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National Security
Reference:

Competitive approach to assessing the national security of the Russian Federation

Krupnov Yurii A.

ORCID: 0000-0002-9524-3747

Doctor of Economics

Leading Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Financial University)

Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems, 49/2, Leningradsky av., Moscow, Russian Federation 125167

yukrupnov@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Sil'vestrov Sergei N.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7678-1283

Doctor of Economics

Director, Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security; Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Financial University)

49/2 Leningradsky Ave., Moscow, 125167, Russia, Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems

silvestrsn@gmail.com
Starovoitov Vladimir G.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7595-6379

Doctor of Economics

Chief Researcher, Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Financial University)

125167, Russia, Moscow, Leningradsky Ave., 49/2, Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems

vladstar1953@yahoo.com
Other publications by this author
 

 
Lapenkova Natalya V.

ORCID: 0000-0003-1644-4338

Junior Scientific Associate, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Financial University)

Institute of Economic Policy and Economic Security Problems, 49/2, Leningradsky av., Moscow, Russian Federation 125167

ms.nvla@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0668.2023.5.68816

EDN:

AECUMX

Received:

26-10-2023


Published:

09-11-2023


Abstract: The object of the study is the procedure for assessing the state of national security of the Russian Federation, which is being considered for its improvement based on the implementation of a competitive approach when conducting assessments. The authors review the current procedure for assessing national security and justify the need for its improvement. A comparative analysis of domestic and international experience in the formation of criteria, the hierarchical structure of indicators and the prioritization of threats is carried out. The necessity of forming a hierarchical structure, universalization and integration of indicators as part of the implementation of a competitive approach in assessing the state of national security is substantiated. Particular attention is paid to studying the possibility of using uniform international criteria and a system of indicators in domestic practice. Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions are presented. The state of security is not an absolute value, but is characterized by relative indicators obtained from the results of a comparative assessment of the indicators of competing countries. Security monitoring and assessment should be carried out on a cross-country rating basis, comparing different countries, including countries whose activities are the source of the main challenges and threats. The novelty lies in the substantiation of the use of a competitive approach and rating methodology, allowing governing bodies to assess the state of security taking into account domestic development dynamics and a comparative analysis of the indicators of countries that can influence the state of security in Russia. Author also presented the associative series of national interests and national security indicators of the USA and Russia. In contrast to similar studies, an original approach to the formation of a set of indicators of the state of national security is proposed. Building a hierarchical structure of indicators provides an opportunity to focus on the most important international complex and integral indicators, and increase the efficiency and reliability of assessments. The main directions for improving assessment based on the implementation of structural-hierarchical and competitive approaches have been identified.


Keywords:

national security, National Security Strategy, hierarchical structure of indicators, competitive approach, national security monitoring, comparative analysis method, security assessment, national interests, national security criteria, international comprehensive indicators

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

The national security strategies of Russia and other countries contain unique formulations of national interests, for the protection of which it is envisaged to achieve goals and solve private tasks in the economic, defense, humanitarian and other spheres. The sequence, timing, tools and resources for their solution are provided for by documents of strategic planning, sustainable development, security and budgeting, including programs, plans and projects in various spheres of national and international activities. Management bodies organize systematic monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of their implementation. With all the variety of approaches to the implementation of this activity, the following basic categories are common for most countries:

- strategies, plans and programs that correspond to the main challenges and threats to development and national security (hereinafter referred to as development and security);

- challenges, threats and risks linked to regional and country sources of their escalation;

- Strategic national priorities (hereinafter – SNP) of development and security activities;

- development goals and objectives, the degree of achievement of which is assessed using a system of indicators and indicators.

It is the presence of a system of indicators, the planning of their achievement, monitoring and evaluation that give the activity a substantive character. The correctness of their application depends on the ability to evaluate the results of activities, as well as ensuring the adequacy of plans and programs.

The current concept of security monitoring and assessment in Russia involves the use of indicators related to the main groups of socio-economic development, as well as military and state security. The first group represents a sample from the Unified Plan for achieving the national Development Goals of the Russian Federation (According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated July 21, 2020 N 474 "On the national development Goals of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030" // <url> URL: https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/74304210 / (accessed: 01.01.2023)). The second group includes indicators of the state of defense and state security [1, p. 145; 2, p. 135], established in accordance with the Military Doctrine, the Fundamentals of Military-Technical Policy of the Russian Federation and other conceptual documents.

