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Even as essential definitional and conceptual issues related to ‘minilateralism’ remain unresolved, conjecture has arisen as to the future trajectories of established institutions, such as the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue (TSD), AUKUS, and the Quad. – Could they evolve into formal military alliances over time, or serve as the foundation of a new organisation aimed at providing regional security governance? To systematically evaluate such contingencies this article traverses a set of interrelated conceptual issues relating to minilateral institutionalisation. It seeks to differentiate minilaterals in terms of their ‘hybridity’ both in structural composition and functionality, and ascertain what this implies for their institutional progression. This process assists us in identifying on what grounds minilaterals might potentially evolve into a more formalised institutional paradigm – either (i) a military alliance or (ii) a cooperative security governance organisation. This foregoing conceptual apparatus is then brought to bear of on the case studies above to draw out clues as to their prospective institutional development pathways. The article concludes that, while such putative institutional transformations remain conceivable, in none of the cases is a particular pathway preordained. Instead, minilaterals may simply continue to adapt within the parameters of their present institutional boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns the security governance of gender in Mexico City. It begins by juxtaposing the alleged rape of a 17-year-old female by security officials against the policy responses that ensued: policies designed to make it safer for women to navigate dangerous streets. The article explores this radical turnaround: how an episode in violent opposition to security governance would ultimately sustain its implementation. It does so through what is called a gendered security dispositif – a dispositif consistent with the original formulation of Michel Foucault, albeit configured to an official account of gender-based violence that is confined to women. A gendered security dispositif renders a violent event intelligible to government by locating it in existing statistical and surveillance technologies, thereby reducing the alleged rape to citywide rates of violence and areas of high risk. Policy initiatives then target these high-risk areas, as practices of subjectification turn on the behavior of female inhabitants. The result is an official appreciation of gender-based violence that reduces the very matter of a violent event and its female victim to an administrative plane. What began as an episode contrary to security governance opens onto the production of gender and security in a manner derivative of rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do international peacekeeping experiences inform the security governance of contributing states from the global South? This article advances theoretical and policy arguments that international peacekeeping exposure contributes to forming multitudes of effects on domestic security affairs and shaping the contributing countries' security governance. The analysis problematizes the transformation of norms, policies, practices and institutional approaches in shaping the national security outlook of the contributing nations. Considering peacekeeping as a discursive 'glo-cal' affair and Bangladesh as a critical case, this study underscores how Bangladesh's contributions to United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSOs) inform its security governance. The article adopts a qualitative–interpretive approach to examine the assembling effects of Bangladesh's participation in such endeavours. It highlights the transformation in security institutions, new capacities in knowledge and income-generating sectors, new peacekeeping norms, and partnerships in security cooperation as the cornerstones in the national security outlook. Extending the purview of the existing literature on contributors' roles and impact, this article has offered assemblage as a dynamic conceptual lens to understand new domestic significance for the armed forces as global peace providers. Challenges related to the struggle for democracy, political stability and good governance persist in Bangladesh; nevertheless, the peacekeeping assemblage explains how the country has considered accelerating its global peace endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article maps how Ukraine's international agency has been discursively constructed through juxtaposing and relating different insecurities triggered by the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022. How does Ukraine persuade its partners of the validity of its approach to these insecurities, what is the intentionality behind its strategy, and how do they contribute to the production of the Ukrainian agency? It argues that Ukraine's agency is developed in the context of the battlefield, and therefore becomes a heavy loaded security concept with a strong normative background. By addressing numerous insecurities in energy supply, environmental and nuclear hazards, and disruption of food transportation, Ukraine builds the strategic narrative of the war as an intrinsic part of European security governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cyber Security & Data Governance is the property of Editorial Office of Information Technology & Network Security and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Big Data is the property of Journal of Agricultural Big Data Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Academic institutions today are experiencing a legion of security risks that are increasingly impeding their mission of producing high-quality graduates, guarding reason and educational integrity, and ultimately advancing human civilisation. The Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) model represents a potential solution to the dynamic threats that accredited universities face today. However, ESRM adoption is largely absent, slow, and inconsistent in Kenya's accredited universities. Only a few attempts have been made to understand what drives security risk management adoption in these universities. Based on seven in-depth interviews with Chief Security Officers across larger accredited universities in Kenya and utilising an overarching innovation adoption model, we examine the organisational predictors of ESRM adoption