No 5 (2025)
Articles
The evolution of the concept of central bank communication as a tool: from a threat to financial stability to an element of the economic security system
Abstract
The subject of this research is the evolution of communication policy of central banks as a key tool of monetary regulation. The work traces the fundamental transformation of the role of communication: from the historical doctrine of secrecy, where it was considered a potential threat to financial stability, through its recognition as a routine mechanism for managing inflation expectations, to its modern affirmation as a strategic element of the state's economic security system. The analysis focuses on the shift in theoretical paradigms influenced by the development of economic thought (from the theory of time-inconsistency to the theory of inflation targeting), as well as specific discursive practices and verbal interventions of central banks (using examples from the US Federal Reserve, the ECB, and the Bank of Russia) during periods of financial stability and systemic crises. The research shows how communication has transformed from an optional addition into an independent channel of the transmission mechanism, directly influencing financial sovereignty. The study employs a range of qualitative methods: historical-genetic analysis to reconstruct the evolution of the paradigm, discourse analysis of key verbal interventions, comparative analysis of practices across different jurisdictions, and an institutional approach to interpret the results. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the systematic justification of the transition of central bank communication into the category of elements of national economic security. A key conclusion is the assertion of the performative nature of modern monetary communication: in times of crisis, verbal intervention not only describes reality but actively constructs it, serving as an independent tool for stabilization and preventing a collapse of trust. The research identifies and analyzes the "transparency paradox," whereby the pursuit of maximum clarity generates risks of excessive dependence of markets on communication signals. Using the example of the Bank of Russia in 2022, the study details how the deliberate construction of narratives (the temporariness of the shock, resource adequacy, and guarantees of support) functions to preemptively suppress panic, directly relating to the goals of ensuring financial sovereignty and stability.
National Security / nota bene. 2025;(5):1-15
1-15
UN and African Union Peacekeeping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from the DR Congo and Other Regional Cases
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify challenges and prospects of UN and African Union (AU) peacekeeping activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to develop recommendations for improving their effectiveness. The research objectives include: analyzing institutional and legal foundations of UN and AU peacekeeping in the region; comparative assessment of mandates, resource provision and coordination between international and regional structures; evaluating the effectiveness of specific operations (using the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study); and identifying systemic limitations. The study also aims to develop proposals for improving peacekeeping mechanisms considering regional specifics. The object of this research is the peacekeeping activities of the United Nations and African Union in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular focus on institutional and political-legal mechanisms for ensuring continental security. The subject of study comprises specific peacekeeping operations in the region, especially the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) as one of the largest and most resource-intensive missions. The author examines such aspects as coordination of international and regional conflict prevention efforts, mandate specifics, legal frameworks for operations, and participation of national actors in stabilization processes. Special attention is given to evaluating the effectiveness of existing approaches and identifying systemic problems that hinder successful peacekeeping implementation. The research employs both general scientific and specialized methods: comparative legal analysis, case study methodology, institutional approach, and elements of political-legal modeling. The methodology is based on interdisciplinary synthesis of data from international law, political science, and international relations. Key findings highlight the need to reform international and regional peacekeeping mechanisms considering the specifics of protracted conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa. The author's particular contribution includes a comparative analysis of UN and AU mandates and the conclusion about the necessity to enhance their cooperation at both institutional and operational levels. The study's novelty lies in its comprehensive approach to analyzing peacekeeping within the context of international security regionalization, with emphasis on African nations as active participants in peace processes. The author substantiates the importance of transitioning from reactive to preventive strategies based on sustainable development, institutional strengthening, and civil society engagement. Additional scholarly contribution includes in-depth analysis of the UN mission in DRC as an example of systemic challenges in modern peacekeeping and coordination difficulties between international and regional structures. This work contributes to both theory and practice of international relations and may be valuable for academic community in further research on international security and peacekeeping in complex conflict environments of Sub-Saharan Africa.