All countries of the world are forming their own systems for monitoring and evaluating indicators, constantly adjusting them to the changing international and local conjuncture. Modern Russia has entered a period of escalating challenges to dynamic development and security and needs an appropriate restructuring of criteria and assessment tools. In this article, a comparative analysis of the approaches of Russia and a number of other countries is carried out and proposals are formulated to improve the assessment of the national security of the Russian Federation.

Literature and research review

The use of structural-hierarchical and competitive approaches to security monitoring and assessment seems to be a complex and urgent research task. There is no consensus among the Russian scientific community on ways to solve it. Almost all studies are devoted to economics [3, p. 29; 4, p. 740; 5, p. 20]. Economic security is often identified with national security, that is, it is recognized as its main component. As areas of improvement, the variants of numerical optimization of indicators and integration of their heterogeneous groups are mainly considered [6, p. 20-21; 7, p. 65].

The risk-oriented approach is dominant [8, p. 13; 9, p. 92-93], which provides for consideration of deviations of indicators from the thresholds set by experts. Sometimes it is also proposed to establish interval and reference indicators, to scale them by spheres of activity, SNP, goals and objectives of development and security [10, p. 892], as well as ranking and aggregation in order to perform operational analysis [11, p. 64-65]. It is also proposed to focus on a small number of priorities and a limited number of indicators and indicators [12, p. 25].

The evaluation methodology is characterized by an abundance of proposed approaches and methods [13, p. 43-44; 14, p. 42] with the obvious dominance of the expert evaluation method. According to a number of researchers, the most promising method is to compare the indicators of the Russian Federation and other countries, including the countries that are the sources of the main threats [15, p. 10; 16, p. 16-20; 17, p. 1698-1700]. However, in the practice of strategic planning and public administration, it has not been widely used due to the incompatibility of national systems of indicators and indicators of different countries, as well as the imperfection of domestic approaches to their assessment. This is due to the novelty and relevance of the approaches discussed in this article.   

Summary information on foreign approaches is contained in national security strategies and other conceptual documents of the USA, China, Germany, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Indonesia. Proposals for the use of their experience are formulated on the basis of consideration of foreign scientific literature in the field under consideration [18, pp. 193-198; 19, pp. 60-62; 20, pp. 2; 21, pp. 102; 22, pp. 465; 23, pp. 38; 24, pp. 59; 25, pp. 11-13; 26, pp. 460].

The issue of improving the assessment of national security seems to be open, and this study is an attempt to fill this gap.

Materials and methods

The set of safety indicators is a set of individual important indicators from various fields, evaluated taking into account specific criteria and in accordance with a special methodology. The focus of efforts on economic or defense aspects, on domestic policy or international activities depends on the content of national interests. The specificity of the approaches makes it difficult to establish an associative correspondence between the unique systems of different countries. However, individual countries declare similar interests, which makes it possible to compare the corresponding security indicators. This is due to the use of the method of comparative analysis and a competitive approach to evaluation.

Indicators provide an indication of threats and risks, and also allow you to assess the effectiveness of the activities of state and corporate governance bodies to reduce them. We are talking about both individual local threats and the totality of existential risks for a country or a union of countries. Primary and generalized indicators and indicators (e.g. "economic security") are used to assess security in certain areas and spheres of activity. The assessment of the entire set of spheres of activity, challenges and threats is usually carried out using an integral indicator. This is due to the multilevel and hierarchical construction of indicators, which implies the use of a systematic structural – hierarchical approach.

Research results

In the Russian Federation, monitoring and evaluation of the degree of achievement of the goals and objectives of ensuring security provided for in the framework of nine priorities is carried out (According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 2021 No. 400 "On approval of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 (Article 27). // <url> URL: https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/401325792 / (date addresses: 01.01.2023)) with an emphasis on defense [1, p. 147; 2, p. 136] and economic aspects [3, p. 29; 4, p. 740; 5, p. 20; 6, p. 15]. 64 private indicators are subject to monitoring and, despite the proposals of scientists to improve them [6, p. 20-21; 7, p. 65], the number and structure of indicators have remained unchanged over the past 10 years. Individual federal executive authorities, following the recommendations of scientists [13, pp. 40-42], take actions to conduct additional complex and integral assessments. For example, within the framework of the priority "sustainable development of the Russian economy on a new technological basis", 40 indicators are monitored (According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 13, 2017 No. 208 "On the Strategy of Economic Security of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030" // <url> URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_216629 / (accessed: 01.01.2023)) and the following types of integral estimates:

- integral quantitative assessment of the condition;

- indicative assessment of dynamics for the reporting year;

- Assessment of medium-term trends in the dynamics of the state (Order No. 532 of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation dated October 03, 2018 "On the organization of monitoring and assessment of the state of economic security of the Russian Federation in the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation" // <url> URL: https://base .garant.ru/72272840 / (accessed: 01.02.2023)).  

Integral quantitative assessment is defined as the weighted average value of quantitative estimates of the achievement of indicators, taking into account their weight shares.

 

 – integral quantitative assessment;

 – assessment of the level of achievement of goals in points according to the nth indicator;

 – weight coefficients of indicators.

In the implementation of integral assessments, the criterion approach prevails, consisting in the correlation of planned, actual and threshold values of indicators [8, p. 13; 9, p. 91-92]. Estimated calculations allow us to qualify the condition as stable or favorable even if it was not possible to achieve the planned values.  Therefore, the state of security of the domestic economy in 2018-2021 received a positive assessment, although the actual rates of economic growth, a decrease in investment activity, a drop in real incomes, and a decline in the national currency indicate the opposite.

The predominance of the expert approach does not allow us to fully solve the problems of scaling the estimated threshold values of indicative indicators: by spheres of activity, SPN, goals and objectives of development and security [10, p. 892]. In addition, under some circumstances, the opinions of experts are so disparate that the results of their survey cannot be recognized as reliable.

 Acceleration of geo-economic and geopolitical processes involves the use of "fast" simplified algorithms for operational analysis. The current approach to evaluation does not meet this requirement due to the significant complexity of the processes. The solution to this problem lies in the way of determining a small group of indicators with a simplified methodology for their analysis. This implies the integration of heterogeneous indicators [11, pp. 64-65]. In general, the current approach [13, p. 43-44; 14, p. 42] needs to be substantially refined taking into account the following circumstances. Firstly, the monitoring and evaluation system is cumbersome and complex, which makes it difficult to use it in the practical activities of management bodies. Secondly, for some SNPs, the complexity of the analysis is not provided, which involves the formation and monitoring of consolidated complex and integral assessments. Thirdly, the state of the countries that are the sources of the main threats is mistakenly not taken into account. After all, it is there that the prerequisites for the growth or reduction of threats to Russia's security are formed [15, p. 10]. Attempts to introduce a competitive approach allowed individual scientists to form a rating table of integral security indicators. The positions of countries in the national security ranking are assessed by the authors of the study on the basis of calculated dimensionless indices using methods of multidimensional statistical analysis (see Table. 1) [16, pp. 16-20].

Table 1 - Rating of integral safety indicators

 

¹

A country

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

1

USA

11,44

10,69

10,57

10,49

10,57

2

China

3,213

3,730

4,593

4,892

5,127

3

South Korea

3,268

3,582

3,788

3,665

3,806

4

Switzerland

3,647

3,722

3,781

3,679

3,641

5

Japan

3,662

3,658

3,669

3,527

3,510

6

Germany

3,193

3,260

3,330

3,220

3,241

7

France

3,359

3,215

3,304

3,086

3,113

8

Great Britain

2,995

2,851

2,943

2,800

2,623

9

Luxembourg

3,394

2,877

2,890

2,735

2,607

10

Austria

2,457

2,497

2,677

2,656

2,572

11

Canada

2,943

2,751

2,714

2,611

2,556

12

Russia

2,772

2,805

2,876

2,617

2,553

13

Sweden

2,435

2,382

2,485

2,486

2,508

14

Israel

2,692

2,869

2,562

2,457

2,484

15

UAE

1,796

1,852

2,132

2,521

2,449

Source: [16, pp. 16-20]

However, in the practice of strategic planning, this innovation has not become widespread due to the dissimilarity of national security objectives [12, p. 25], as well as indicator systems and approaches to their assessment. In general, the studied area is characterized by underestimation of the importance of structural-hierarchical and competitive approaches, which is confirmed by the imperfect structure of indicators, the complexity of tools and insufficient consideration of the state and dynamics of development of other countries. For the purposes of research, we will consider foreign experience.