in these universities. Within the limitations of this study, the data collected highlight the fundamental role of university executive commitment, security governance, and security risk management training in enhancing the diffusion of ESRM systems in universities. We have discussed managerial implications and suggested future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how China has overcome the limit of coercion through the use of Private Security Companies since the end of the Cold War until 2021. For this purpose, the Security Governance approach was applied to understand how the decentralisation and fragmentation of the security monopoly by the state could result in convenient coercive acts against societies. We point two paths of observation: an international path – the protection of the Chinese diaspora and the Belt and Road Initiative facilities; and a national path – the governmental interests that pave the monitoring and controlling mechanisms of Chinese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its foreign policy of power projection in Africa, Russia has presumably engaged the paramilitary group Wagner. This private company which invests in the fight against insecurity and terrorism in African countries like Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic,. contributes to the "mercenarization" of security governance. Henceforth disappointed by the repeated failures of traditional European powers like France, some African governments are calling on this militia to stabilize and secure their territories. However, this involvement of Wagner in security governance in Africa is poorly perceived by traditionally influential powers of the continent. As a result, they do not skimp on the means to stigmatize the mercenaries whom they accuse in particular of predation. This contribution shows how the Russian paramilitary group Wagner contributes to security governance in Africa, thus downgrading the European powers traditionally influential in this continent and incidentally contributing to the projection of Russian power. In other words, it is a question of giving an account of Wagner's contribution to the geostrategic and geopolitical reconfiguration of Africa on one hand and and on other informing about what is at stake in the European and/or Western propagation campaign of an anti-Russian discourse in Africa.

Global warming has caused many problems in the Arctic region. In the absence of effective governance mechanisms for security in the region, the US led NATO has continued to provoke expansion in the Arctic region. Under this pressure, Russia updated its Arctic national strategy in 2020 and used it as a guiding program for future actions. Russia's new strategy pays more attention to the issue of "security", and sets up a special chapter to stipulate it, especially in the military security. In recent years, Russia has continuously strengthened its defense measures, improved its combat capabilities and comprehensive control system as well as updated its infrastructure in the Arctic region. In this regard, NATO and relevant Arctic countries have also responded strongly. Relevant countries have not only updated their strategic documents, but also shown a joint trend in military operations. As an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs, China should strengthen cooperation with Russia and relevant Arctic countries on issues related to Russia in the Arctic, and defend the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and use opportunities such as climate change to promote cooperation within and outside the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present context of global terrorism, managing protective security in cruise and passenger ships is a challenge for organisations. This is due, in part, to the distinct lack of a counter terrorism framework for the industry. To address this gap, this paper develops a counter terrorism framework for cruise and passenger ships. This framework identifies protective security components and terrorist threats based on known attacks. It provides stakeholders with a means to assess risk, both in terms of likelihood and wider organisational impact. From an operational security perspective, the contribution of the framework is threefold: First, it offers a consistent approach to delivering an effective protective security posture at all stages of a ship's itinerary. Second, it is envisaged that the application of the framework will improve security decision-making within organisations. Third, improved organisational security may, over time, enhance deterrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies on the role of knowledge and expertise have seen a resurgence of interest in International Relations and in literature on peacebuilding and security governance, little is known how knowledge enters the governance routines after the initial establishment of peacebuilding operations. Taking the mandate decision-making process of MINUSMA and EUTM operations in Mali in the German parliament as case for our explorative study, we ask how knowledge has entered the parliamentary process and how various epistemic practices and epistemic agency shape this peacebuilding governance since 2013. Informed by an object-centred knowledge framework, we argue that the practices and types of agency involved mostly 'lock-in' the governing of robust peacebuilding in Mali in much broader foreign- and security policies routines. Epistemic practices are not primarily concerned with new impulses or critical analysis, but with rendering Mali governable as interventionary object. The epistemic authority of the government is dominant and we do not find much evidence that hegemonic knowledge is challenged. Intervening agents do extract certain knowledge via transnational channels from Mali, however, broader knowledge debates or the involvement of Malian agents are missing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, cybersecurity has become a top priority for the European Union (EU). As a contribution to scholarship on the 'regulatory security state', we analyze how the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), emerged and stabilized as the EU's key agency for cybersecurity. We use data from policy documents, secondary sources, and semi-structured interviews to show how ENISA struggled to become a relevant actor by carving out a specific role for itself. In particular, we show how challenging it was for the agency to acquire epistemic authority. Although the