National Security / nota bene. 2025;(5):16-30
16-30
Limits of Legitimacy: Personal Freedom and State Security in Political and Legal Comparison
Abstract
The subject of the research is the political-legal nature of the legitimacy of restrictions on individual rights in the context of ensuring national security. The object of analysis is the models of normative and institutional regulation of the balance between personal freedom and state interest in the context of the transformation of threats and crises of legitimacy. The author examines the philosophical foundations of the concept of legitimacy, the typology of rights restrictions, the rhetoric of threats, and the political-legal features of China, Russia, the USA, and the European Union. The aim of the article is to identify the normative and discourse mechanisms of legitimizing restrictions on freedom in the context of security threats. The hypothesis proposes a shift in balance toward prioritizing state security with a decrease in the level of procedural accountability. The methodology is based on a synthesis of the philosophy of law, comparative legal and critical discourse analysis, allowing for the identification of the normative and value-based foundations of legitimacy models. As a result of the analysis, four models of the relationship between freedom and security are identified—from ideological control to legal accountability. It is established that a universal approach to defining permissible restrictions is impossible without considering the legal culture and rhetorical constructions of threats. The practical significance lies in the application of the results for assessing the permissibility of restrictions and developing acts in the field of digital security. The research methodology includes the philosophy of law, comparative legal analysis, and critical discourse analysis, enabling the identification of normative, institutional, and rhetorical mechanisms for legitimizing restrictions on individual rights in various political-legal systems. The novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive philosophical-legal and comparative legal analysis of the legitimacy of restrictions on individual rights in the face of the transformation of the political-legal order and the rise of exceptional regimes. Unlike existing works, the author combines normative, institutional, and discursive approaches, which enables a revelation of the deep differences in legitimacy models between authoritarian and liberal jurisdictions. A significant contribution of the author is the development of a typology of legitimacy models (PRC, RF, USA, EU) and the identification of the relationship between the level of institutional accountability and the permissibility of restrictions. The main conclusions of the conducted study are: the impossibility of universalizing the balance between freedom and security; the existence of stable discursive mechanisms for normalizing exception; and the need to rethink the concepts of "threat" and "legitimacy" within the framework of legal analysis.
National Security / nota bene. 2025;(5):31-42
31-42
The language of law as a resource for Russia's national security: the concept of legal linguistic convergence.
Abstract
The subject of the study in the article is legal linguistic convergence as a specific area of interaction between the language of law and national security in Russia. It analyzes how the quality of legal language, its clarity, and terminological consistency affect the state of linguistic and economic security, trust in state institutions, and the perception of key political and legal decisions in society. The focus is on the normative constructions used in language policy, education regulation, the information sphere, and the sanctions agenda. Particular attention is given to how legal definitions relate to real communicative practices and can be viewed as a resource for strengthening national security, rather than merely as a technical tool for describing norms. Additionally, the subject of the research encompasses institutional mechanisms for ensuring legal linguistic convergence. The study is based on a combination of formal-legal and comparative-legal methods with a legal linguistic analysis of the language of law; it uses elements of doctrinal analysis, interpretation of normative acts, and examination of texts reflecting sanctions and language policy. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the conceptualization of legal linguistic convergence as an independent factor of national security in Russia and its differentiation from the category of linguistic security. The article proposes an author's understanding of legal linguistic convergence as a process of aligning legal language with real communicative practices in the areas of language policy, education, information agenda, and sanctions policy. It is shown that the consistency of terminology, uniformity of key definitions, and consideration of the public's perception of legal formulations directly impact the stability of law enforcement, trust in state institutions, and the effectiveness of measures to ensure economic security. An additional novelty is the proposal of criteria for assessing the degree of such convergence, allowing for the identification of areas of increased risk in the linguistic and economic-legal spheres. It is justified that legal linguistic convergence should be regarded as a structural element of the national security system.
National Security / nota bene. 2025;(5):43-59
43-59
Forecasting the prospects of industrial development in regions under the conditions of sanctions limiting imports
Abstract
The subject of the research is economic relations concerning the intensification of industrial economic growth in the region based on an empirical assessment of import vulnerability and the stimulation of import substitution processes in priority areas of industrial production. The object of the study consists of the entities of the Russian Volga Federal District. The authors examine in detail issues related to developing methodological approaches for identifying critically significant commodities imported from abroad into the regions of Russia and constructing models that determine the extent of their influence on regional industrial development processes under sanctions pressure. Particular attention is paid to constructing scenarios for limiting the supply of critically significant goods from abroad in the context of sanctions and developing prospects for economic growth in the regions of the Volga Federal District based on this analysis. The methodological basis consists of tools for statistical data analysis, grouping, and systematization, including the use of econometric research methods and panel data analysis. The main results of the study are the identification of critically significant commodity nomenclatures of foreign economic activity (FEA) for the industries of the Volga Federal District, which pose the primary threats to sustainable economic development. The established registry of critical imports for the entities of the Volga Federal District by FEA allowed, relying on data scenario analysis methods and econometric modeling, to determine possible trajectories for industrial development in these entities. Based on the obtained model patterns of the influence of identified critical imports on the volumes of industrial development in the regions of the Volga Federal District, prognostic estimates of the economic growth dynamics of the studied regional group were achieved. The novelty of the research lies in the developed methodological tools that substantiate the hypothesis put forward in the study that "considering spatial (unmeasurable, individual differences) effects contributes to increasing the predictive efficiency of econometric models of regional economic development." The proposed tools not only define the features and directions of forecasting methods for the development of mesoeconomic systems but also establish a foundation for the development of regional economic theory as a whole.
National Security / nota bene. 2025;(5):60-81
60-81