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 Theory collection brings together articles that advance conceptual, epistemological, and methodological debates in security studies and international relations, offering readers a focused entry point into foundational and emerging theoretical discussions shaping the field.
“From unipolarity to bipolarity: Systemic transformation and the emergence of post-unipolar international politics” by Toft, Peter, Journal of Regional Security 20 (2): 209-38 (2025).
Abstract: With the decline of U.S. unipolarity and the rise of Sino-American bipolarity, this article explores a conceptualization of systemic transformation in international politics and its implications for outcomes in state behaviors during the transition. Neorealist theory, which emphasizes the impact of relative power redistribution among great powers, provides a valuable framework for understanding these changes. While often criticized for being overly static and limited in scope, the theory contains a subtle theory of change that can be leveraged to offer new insights into the ongoing transformation of the international system. The article develops four propositions from neorealist theory: disruptions in system-wide patterns of interstate rivalry and conflict, general realignment, increased occurrences of state “births and deaths,” and waves of political regime changes, including de-democratization in the present case of emerging Sino-American bipolarity. These propositions are applied to the current transition, with preliminary evidence suggesting that neorealism can serve as a powerful analytical lens to further our understanding of the transformation toward a new bipolar world.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs20-53648
“Cold hybrid warfare: Science diplomacy as superpowers’ geopolitical statecraft in the Cold War transatlantic security architecture and the reimagination of world order” by Zhang, Yi, Journal of Regional Security 20 (2): 239-72 (2025).
Abstract: Refuting the conventional view of science diplomacy as Track II diplomacy while highlighting the Cold War as a structure wherein the superpowers initiated a geopolitical approach to science diplomacy, the article coins the term “cold hybrid warfare” to scrutinize how science diplomacy could serve as a covert strategic asset to advance an unpublicized grand strategy in redefining cross-regional security architecture for global hegemony. By focusing on how the United States and the Soviet Union had deployed the collaborative troika of science, technology, and culture for diplomacy to ace each other out of the world order, the findings further suggest that the globalization of regions eventually emerged as the consequence of the superpowers’ commitment to a greater transregional connectivity within their respective defense perimeter, marking the paradigm shift from the bipolar order to the multipolar one.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs20-48170
“Ideas of Darwinism in the theory of Hans J. Morgenthau” by Kovačević, Zoran, Journal of Regional Security 20 (2): 273-98 (2025).
Abstract: This article investigates the presence and role of Darwinian ideas in the classical realism of Hans J. Morgenthau. While it is not uncommon for classical realists to ground their theories in a biologically-informed view of human nature, the specific influence of Darwinian scientific and social Darwinist thought remains underexplored. This article argues that key components of Morgenthau’s theory – particularly his views on human nature, power, and survival – bear conceptual affinities with Darwinian ideas and principles. The article does not claim that Morgenthau’s theory is wholly derived from Darwinism, nor that all classical realists share these intellectual roots. Instead, it demonstrates how principles and ideas derived from Darwinism specifically enforce Morgenthau’s theory and why this matters for our understanding of classical realism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs20-54829
“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
“Stealth conflicts: Unpacking the causes of underreported and invisible wars” by Konečná, Lucie, Journal of Regional Security 19 (2): 185-206 (2024).
Abstract: This study aims to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions that contribute to categorizing certain conflicts as “stealth,” meaning significant yet underreported or overlooked, as opposed to conflicts well-covered by the media. Focusing on cases in Asia and Africa from 2014 to 2024, the research employs qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to assess six conditions for the conflict to be recognized as a stealth conflict derived from Hawkins’ theory which explains that conflicts are overlooked when key actors (policy makers, media, the public, and academia) are not engaged due to factors such as national/political interest, geographic proximity and access, ability to identify with conflict participants, ability to sympathize with victims, simplicity (how easy it is to understand a conflict) and sensationalism (involves events that are dramatic and attention-grabbing). Our findings suggest that a lack of simplicity and limited sensationalism are key factors in hindering the visibility of conflicts, especially in regions like West Papua and Balochistan. The analysis reveals that there are two necessary conditions and three sufficient conditions that influence the visibility of conflicts.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-54950
“Shadows of empire: post-Soviet parastates in Russian foreign policy” by Hardy, John, and Oana Vlad Ruxandra. Journal of Regional Security 19 (2): 207-36 (2024).