trajectory of ENISA supports attempts to govern through regulation, it also shows that its role was never a given, only functions as part of a larger whole, and continues to be subject to change. Our article indicates that the study of security governance must remain ontologically flexible to capture hybrid forms and political struggles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies are transforming security governance, bringing new risks and opportunities. The resulting uncertainty creates interpretative contests about what these new challenges are and who can – and should – address them. We argue that private actors use their ideational business power – and specifically solutionist arguments – to influence how public actors perceive digital security problems; whether they view private actors as necessary and/or effective in solving them; and whether they view public and private goals as compatible. In doing so, they influence how public actors navigate competence-control trade-offs. We substantiate this argument in two qualitative case studies on the involvement of Palantir in EU law enforcement and on the prominent role of (foreign) tech companies in the European cloud project Gaia-X. Drawing on and contributing to the literatures on (critical) security governance, competence-control theory, and ideational business power, we shed light on the ideational underpinnings of Europe's regulatory security state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 9/11, a significant body of research has been developed to address initiatives enacted to respond to biological incidents, including bioterrorism, with most of these efforts being made at the national and institutional levels. The COVID-19 global pandemic has, however, underlined the importance of a coordinated response to bioterrorism that emphasizes a 'whole of society' approach in its delivery and, as such, it is fundamental that new insights inform how actors can enhance their preparedness. A first stage for these actors must be an understanding of their unique roles for reducing the vulnerability of and the response to biological incidents. Yet, despite research indicating that local authorities are particularly vulnerable, little attention is given to planning for bioterrorism at this level. This study makes a step towards addressing this gap by developing an understanding of where different actors can best focus their efforts to prepare for biological incidents and develops the Biological Incident Response Model. The premise is that proposing a model to understand the roles of actors, rather than one that seeks to establish benchmarks for collective security, can help decision-makers to recognize their responsibility in a coordinated response to complex issues where no one actor can advance alone. This approach creates a greater sense of ownership at each level to enhance coordination and improve response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the cooperation and coordination mechanisms established by Turkey, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) to ensure Syrians' human security in Turkey. Focusing empirically on security governance processes and practices that have been applied to increase the human security of Syrians in Turkey since 2011. To this end, policies on burden sharing, freedom from fear, and freedom from want regarding Syrians in Turkey are presented. To identify the security needs of Syrians in Turkey and develop solutions adjusted to their needs, the UN and the EU cooperate with the public authorities in Turkey on policy-making processes and provide input for the institutionalisation of Turkey's asylum system. This study argues that in theory, the actors, who set the security agenda, can create joint policies by focusing on human security and that in practice, this has produced policy implications regarding the human security of Syrians in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niger Delta environmental degradation is known for oil spills and their environmental outcomes. However, the issue is not isolated from the region’s other dynamics as part of governance. The complex context of the Niger Delta should be analysed in two spheres. At the micro-regional level, there are environmental degradation and oil crimes in the Niger Delta. At the macro-regional level, there are transnational crimes and relatively stable relations among the states in West Africa. The picture requires governance investigation, which would classify actors, institutions, regulations, and interactions. This paper argues that poor environmental governance in the Niger Delta is highly connected with transnational crimes in West Africa. The main reason is that there is a centralised state function but not a centralised power in two different regional levels (i.e., Niger Delta and West Africa). This work aims to clear out the contexts of two separate levels via a conceptual framework based on the connection between environmental governance and transnational crimes.

The lack of national security standardization bodies can have adverse impact on the adoption of international security standards and best practices. To assure security confidence among various organizations and to promote systematic adoption of standards and best standards, a practical framework that can support comparative measures is needed. . This paper presents GoSafe, a novel practical cybersecurity assessment framework that is tailored to the ISO 2700x standard requirements for the development of Information Security Management System (ISMS). GoSafe can be used for both self-assessment and auditing/scoring tool by national cybersecurity authorities. Using GoSafe, organizations can evaluate their existing information security management systems against local and international standards by utilizing built-in pre-audit tools. As such, GoSafe will help organizations evaluate and enhance their readiness for evolving risks and threats. In GoSafe framework, a novel mathematical model was also designed and implemented for the scoring/rating tool, namely, the national cyber security index (aeNCI). The aeNCI employs multiple parameters to determine the maturity of existing cybersecurity programs at national organizations and generate a classification and comparison reports. The efficacy of GoSafe proposed framework is demonstrated using a practical case study. The results enabled the stakeholder to verify the security configuration of their systems and identify potential attack/risk vectors.

