Risks and Threats to National Security: Essence and Classification
Authors:   Research Centre for Industrial Problems of Development of NAS of Ukraine, Khaustova Viktoriia Ye. , Trushkina Nataliia V. ,   Research Centre for Industrial Problems of Development of NAS of Ukraine
Published: December 2024

The events of recent decades testify to the aggravation of international and national security problems and the ambiguous impact of globalization processes on the sustainable development of different countries of the world. Under these conditions, there is a rivalry between the leading countries for the redistribution of spheres of influence, the threat of using force and means of warfare in resolving conflicts between them increases. The global escalation of terrorism has become real, the flows of illegal migration and the likelihood of the emergence of new nuclear weapons are growing. Therefore, in the context of the intensification of globalization processes, issues related to national security are becoming more and more priority in the world. The complexity and contradiction of the processes of transformations of the geopolitical and geo-economic space, the need to solve global security problems, the cardinal sociopolitical and socioeconomic changes that have recently been observed in many countries, determine the relevance of the issue of ensuring national security. This issue is of particular importance in the context of the introduction of martial law in Ukraine in connection with russia’s military aggression. On the basis of the study of the best world practices and critical theoretical analysis, it is found that the threat to national security is an expression of a possible negative (from the standpoint of the interests of the individual, society or State) impact on the interests, conditions and opportunities for their implementation, the system of relations. Thus, it is proposed to supplement the characteristics of threats to national security and consider them not only as conditions and factors, but also as actions aimed at limiting (or oppressing) the vital interests of an individual, society or State. According to the definition of threats as conditions, factors and actions (activities), we propose to classify them by types as follows: 1) threats that are caused by objectively developing natural and socioeconomic processes; 2) threats that are caused by certain political, economic and social actions or contradictions. As shown by world practice and the analysis conducted by the authors during the study, the first group of threats to national security includes: structural deformation of the economy; low level of competitiveness of the national economy; reduction in production volumes, which leads to pushing out of both foreign and domestic markets; a sharp drop in investment activity, which leads to the aging of fixed production assets; destruction of scientific and technical potential and «brain drain»; deterioration of communication systems and emergency hazard; destruction, damage and insufficiently effective system of protection of critical infrastructure facilities; reducing the level of information security, including the system of preserving the State-controlled economic and commercial secrets and providing reliable and timely economic information to the government, small and medium-sized businesses, the population, etc.; cyber threats, cyber attacks and cyber wars; the destruction of the financial system, the growth of inflation and the unjustified fall in the exchange rate of the currency caused by the negative balance of payments and foreign trade and the weakness of the currency regulation system; financial, economic, political crisis; martial law of the country, etc. Considering the second group of threats, it is necessary to single out those that can have the utmost impact on the national security of Ukraine at the present stage of development, provided that the scale and scope of their manifestation and action increase. In a number of countries, these threats have led to the most complex socioeconomic processes. Therefore, the assessment of the state of national security of the country should provide for the identification of the prerequisites for the emergence of such threats. These include the following threats: the use of unconstitutional methods in achieving political, economic, social and other goals; terrorism as a method of achieving the goal and a means of pressure on the authorities; corruption, involvement of representatives of authorities and management in the commission of crimes both through bribery and through blackmail, threats; bribery, misuse of official position; expansion of the range of financial manipulations on the verge of the law or making use of «legal loopholes» in the legislation regulating credit and financial relations (granting large loans to business structures without appropriate guarantees; transfer of public funds to the accounts of «dummy» firms, offshore companies or to private accounts in international banks, etc.); the use of personal connections in government agencies to carry out illegal transactions (for example, obtaining licenses); the emergence of new types and methods of committing crimes in the economic sphere (tax evasion; production of goods and services unfit for consumption due to violation of technology; securities fraud); growth of the level of the «shadow» economy, which leads to threats to economic security. This article proposes to use an integrated approach to the classification of threats to national security, that is, views as necessary to systematically and comprehensively consider threats to national security in the context of the components of the latter, namely threats to military, energy, economic, financial, demographic, social, food, environmental, informational, ethnic, intellectual, scientific and technical security. The list of the above threats should be taken into account when developing strategies and government programs to ensure the national security of the country.