There is no generally accepted concept of ensuring international security within the UN [27, p. 11]. International organizations focus on the problems of human development and security (Human Security in Theory and Practice. Application of the Human Security Concept and the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security. Human Security Unit, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. New York. 2009. URL: https://www.unocha.org/sites/dms/HSU/Publications%20and%20Products/Human%20Security%20Tools/Human%20Security%20in%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20English.pdf (date of appeal: 09/23/2022)), which is defined as the ability of the state to ensure the protection of citizens and is evaluated in seven areas: economy, food, health, ecology, quality of life, social interaction and the political sphere. Let's consider examples of international indicators and country safety ratings, the compilation of which is a tool for comparative (competitive) assessment of countries (see Table 2).

Table 2 - Examples of indicators and country safety ratings

 

Integral index (rating)

The compiler

Generalized indicators

Indicators

Country Security Rating

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

 

the number of premeditated murders per 100 thousand people of the population

(UN, UN Member states)

Global Peace Index (integral)

Institute of Economics and Peace

- the level of security in society

- the presence of internal conflicts or participation in international wars

- the degree of militarization of the aggressiveness of the country or its foreign policy

22 indicators

(UN, international organizations, agencies, institutions)

Rating of safe countries for life (integral)

ValuePenguin Agency

 

- population size (worldometers);

- CO2 emissions (World Bank)

- Number of police (UN Office on Drugs and Crime)

- mortality in road accidents (WHO)

- Theft (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)

- attacks (NationMaster)

- average life expectancy (source - World Bank)

Country Security Rating

Global Finance

- war and military operations

- crime

- terrorism

- Covid-19

more than 10 indicators

(source - non-governmental and international organizations, self-reports of governments)

Source: compiled by the authors on the basis of materials from the UN, the Institute of Economics and Peace, ValuePenguin agency and Global Finance (Ranking of the most dangerous and safe countries in the world and crime statistics for 2018-2019. // Europortal. URL: https://evroportal.ru/immigratsiya/reyting-samyih-opasnyih-i-bezopasnyih-stran/?ysclid=l6rnwchi1b899308930 (accessed 25.09.2022). Safe countries. // ValuePenguin. 2021. URL: https://progemorroj.ru/what/v-kakih-stranah-opasno-zhit.html (accessed: 10/20/2022). The safest countries 2021. // Global Finance. 2021. URL: https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/non-economic-data/safest-countries-world (accessed: 10/20/2022))

When compiling ratings, not national, but mainly global threats are taken into account. Along with the analysis of primary indicators, group (generalized) indicators are also calculated. Assessments are made in relation to a large group of countries and are comparative, that is, competitive in nature. An index method is used to evaluate and rank countries (see Table 3).

Table 3 - Example of rating of generalized indicators

 

Rating

 

Indicators

 

Weight

 

 

Index

Category

Name

 

Integral

Safety

1

 

 

 

Generalized

 

war and military operations

 

 

1/2

Crime

Terrorism

Covid-19

1/2

1

Iceland

3.9724

9

Canada

6.3129

20

Germany

7.7059

38

Great Britain

9.0055

57

France

9.7914

71

USA

10.1875

104

Russia

11.8306

134

Philippines

14.8899

Source: compiled by the authors according to Global Finance

Meanwhile, another component of security is the protection of national interests. For this reason, the possibility of using the experience of the UN and its structures is assessed as limited. Modern approaches in this area are increasingly associated with the prevention of a destructive impact on the state and society, the economy or critical decision-making processes [12, p. xii].  The choice of specific indicators depends on what ideas about national interests have developed in the assessed country. For NATO countries, the main interests are to prevent external wars and conflicts, as well as internal public unrest [18, pp. 192-194]. This is reflected in national security strategies and other conceptual acts [19, p. 59-62], according to which the priority is the security of the state and its ability to protect territory and sovereignty [28, p. 268]. Considerable attention is also paid to the prevention of terrorist acts, the protection of critical infrastructure and the strengthening of the basis for ensuring long-term development [20, p. 4].