This article reconsiders contemporary urban security governance. Conceptually, it revisits Foucault's governmentality lectures to comprehend how security governance is carried out in places where the use of digital security technologies co-exists with overly lethal and repressive forms of policing. The author advances his analysis by conceptualizing a triangle of security governance in which disciplinary powers of control, apparatuses of security and sovereign/necropower are at work simultaneously, complemented by a fourth dimension that takes into account what Foucault outlined in the lectures as the 'government of things', which is the sociotechnical relationship between the agency of humans and machines. Empirically, the article explores the technopolitical turn in urban security policies in the city of Rio de Janeiro in the wake of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Using discourses that are embedded in globalized mega-event security standards and legacy claims, authorities in Rio promoted a narrative of new material and non-material security measures that were intended both to secure the World Cup and the Olympics and to help overcome permanently entrenched urban conflicts in the city. By critically analysing these two approaches of new material and non-material security measures, the author shows how new security technologies are perfectly integrated into a continuum of death politics in Rio de Janeiro in ways that are conceptually best appreciated by considering how the triangle of security governance works in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cyber Security & Data Governance is the property of Editorial Office of Information Technology & Network Security and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This Introduction to Special Issue (SI) seeks to provide a corrective dimension to unipolar and multipolar understandings of global order by proposing to integrate several levels of analysis. It seeks to introduce a different understanding of the contemporary world order. To this end, it first develops a new theoretical model of world order, putting forward the concept of interpolarity. Interpolarity is understood as the interaction between multiple interdependent poles of different sizes. The main utility of this concept is that it can provide a theoretical foundation for integrating means, ways, and ends in a more stable manner. Second, this Introduction to SI estimates three main conceptual building blocks of an interpolar world order: positive power, citizen reciprocity, and elite bridging. The contributions in this Special Issue examine different aspects of the European security and foreign policy as part of the liberal international order – including the relations with NATO and the US –, EU actorness in cybersecurity governance, French-German cooperation, role conceptions and differentiated integration, as well as the BRICS perspective on world order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niger Delta environmental degradation is known for oil spills and their environmental outcomes. However, the issue is not isolated from the region's other dynamics as part of governance. The complex context of the Niger Delta should be analysed in two spheres. At the micro-regional level, there are environmental degradation and oil crimes in the Niger Delta. At the macro-regional level, there are transnational crimes and relatively stable relations among the states in West Africa. The picture requires governance investigation, which would classify actors, institutions, regulations, and interactions. This paper argues that poor environmental governance in the Niger Delta is highly connected with transnational crimes in West Africa. The main reason is that there is a centralised state function but not a centralised power in two different regional levels (i.e., Niger Delta and West Africa). This work aims to clear out the contexts of two separate levels via a conceptual framework based on the connection between environmental governance and transnational crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology security is crucial for a digital government system to have so that the continuity of business processes can run smoothly. However, the current best practice of information security governance in the Indonesian national government is still inadequate according to various related studies still siloed and scattered and leading to vulnerabilities in the various digital services provided. Therefore, this study aims to develop a best practice framework for managing information security that is aligned with the needs of Indonesia's digital government. This research started by looking for the main framework of information security governance. Then the main components that resulted from that were benchmarked with other Information Security Governance (ISG) best practices from different countries. Finally, it ended up complementing them with information security parameters, other related components, and recommendations, particularly in the Indonesian context, so that the main components and their respective constituent sub-components can be obtained according to the needs of the Indonesian e-government. The cause-and-effect analysis concept analyses the data linkages between the six central components and their respective sub-components. This study concludes that each of main components and sub-components supports each other so that all these things must be carried out in a balanced and continuous manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pluralisation of policing has caused much debate in criminology. Yet very few studies examine how the public perceive private security. This article addresses this gap by drawing on empirical qualitative data from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It makes an empirical contribution to the existing mega-events literature by showing how local residents from a community perceived private security within the context of their everyday environment. Findings show that perceptions of private security were overall negative. This was attributed to a perceived lack of local knowledge, perceived lack of professional expertise, perceived poor communication, and perceived authoritarianism among security actors. Such findings raise important implications regarding the normative legitimacy of private security at mega-events and society more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private security governance has gained increased attention from the government for the