Security Challenges in Times of Transition: Polarization, Threats and Resilience

The contemporary international system, characterized by multipolarity and intensified international cooperation, is going through a moment of transition. We are still unable to indicate, precisely, how the distribution of power in a new order will be defined. For now, we see a fragmented international scenario, with competition between great powers (democratic and autocratic), more assertive and robust national security doctrines and polarized societies. Violence, armed conflicts and security threats are persistent and of various types and are geographically spread across the globe. It is therefore important to understand the challenges that various global security threats pose to States and their citizens in order to find effective responses.
This panel brings together papers that investigate Russian disinformation in the conflict in Ukraine; hybrid threats and the strategic usefulness of their concept for thinking about European security; ethical issues of using artificial intelligence in public security forces; cyberterrorism and NATO and European Union mechanisms to answer to this growing threat; and maritime insecurity, particularly on the African continent. Through perspectives that analyze the impact of these threats on both the citizen, the State, as well as international institutions, the panel calls for reflections on increasingly sophisticated problems that are present in individual, state and multilateral daily life, and require action of policy makers in a pressing and polarized time.