Over time, the list of the main declared interests becomes more and more concise, since the excessive expansion of the set of interests leads to the loss of the value of monitoring and assessments of their provision [21, p. 102]. The assessment of alternative risks and costs becomes more difficult the more security factors are securitized [22, p. 465]. Therefore, Governments focus on formulating a limited number of basic interests that most countries do not have the same. Thus, the national interest of the United States is to maintain leadership, and the interests of China, Russia and other countries imply the elimination of this dominance. The fundamental interests may evolve over time and be revised taking into account the "courage" of the political leadership and assessments of the realism of their implementation.

It is obvious that a competitive approach to assessing different countries can be implemented only if uniform international criteria and a system of indicators are used. Let's consider the possibility of their application in domestic practice (see Table 4).

Table 4 - Assessment of the possibility of applying international uniform international criteria and a system of indicators in domestic practice

 

Areas of national security

Arguments

Possibility of application

protection of national interests

mutual exclusion or mismatch of interests

limited

realization of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens

all countries have their own constitutions and understand rights and freedoms differently

limited

decent quality and standard of living of citizens

the standards of quality and the levels (standards) of life of citizens vary in countries

is available

civil peace and harmony

countries use various instruments to ensure peace and harmony

is available

protection of sovereignty

subjective approach to the assessment of sovereignty

not available

Source: compiled by the authors

As can be seen from table 4, the possibility of borrowing the transfer of uniform international criteria and a system of indicators in some areas is assessed as limited or non-existent. This is due to the differences in the development strategies adopted by the countries (dominance, expansion, concentration on solving internal development tasks, etc.). At the same time, in the main areas of development and security of the sphere (protection from wars, conflicts, dynamic economic development), similarity and even coincidence of strategic approaches are noted in many countries. This makes it possible to assess Russia's security in the above-mentioned areas on a competitive rating basis. To do this, based on national interests and priorities, it is necessary to identify a limited group of countries with similar prioritization and factor orientation of security (see Figure 1).

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 - Factor orientation of national security

Note: Broad focus includes economic security, environment, personality, welfare, social stability....; Narrow focus: strong emphasis on defense, territorial integrity, etc.

Source: National Security Strategies of countries and [12]

Some countries focus on security from external threats and strengthening international influence, while others focus mainly on ensuring internal stability and development. Some take into account non-military aspects of security, including the economy, ecology and social stability. Others focus on protecting values and influence in the world. This is due to the specificity of the understanding of security in different countries (see Table 5).

Table 5 - Examples of understanding the term "national security"

 

A country

Key aspects of national security

USA

Security, independence and prosperity of the state, citizens and institutions, protection from internal and external threats, leadership (National Security Strategy of the United States of America // WASHINGTON, DC 2017. URL: https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf (accessed 24.11. 2022))

Russia

Internal security of Russia with an emphasis on national unity, the growth of international influence (According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 2021 No. 400 "On the approval of the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 (Article 27). // <url> URL: https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/401325792 / (accessed: 01.01.2023))

China

Economic security, domestic political stability, and resistance to external threats (The Law of the People's Republic of China "On National Security". // Portal of the laws of China. 2015. URL: https://ru.chinajusticeobserver.com/law/x/national-security-law-20150701 (accessed 24.11.2022)) [23, p. 38]

France

Protecting the state and citizens from direct and indirect threats, prosperity, maintaining sovereignty in the context of the EU (Livre blanc d?fense et s?curit? nationale // Direction de l'information l?gale et administrative, Paris. 2013. URL: https://www.lefigaro.fr/assets/pdf/Livre_blanc_2013.pdf (accessed: 11/24/2022); Actualisation strat?gique 2021 // Direction g?n?rale des relations internationales et de la strat?gie. 2021. URL: https://www.defense.gouv .fr/dgris/politique-de-defense/actualization-strategique-2021 (accessed 20.08.2022))

Great Britain

Security of citizens, infrastructure, protection of values and lifestyle, strengthening international influence and economic power (National Security Strategy and Strategic Defense and Security Review 2015 // UK. London. Prime Minister's Office. 2015. URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-security-strategy-and-strategic-defence-and-security-review-2015 (accessed 24.11.2022))