governance mechanism but still remains fragmented. This paper attempts to clarify the governance of private security by government through a systematic review of literature. The review process contributed to four themes which addressed three major trends. First is the response of government toward the governance objective, set by either public actors or in collaboration by both public and private actors. Second is the coordination mechanism adapted by the government in handling multiple governors from public and private security industries. Third is the regulatory mechanism of the private security industry adhered to by the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper articulates a model of urban governance, developed through emergent analysis of the rulers, methods, rules and logics evident in the practices of security governance in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Informed by the concept of hybrid governance, this grounded theorising draws on extensive fieldwork on security governance practices in a complex urban neighbourhood to present a model of multiple and sometimes contending forms of governance that include, but are not limited to, bureaucratic, market, developmental, network and informal governance. Our model emerges from a critique of top-down approaches to understanding governance that starts with the state, institutions and law, or approaches that primarily focus on formal partnerships between the state and business or other social partners. The view from above can miss important aspects of how residents are governed 'from below' and informally. Hence it is impossible to understand from the formal, and in advance of grounded research, exactly how many places in urban Africa are governed. Exposing the particular and local forms of governance in urban Africa can support improved forms of service delivery and citizen's experiences of living in their city. In addition, while our model may be relevant in other places, more important is the methodology of identifying the rulers and methods, but especially the rules and logics of practice, to surface the specific, and complex, forms of governance in an urban place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of national security standardization bodies can have adverse impact on the adoption of international security standards and best practices. To assure security confidence among various organizations and to promote systematic adoption of standards and best standards, a practical framework that can support comparative measures is needed.. This paper presents GoSafe, a novel practical cybersecurity assessment framework that is tailored to the ISO 2700x standard requirements for the development of Information Security Management System (ISMS). GoSafe can be used for both self-assessment and auditing/scoring tool by national cybersecurity authorities. Using GoSafe, organizations can evaluate their existing information security management systems against local and international standards by utilizing built-in pre-audit tools. As such, GoSafe will help organizations evaluate and enhance their readiness for evolving risks and threats. In GoSafe framework, a novel mathematical model was also designed and implemented for the scoring/rating tool, namely, the national cyber security index (aeNCI). The aeNCI employs multiple parameters to determine the maturity of existing cybersecurity programs at national organizations and generate a classification and comparison reports. The efficacy of GoSafe proposed framework is demonstrated using a practical case study. The results enabled the stakeholder to verify the security configuration of their systems and identify potential attack/risk vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's attitude towards the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has evolved from resistance to acceptance with reservations. Having endorsed R2P, China reinterpreted the emerging norm and put forward four principles of implementing R2P, namely target state consent, regional consensus, non-coercive means or coercive means authorized by the UN Security Council, and no precedent-setting, which are followed when implementing R2P. This article explores China's change in attitude towards R2P and its different attitude on different R2P-related issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the key target area of R2P, arguing that the combination of socialization mechanism and localization mechanism explains a series of China's behaviours including its change of attitude towards R2P, reinterpretation of R2P and stance on implementing R2P on specific issues. Through examining the Darfur issue, the Libyan crisis and the Syrian crisis, the article demonstrates how China supports or opposes the implementation of R2P under the combined influence of socialization and localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the material-discursive assemblages at work in Security Force Assistance (SFA) programs. Departing from the idea that SFA follows a patron-client type relationship, or that it is normatively bounded, it argues that SFA is emergent and negotiated via epistemic practices. It identifies three sets of practices at work – i) identifying the epistemic object; 2) establishing boundaries of action; and 3) rendering visible the material nexus. The article draws on the case of SFA to Lebanon since 2006 to demonstrate how heterogeneous material elements, global discourses, and actors' interests and agendas are translated and stabilised in SFA programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to governmentality studies, resilience, like any other neoliberal policy framework, reproduces a paternalising dichotomy between capable Northern policy elites and incapable Southern actors. In contrast to this popular governmentality reading, this article argues that resilience thinking is actually geared towards critiquing international policy expertise and the privileged knowledge position of international interveners. Rather than imposing particular policy options from the top down, resilience thinking actively seeks out vernacular, non-liberal forms of governing. However, the drive to critique domineering neoliberal policy initiatives does not usher in a post-liberal paradigm. Instead, this article demonstrates how resilience works as a field of transition on which the retreat from liberal forms of governing is mediated discursively without giving up entirely on the notion of normative, law-based security. These insights are drawn out with reference