of Regional Security 18 (1): 77-96 (2023).
Abstract: Ukraine has been, since its independence in 1991, located between two qualitatively different types of geopolitical environments – modern to its east and post-modern to its west. Given the tendencies of both to growth, nonetheless, using different means and seeking divergent goals, Ukraine turned into a geopolitical battlefield that due to the internal developments in Russia stepped into a hot phase in 2014 with further escalation in 2022. The article presents an interpretation of the events through neomedieval and imperial lenses, explaining the behaviours of both the West and Russia and the consequences their foreign policies had for the current situation in the country. It concludes that the mutual misunderstanding about the nature of the respective projects – mainly of the voluntary enlargement of the EU and NATO – led to unnecessary clashes and escalation of the contest by the Russian modern empire.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs18-38665
“The double-edged sword of democracy: How democracy promotion is used in the European Union’s prevention of terrorism in the southern Mediterranean” by Jonasson, Ann-Kristin, Journal of Regional Security 17 (2): 241-66 (2022).
Abstract: Terrorism is a horror haunting the world. Different approaches are used to fight terrorism internationally, focusing on security as well as social policy. On policy-level, the European Union poses democracy promotion as one social policy approach to prevent terrorism. Democracy is supposed to create resilient societies, resistant to terrorism. However, research on whether democracy prevents terrorism is inconclusive. Indeed, insufficient democratisation may spur terrorism. To unravel how the EU uses democracy promotion to prevent terrorism in the southern Mediterranean is therefore crucial. Based on interviews with EU representatives, this article concludes that the EU’s external action does not reflect the policy documents’ focus on democracy promotion in preventing terrorism. While respondents regard democracy promotion as important in preventing terrorism, it is not prioritised. Instead, terrorism prevention is largely securitised, following the lead of Mediterranean partner states. Research warns that such securitisation, coupled with insufficient democratisation, risk causing instead of preventing terrorism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs17-37878
“Caliphate women limbo and the action of the European Union” by Jiménez Sánchez, Carolina, Journal of Regional Security 17 (1): 65-82 (2022).
Abstract: Thousands of European women moved to the so-called Caliphate in Syria and Iraq over the past decade. Today, they are in legal limbo, waiting for a response at the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detention camps in various zones. They took part in Daesh’s functioning, responding to the gender role the organisation gave to them. However, whether they have to be considered terrorists is unclear. Moreover, the counter-terrorist strategies put into practice by states and international organisations are gender-blind. Whether or not they have to be repatriated is controversial, and European countries are giving mixed responses. This article examines three arguments. First, whether the Caliphate women have to be considered terrorist foreign fighters. Second, if the EU is giving or not a gender perspective of counter-terrorist action concerning them. Finally, which would be the implications of the EU Comprehensive Approach for the WPS agenda and its member states? The article suggests that only a truly transformative feminist agenda would eliminate violent extremism in the world.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs17-33634.
“One for all, each on its own: Analysing the post-Soviet system of collective security” by Erkomaishvili, David, Journal of Regional Security 11 (2): 81-110 (2016).
Abstract: The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 allowed independent states, which emerged in its place, to construct their own alignments. The choice of the case for empirical analysis had been made based on several unique characteristics. Orthodox Alliance Theory had almost never properly addressed alignments in the post-Soviet space due to the lack of access to information during the Soviet period – along with the structure of the state: only Soviet alignment policies were taken into consideration, instead of those of its constituent republics as well – and modest interest of alliance theorists in the region. Continued disintegration of the post-Soviet space, which has not stopped with the collapse of the Soviet Union but keeps fragmenting further, creates a unique setting for researching the adequacy of Alliance Theory’s classic assumptions as well as developing new approaches. This work traces the development of the post-Soviet system of collective security and its subsequent transformation into a series of bilateral security relations, along with the shortfall of multilateralism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.11643/issn.2217-995X162SPE60
“Increasingly geopolitical?: The EU’s approach towards the post-Soviet space” by Nitoiu, Cristian, Journal of Regional Security 11 (1): 9-32 (2016).
Abstract: Throughout the past decade the policy of the European Union (EU) towards its eastern neighbors has avoided focusing on security issues. However, the Ukraine crisis had had a deep impact on the EU’s foreign policy and its approach towards post-Soviet space. It has highlighted that the EU’s eastern neighborhood is characterised by intense geopolitical competition with Russia. The crisis also underscored the weakness of the EU’s low politics approach towards the post-Soviet space and Russia. On the other hand, Russia’s actions in Ukraine have made the member states more willing to act together and recognize Russia as a security threat. In this context, the article argues that while the EU has not always viewed its relations with Russia and the post-Soviet space in traditional geopolitical terms, the shape of the regional geopolitical structure has always influenced its policy towards the region. Moreover, the article shows how the EU has gradually embraced geopolitical competition for influence in the post-Soviet space with Russia and even confrontation with Moscow.
Link: https://scindeks.ceon.rs/article.aspx?artid=2217-995X1601009N
“Inventors and gatekeepers?: The EU member states and the European external action service” by Sus, Monika, Journal of Regional Security 11 (1): 55-74 (2016).
Abstract: This project reflects on the ambivalence of the EU member states in their relationships with the new institutional arm of European diplomacy – the European External Action Service, headed by the High Representative. While trapped in rhetorical support for stronger and better-coordinated EU foreign policy, the member states show little willingness to equip the newcomer with political mandate and room for action, and provide a case in point for the post- Maastricht integration paradox. The main aim of this paper is to shed light on the reasons for this paradoxical behaviour. Taking into consideration the timeline 2009-2014, the article looks at patterns and dynamics of the mutual cooperation between the EEAS selected member states (Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom).
Link: https://scindeks.ceon.rs/article.aspx?artid=2217-995x1601055S