Abstract: The post-Soviet period has seen dramatic political upheaval across Eastern Europe and the Caucuses. The shadow cast by centuries of Russian influence on Eurasia still affects political tensions in the region. Previous studies have examined both Russian foreign policy in the twenty-first century and the implications of parastates on Russia’s periphery. This study focuses on the intersection of these issues, identifying parastates as a political wedge used by Moscow to maintain buffer states between its borders and NATO. It presents a comparative analysis of three parastates that are supported by Russia: Transnistria in Moldova, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. The study finds that Russia supports post-Soviet parastates to perpetuate political stalemates that undermine stability in countries that act as buffers between Russian and NATO borders. This highlights opportunities for further research on a foreign policy tool that can be used to significantly influence regional security.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-53721
“On “Westsplaining,” realism, and technologies of the Self: A Foucauldian reading of the realist commentary on Ukraine” by Kazharski, Aliaksei, Journal of Regional Security 19 (1): 77-96 (2024).
Abstract: The article offers a Foucauldian reading of the Western realist commentary on the Russo-Ukrainian war which often faces the charges of “Westsplaining. ” It situates this commentary in the broader context of knowledge production and the power-knowledge nexūs it reproduces and conceptualizes realism as a discourse in the Foucauldian sense. As the article argues, this conceptualization allows one to capture its specific technologies of power which, in this case, can be understood as a form of technology of the Self, or, in other words, the disciplining of the collective subjects of world politics (nation-states) through the specifically realist constructs of rationality and prudence that all states are expected to adhere to in the making of their foreign policy. Additionally, the article suggests that this conceptualization of realism as a discourse can be analytically helpful in making sense of the way in which very different genres such as academic research and the op-ed policy commentary, frequently provided by realist IR scholars, are connected through the political economy of knowledge production, thus forming a relationship of discursive symbiosis and mutual legitimation.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs19-48501
“Underbalancing in a regional world” by Hutto James, Wesley, Journal of Regional Security 18 (2): 135-62 (2023).
Abstract: This paper adapts underbalancing theory to explain regional powers’ decisions when faced with the politics of great power intrusion. The paper finds two situations where regional powers defy expectations and details the causal models using India (1979-1980) and Russia (1996-1999) as illustrative cases. I find underbalancing theory wanting at the regional level. In each case, the regional power performs a variety of diplomatic maneuvers – not limited to balancing and underbalancing – to mitigate the fallout of great power decisions. This is explained by the power asymmetries dividing great and regional powers, both constraining the actions of regional powers while motivating more creative diplomatic practices. It is said that great powers are “Gullivers”, tied down by their many responsibilities. This paper tells a different story, in which obstinate great powers make decisions without consideration for the locale where those decisions are carried out. It is the regional powers that are tied down by geostrategic position and regional security externalities. However weak or strong, these externalities create threats too salient to ignore. The findings suggest international political processes and outcomes can only be comprehensible by accounting for regional contexts and regional powers.
Link: https://doi.org/10.5937/jrs18-42552
Millard, Matt. “Challenging institutions: Getting goods or getting your own institution?” Journal of Regional Security 11 (2): 111-22 (2016).
Abstract: I present a discussion of the current state of liberal internationalism as it relates to international organisations. I maintain that the literature focuses too much on liberal internationalism instead of non-liberal internationalism. This is problematic because non-liberal states are increasingly becoming important players in the international system, as is the case with Russia and China. I argue that non-liberal states have a variety of approaches in their dealings with international institutions that can enable them to maximise their net gains from institutions. These are: 1) keep using the liberal institution, 2) utilise institutional ala cartism (forum shopping), 3) create an anti-liberal institution, or 4) opt out of institutions altogether. Scholars and practitioners alike should acknowledge that international institutions can be a vehicle whereby non-liberal states maximise their power and diminish the power and influence of liberal states.
Link: https://doi.org/10.11643/issn.2217-995X162SPM71
“The legitimacy of peace operations in volatile environments: Between state-centred and people-centred standards” by Gelot, Ludwig, Journal of Regional Security 11 (2): 123-42 (2016).
Abstract: Peace operations are increasingly multi-dimensional and are affecting ever more aspects of life at the grassroots level. While this evolution is necessary, it has created a tension in the field of legitimacy. Indeed, how can the United Nations possibly legitimise its actions in a domain traditionally subject to domestic laws and norms? International and domestic standards of legitimacy are clashing but neither of them is fully adapted to the particular case of peace operations. This article outlines a third approach to legitimacy centered on the UN Charter which incorporates the views of the entire legitimacy constituency of peace operations deployed in volatile environments.
Link: https://doi.org/10.11643/issn.2217-995X162SPG63