to crime-related US security interventions in the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines policy responses to crime and terror as cases through which to illuminate the transformations of contemporary security governance in Denmark. The policies reveal how particular events have triggered a process of security escalation in which conflated notions of threat have called for new policing measures and organizations. We focus on three critical events linked to ‘foreign fighters’, ‘gangs’, and ‘crossovers’ as cases of escalating threat through which to analyze the expansion and conflation of security domains. Policy responses to the crime-terror nexus, we argue, merge reactive and proactive policing measures and formerly distinct domains of securitization and risk management, highlighting the frictional characteristics of security governance. While the Danish Model—informed by a networked-based and multiagency approach to preventing and countering radicalization and extremism—is often referred to as a model of best practice—we propose that future research needs to explore in greater detail how the expansion and conflation of security domains impact security actors who are mandated to implement the operational response to crime and terror. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undersea communication cables are the core critical infrastructure of the digital age. 99% of all transoceanic digital communication—financial transactions, emails, or voice messaging—is transported through undersea fiber-optic cables. The global submarine cable network is a critical infrastructure that does not receive the analytical attention it deserves. We argue that cable security is a core dimension of current and future international security governance. We present the first systematic survey of the academic discourses that investigate the politics, governance, and protection of submarine data cables. Three rather narrow literatures study the cables (1) as under threat from hybrid warfare and terrorism, or treat the cable network narrowly as a (2) technical or (3) regulatory problem. We demonstrate the need for broadening out the research agenda and addressing key questions of security governance and geopolitics of this increasingly critical infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil security is one of the crucial public goods provided by the state to protect its society from devastating disasters. The increasing complexity of disasters and the expanding scope of non-military challenges call for an increased heterogeneity of core actors and for more participatory governance. Yet little is known about the patterns of stakeholder involvement in civil security across countries. Based on a comprehensive dataset covering 22 European countries, the article presents systematic evidence on the official involvement of different types of stakeholders in the national civil security governance systems. The goal is to explore whether the European countries with similar characteristics fall into geographically and culturally similar categories and whether similar patterns can be observed across the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. The research questions addressed are: Do the European countries with similar characteristics fall into geographically and culturally similar categories ? Is the CEE region distinct from others ? To answer the questions, a hierarchical cluster analysis is conducted using security governance as a framework for analysis. The association is further tested between the different clusters of countries and broader cultural variables. The results suggest that despite sharing cultural similarities and geographical proximity, the CEE countries form mixed clusters with other non-CEE European countries. While the involvement of civil society organizations is quite universal, especially the involvement of private for-profit actors and multilateral engagement seem to discriminate among different types of civil security governance setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A non-state centric approach challenged the concept of security governance in response to a changed security environment, bringing fragmentation of authority and heterarchical structures into the framework. The existing studies on this approach are largely contextualized from the European experience and developments in its security architecture. This leads to the questions as to whether and how non-state centric security governance occurs in other regions. This article contributes to the literature by studying security governance in East Asia, where the state is a dominant feature in security governance, and through the lens of non-traditional security, with China's COVID-19 response as a case study. In this particular case, we find that security governance that opens spaces for greater involvement of actors beyond the state could happen, albeit in a more circumscribed manner and subject of certain conditions. We identify three conditions that catalyze the opening of governance spaces: when the capacity of the state is stretched to the limits, when the legitimacy of the government is under pressure, and when there is trust between the government and other actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security governance plays an extremely important role in achieving basic stability; every geopolitical context wants to maintain and to perpetuate. the security objective must be perceived both as a sine qua non in insuring current needs, as well as a means to ensure well-drafted mitigation plans for future challenges. The multilevel governance framework must continually focus on emerging threat factors, fast-moving changes in the landscape, people’s views and behavior and, perhaps most importantly upon the cultural transformations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of preventive policies and, at the same time, to show how they can lead to good governance. Furthermore, we would like to advance the efficiency of a threat assessment guide on behalf of European institutions, whether there is a clear tool kit commonly put into action, and last but not least, if the instruments of cooperation that these institutions have in their portfolio are enough to forge a strong prevention mechanism. As a result, we will eventually try to demonstrate that decisionmakers need to understand the importance of preventive policies and how they can be developed and used to optimize resources and improve development, progress and efficiency, regardless of areas.