Germany

Protection of citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and prosperity of the country, as well as its allies (White Paper. On Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr of Germany. 2016 // Federal Ministry of Defence. Berlin. 2016. URL: https://www.bundeswehr.de/resource/blob/4800140/fe103a80d8576b2cd7a135a5a8a86dde/download-white-paper-2016-data.pdf (accessed 24/12 2022)) [24, p. 59]

Netherlands

Ensuring territorial, economic, physical, environmental security, as well as social and political stability within the framework of the international security system (Nationale Veiligheid Strategie. 2019 // Nationaal Coordinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid. 2019. URL: https://www.nctv.nl/actueel/nieuws/2019/06/07/nationale-veiligheid-strategie-2019-gepubliceerd (accessed 24.08.2022))

Indonesia

Ensuring people's livelihoods, sustainable development, protection of ecology and stability in the archipelago, education, welfare and interaction between communities (Defense White Paper // PERATURAN MENTERI PERTAHANAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA. 2016. URL: https://www.kemhan.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2015-INDONESIA-DEFENCE-WHITE-PAPER-ENGLISH-VERSION.pdf (accessed 12/24/2022))

Source: compiled by the authors based on the national security strategies of the countries

 

As can be seen from Figure 1, Russia, China, France and the USA meet the requirements of similarity of priorities and factor orientation to the greatest extent. At the same time, the Chinese experience does not seem to be original enough, since it is a symbiosis of American and domestic approaches [23, pp. 38-41]. The views of most Western countries have limited value for Russia for the following reasons. Firstly, the sovereignty of Japan and European countries is limited by the hegemony of the United States. The control they exercise in the international economy affects the national security and economic well-being of the allied states, whose economy functions better when there is a dominant economic force [29, pp. 230-232].

Secondly, the provision of military security is largely delegated to the American armed forces. In many EU countries, until recently, even the training of commanders and specialists for the armed forces was not carried out [25, p. 7-10]. Thirdly, for a very large number of countries, the understanding of national security is almost synonymous with economic security, backed up by the reliable functioning of critical processes. In most of the EAEU countries, the applied set of criteria for assessing development and security is assessed as incomplete, and there is no unified system of indicators [26, p. 460].

Therefore, the USA is the most suitable for conducting a comparative analysis. Due to the non-public nature of information about the American system of indicators, the method of formalization of verbal descriptions was applied. As a source, the US National Security Strategy was adopted, declaring four national interests and 24 national goals achieved in 80 priority areas of activity. Despite the specificity of the formulations and differences in the structure of the goals, their associative correspondence with Russian analogues has been established (see Table 6).

Table 6 - Associative correspondence of the national interests of the USA and the Russian Federation

Interests

USA

Russia

Keeping the peace (from a position of strength)

Protection of the constitutional order, sovereignty, State and territorial integrity

Strengthening the country's defense

Protecting the American people, territory, and American way of Life

Strengthening of national accord, political and social stability, development of democratic institutions

Maintaining civil peace, strengthening the rule of law, eradicating corruption, protecting citizens and property

Promoting American Prosperity

Sustainable economic development on a new technological basis

Saving the people, developing human potential, improving the quality of life

Promoting American influence and American values

Maintaining stability, strengthening peace, security, and the legal foundations of international relations

Strengthening of traditional spiritual and moral values, preservation of cultural and historical heritage

Source: compiled by the authors based on the national security strategies of the countries

The revealed correspondence allows for cross-country comparison of indicators. Particular attention should be paid to the indicators of the United States and other threat countries, since their advanced development is a source of growing risks. Conversely, the outpacing dynamics of domestic indicators indicates a decrease in threats. Consequently, in order to ensure a higher level of security, it is necessary to ensure advanced development in comparison with geopolitical and geostrategic competitors. Let us consider as an example the indicators of the realization of the national interest "economic security", referred to in the USA and Russia as "promoting American prosperity", and "sustainable development of the Russian economy on a new technological basis", respectively (see Table 7).

Table 7 - Main indicators of the state of economic security

The main indicators of the state of economic security

promoting American prosperity (USA)

sustainable development of the Russian economy on a new technological basis (Russia)

- competitiveness (global competitiveness index)

- the inflation rate and 12 other indicators

- trade balance

- elimination of trade imbalances

(ranking of countries by trade balance)

- indices of the physical volume of exports and imports;

- trade balance;

- the share of machinery, equipment and other means in the total volume of imports; - the share of imports in the volume of food products;

- employment, - the number of new jobs for the middle class

(ranking of countries by employment level)

- coefficient of tension in the labor market;

- distribution of the number of people employed in the economy by level of education

- real incomes of American workers

(human development index, etc.)

