Security Science Journal

THE ROLE OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN PREVENTING RADICALISATION IN MALAWI

Peter Gergo Juhasz — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.1

In the past decade, the northern provinces of Mozambique have experienced a surge in violent radicalisation, particularly in the Cabo Delgado area. Neighbouring Malawi in the same period has remained relatively unaffected by such extremism, despite sharing similar rural and socioeconomic conditions. This paper explores the role of Malawi's primary education system in mitigating the risk of radicalisation. Rather than focusing on a single teacher-training program, the broader impact of educational quality is analysed. It includes teacher availability, teacher professionalism, and school infrastructure. The research argues that although education alone cannot prevent violent extremism, improvements in teacher training and school resourcing play a crucial role in strengthening moral grounding through value-based education and ethical reasoning, enhancing social cohesion by fostering inclusion and civic engagement, and developing critical thinking skills that enable learners to question and resist extremist narratives and ideological manipulation. This study advocates for comprehensive educational reform as part of a broader counter-radicalisation strategy in sub-Saharan Africa.

STRATEGIC UNCERTAINTY AND NORMATIVE CONTESTATION IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: RETHINKING SECURITY BEYOND ALLIANCE-CENTERED MODELS

Baha' Aldeen Raed Suliman Almomani — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.2

This study examines how military-centered frameworks alone cannot fully capture the security of the Indo-Pacific; as a result, perception, strategic narratives, and ethical considerations are incorporated as the primary factors that determine regional order. The study examines how global power rivalry creates strategic and interpretive security dilemmas, particularly for Southeast Asian and East Asian states seeking to balance deterrence, alignment, and strategic autonomy, through the lens of the Indo-Pacific as a contested security area. To critically examine contemporary regional security practices and scholarship, the study, grounded in qualitative and theory-driven methods, integrates perspectives from defensive realism, ontological security theory, and norm localization. The study's findings indicate that instability in the Indo-Pacific is sustained not only by material military competition but also by strategic ambiguity, hybrid forms of rivalry, and localized interpretations of threat and legitimacy. The middle powers play a critical role through strategies that combine autonomy, cooperation, and deterrence. Furthermore, it is suggested that the region's natural development occurs gradually through local adaptation processes as opposed to the implementation of uniform or externally imposed standards, which explains the longevity of adaptable and consensus-oriented institutional arrangements. The study concludes that institutional innovation, communication, and ethical restraint should be used in conjunction with traditional deterrence techniques to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific. This is because ignoring the material or ideational aspects of security will prolong the long-term instability problem in one of the world's most strategically important areas.

ANALYSIS OF MEDIA COVERAGE ABOUT WAR IN UKRAINE IN CROATIAN MEDIA – INFORMATION VS DISINFORMATION

Ivana Kovačević Bekić — 2026-04-25

Review paper

DOI:https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.3

History teaches us that the victory on the battlefield has always been won by the one who wisely used the available information - information about the opponent, information about one's own forces, information about weather conditions, or spreading misinformation with the aim of deceiving the opponent. It is the same today, not only on the battlefield, but also on the battlefield called the market. The one who most wisely uses the available information and/or outsmarts the opponent or competitor in the market wins. The war in Ukraine is just one more example in a series of examples that confirms this. However, what distinguishes the war in Ukraine from historical wars is the availability of the Internet, the speed of information transmission and the presence of social networks. The biggest advantage of social networks is that most users do not question the veracity of published information - videos, photos and the like. They are an excellent medium for sharing the truth, but also for spreading misinformation.

MEDIA FRAMING OF WAR REFUGEES IN CROATIAN ONLINE MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF UKRAINE AND GAZA

Marija Jozović — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.4

The objective of this paper is to analyze how Croatian online media frame war-related displacement by comparing coverage of refugees linked to the escalation in Ukraine (2022) and the Gaza Strip (2023). The study uses media-framing theory and interprets the coverage through a security-science distinction between two representations: refugees as populations exposed to endangerment, and refugees as potential sources of societal endangerment. This analytic distinction clarifies whether displacement is recognized as a security problem of protection or of control. A comparative content analysis was conducted on N=370 articles from the Index.hr, Jutarnji.hr, Večernji.hr, and Dnevno.hr, collected in the first 30 days after each escalation. The results show a pronounced visibility asymmetry, with Ukraine receiving far more coverage (N=342) than Gaza (N=28). Ukraine-related reporting is overwhelmingly humanitarian, with an occasional security layer focused on governance and institutional capacity. Gaza-related reporting is sparse, still predominantly humanitarian, and more closely anchored in conflict updates. Across both cases, explicit portrayals that cast refugees as a source of societal endangerment are empirically marginal. When “security” appears, it most often refers to administrative risk management or to the broader conflict-security context, rather than to a sustained attribution of threat to refugees.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MISSILE SYSTEMS, AND MISSILE DEFENSE: DECISION COMPRESSION, VULNERABILITY, AND ESCALATION DYNAMICS IN SOUTH ASIA