- the share of workers with wages below the subsistence minimum of the working-age population;

- the share of citizens with monetary incomes below the subsistence minimum;

- economic growth

- the share of the total product created in the USA

(index of dynamism of economic growth)

- index of the physical volume of gross domestic product;

- gross domestic product per capita (PPP);

- the share of Russian GDP in world GDP;

- industrial production index;

- energy intensity of GDP

- technological advantage

(index of technological achievements)

- the share of machinery, equipment and vehicles in the total volume of non-primary exports;

- the share of high-tech and knowledge-intensive products in GDP

- restoration of the production base

(ratings of production capacity utilization, production volume)

- the degree of depreciation of fixed assets

 

- national debt

(foreign debt rating)

- internal state debt of the Russian Federation, state debt of the subjects of the Russian Federation and municipal debt;

- the external debt of the Russian Federation, including the state. external debt

- dynamics of emissions of polluting materials (country pollution index)

- the indicator is provided within the framework of another priority area

- energy dominance

(international energy security index)

- the balance of production and consumption of energy resources (per capita of us.)

- the share of dollars in the global financial system (SWIFT currency rating)

- the indicator is not provided due to the immateriality of the ruble's share in the global financial system

- innovation

(global innovation index)

- the share of innovative goods, works, and services in the total volume of exports of goods, works, and services of industrial enterprises;

- the share of innovative goods, works, services in the total volume of shipped goods, works, services;

- the share of organizations implementing technol. innovations

- the growth of education funding

(ranking of countries by level of spending on education)

- the indicator is provided within the framework of another priority area

- productivity (global labor productivity rating)

- labor productivity index

- investments (rating by the level of foreign direct investment, etc.)

- the share of investments in fixed assets in GDP;

- the share of investments in machinery, equipment and vehicles

- the level of violations, deception or economic aggression of competitors

(sran rating by the level of economic crime)

- the level of crime in the economic sphere

 

Source: compiled by the authors based on the national security strategies of the countries

As can be seen from table 7, the American approach provides for the widespread use of composite indices that characterize not only the economy, but also related areas closely related to ensuring economic development. For example, the competitiveness index includes indicators characterizing the economy, education, healthcare, quality of public administration, etc. [30, p. 6553]. It is evaluated on the basis of the global (world) competitiveness rating by assigning a rating to the country in question in the unified system of countries of the world. For the purposes of safety assessment, its change over the estimated period should be considered, correlated with similar changes in indicators of other countries. The source of information can be the IMD World Competitiveness Rating (International Institute for Management Development (Methodology and principles of the World Competitiveness Ranking // International Institute for Management Development. World Competitiveness Center. 2022. URL: https://www.imd.org/centers/world-competitiveness-center/rankings/world-competitiveness / (accessed 24.10.2022))) and other international analytical institutes using data from three main categories: statistical, survey data and non-ranked reference data.

The structural hierarchy of indicators can be demonstrated by the example of indicators for achieving the five goals provided for by the national interest "promoting American prosperity" (see Figure 2):

- acceleration of the national economy;

- promotion of free, fair and mutually beneficial economic relations;

- leading role in the field of research, technology, inventions and innovations;

- promotion and protection of the innovation base of the US national security;

- strengthening dominance in the energy sector.

A large group of rating (competitive) indicators characterizing the success of solving particular problems is accepted for analysis. The degree of achievement of the goal is characterized by a generalized indicator "economic growth", which is not the sum of private indicators. The connection between generalized and particular indicators is that the latter indicate problems that should be solved on the way to ensuring GDP growth. To assess growth, the criterion "ensuring economic leadership in the world" is adopted. Consequently, we are not talking about a specific and normatively established growth rate or its limits, but about ensuring such a comparative (with China) dynamics that will allow us to maintain dominance.