Marcos André Fortunato — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.5

This article examines how integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into cruise missile systems, ballistic missiles, and ballistic missile defense (BMD) architectures reshapes deterrence mechanisms and escalation dynamics in regions characterized by persistent rivalry and compressed decision-making timelines, with particular emphasis on South Asia. Building on a typological-comparative approach, the analysis treats AI as a functional layer that reorganizes the sensor–processing–command–engagement chain across different missile technologies, rather than as an autonomous driver of strategic transformation. The study argues that AI-enabled applications—especially in sensor fusion, target discrimination, and decision support—tend to accelerate operational cycles while simultaneously increasing dependence on data integrity, software reliability, and network resilience. In regional contexts such as the India–Pakistan–China strategic triangle, these dynamics amplify existing dilemmas associated with dual-capable systems, counterforce incentives, and missile defense deployments, narrowing margins for error during crises. The findings suggest that technological advances associated with AI frequently coexist with heightened risks of misperception and inadvertent escalation, reinforcing long-standing concerns identified in the missile age while introducing new layers of vulnerability linked to cyber interference and algorithmic opacity. The article contributes to current debates on emerging technologies and strategic stability by situating AI within the structural conditions of regional deterrence and escalation management.

BETWEEN TEHRAN AND WASHINGTON – IRAN AT A CROSSROADS

Shaul Shay — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.6

By early 2026, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have entered a phase of systemic exhaustion marked by the simultaneous collapse of its economic, social, environmental, military, and geopolitical foundations. This article argues that Iran is no longer facing a cyclical crisis but a structural impasse resulting from the convergence of multiple failures: hyperinflation and economic collapse under renewed "snapback" sanctions, nationwide hunger-driven unrest, hydrological bankruptcy, the disintegration of the regional "Axis of Resistance," and the kinetic degradation of Iran's nuclear and missile deterrent during the June 2025 conflict with Israel and the United States. Drawing on recent intelligence assessments, strategic studies, and environmental security research, the analysis demonstrates how the erosion of Iran's "Forward Defense" doctrine and proxy-based deterrence has stripped the regime of its primary tools for external intimidation and internal stabilization. The article further examines the strategic consequences of Iran's isolation following Russia's and China's effective abandonment, revealing the limits of Tehran's long-standing "Look East" strategy. It concludes that the Iranian regime now confronts a stark strategic dilemma between accepting coercive negotiations under highly unfavorable terms or facing the growing likelihood of external kinetic intervention amid escalating domestic unrest. The findings suggest that within the Islamic Republic's existing ideological framework, there is no viable pathway to recovery, marking 2026 as a potential terminal point for Iran's revolutionary model of governance.

ENERGY SECURITY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ONGOING CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

Peter Čajka — 2026-04-25

Review Paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.7

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 fundamentally altered the European energy and security architecture, exposing the structural vulnerability of the Slovak Republic, which had been among the most energy-dependent member states of the European Union. This article examines the implications of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict for the energy security of the Slovak Republic. As a landlocked Central European country, Slovakia is heavily dependent on external oil and natural gas supplies, historically supplied via pipelines from the Russian Federation. Before the crisis, Slovakia imported approximately 90% of its natural gas and nearly all of its crude oil from Russia, rendering its economy and political system highly susceptible to external shocks. The war in Ukraine thus has disrupted traditional supply chains, exposed vulnerabilities in energy policy, and accelerated the search for diversification and sustainable alternatives. By analyzing the strategic, political, and economic dimensions of Slovak energy security, this study highlights the interplay between domestic policies, EU frameworks, and geopolitical shifts. The article concludes that Slovakia's long-term energy security depends on diversifying supply routes, developing renewable energy sources, fostering regional cooperation, and adapting to EU decarbonization goals.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS IN EDUCATION SYSTEMS: A STRUCTURED REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS, CHALLENGES, AND IMPLICATIONS

Frowin Rabanus Kifaru — 2026-04-25

Original Research Article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.8

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming higher education through applications in teaching, assessment, research, and institutional management. However, existing studies remain fragmented and often overlook governance, security risks, and ethical implications. This study presents a systematic review of AI tools in higher education from a security science perspective. Using PRISMA 2020 guidelines, peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025 were analyzed through thematic synthesis. The findings identify four major categories of AI tools: generative AI, learning analytics systems, intelligent tutoring systems, and administrative decision-support tools. While these technologies enhance efficiency and personalization, they introduce risks related to academic integrity, data privacy, algorithmic opacity, and system dependency. To address this gap, the study proposes a weighted Confidentiality–Integrity–Availability (CIA) model for quantifying AI-related risks, alongside a governance framework for institutional risk management. The results emphasize that effective AI adoption requires robust governance, ethical safeguards, and human-centered oversight. The study contributes a structured and measurable approach to evaluating AI risks in higher education systems.