The priority of the indicators "economic growth" and "economic strength" is legislatively fixed in the current US National Security Strategy. The countries of the collective West actively adopt this approach, agreeing that the most important factor in the development and security of the country is precisely the growth rate of gross domestic product. Similar ratings are compiled for most areas of activity that are important for the state of national security (Russia in the mirror of international ratings // Information and Reference edition. Ed. by V.I. Suslov. 2019. IEOPP SB RAS. Novosibirsk: Parallel. 171 p. URL:http://lib.ieie.su/docs/2019/Russia_v_zerkale_mezhdunar_reytingov.pdf).

Figure 2 - Hierarchical construction of US national security indicators on the example of the national interest "promoting American prosperity"

Source: developed by the authors on the basis of the US National Security Strategy

The integral goal is "defending the contested leadership", and the integral indicator is "military and economic strength". In general, the foreign system does not provide for an assessment of indicators as such, but an assessment of their changes, as well as changes in the country's rating in the international rating system. Thus, a generalized indicator of the state of economic security is the change in the rating of the country's economic strength. A downgrade means a decrease in economic security and vice versa.

This allows us to formulate the main directions for improving the assessment of Russia's national security:

- definition and use of universal international integrated indicators;

- assessment of the state of national security based on the method of cross-country comparative analysis;

- establishment of the criterion "ensuring development ahead of geostrategic competitors in the fields of defense, economy and human potential enhancement".

 

Conclusions

The conducted research represents the development of scientific ideas about modern approaches to assessing the state of national security, including methods, indicators and evaluation criteria. The main directions of improving the assessment based on the implementation of structural-hierarchical and competitive approaches are identified. Building a hierarchical structure of indicators provides an opportunity to focus on the most important international complex and integral indicators, and to increase the efficiency and reliability of estimates. The implementation of this approach involves borrowing individual structural elements of foreign monitoring and evaluation systems, including a set of complex rating-type indicators. 

It is established that the state of security is not an absolute value, but is characterized by relative indicators obtained from the results of a comparative assessment of indicators of competing countries. Therefore, security monitoring and assessment should be carried out on an inter-country rating basis with a comparison of different countries, including countries whose activities are the source of the main challenges and threats. This is the essence of the competitive approach, the application of which will allow the governing bodies to assess the state of security, taking into account the dynamics of development and international activities of countries capable of influencing the state of security of Russia.

This implies the convergence of the monitoring and evaluation systems of Russia and other countries. It has been established that the national interests of the country require to ensure development in the most important areas, including defense, economy and human potential improvement, ahead of geopolitical and geostrategic competitors. The proposed approaches are recommended for use in public administration. The practical application of the results will improve the procedures of strategic planning, as well as the development of operational and long-term solutions to fend off challenges and threats.

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First Peer Review

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The subject of the study. Based on the title, the article should be devoted to the application of a competitive approach to assessing the national security of the Russian Federation. The content of the article, in general, corresponds to the stated topic. At the same time, attention is drawn to the lack of clear disclosure of the specifics of the application of the competitive approach. The research methodology is based on the use of data analysis and synthesis methods. It is valuable that the author presents the results graphically in the form of tables and figures. It is recommended to add drawings in the form of graphs and diagrams that reveal the structure and dynamics of the development of the subject of research. The competitive approach stated in the title by the author should be accompanied by an explanation of the specifics of its use in the context of the stated topic, as well as the effects obtained. The relevance of the study is beyond doubt, since the issues of ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation meet the national interests. Moreover, it contributes to solving the tasks defined in the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 07/02/2021 N 400 "On the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation". Scientific novelty is associated with the results of evaluating the possibility of applying international uniform international criteria and a system of indicators in domestic practice, an example of rating generalized indicators Style, structure, content. The style of presentation is scientific. The structure of the article has been built by the author, and can be characterized as correct for the disclosure of the stated issues. Familiarization with the content of the article allows us to conclude that the author needs to justify all judgments. For example, the author outlined the main directions for improving the assessment of Russia's national security. And how should this assessment be conducted? What problems will be solved? The answers to these questions will increase the level of demand for the article among the potential readership. Bibliography. Familiarization with the bibliographic list allowed us to draw a number of conclusions: 1) the author has studied 30 sources; 2) there are no publications published after 2021; 3) there is no list of sources of numerical data used in the analytical part of the study. Accordingly, when finalizing the article, the author first of all needs to study the sources published after 2021. Moreover, it is necessary to indicate the sources of numerical data that the author used to argue his judgments in the analytical part of the study. Appeal to opponents. Despite the generated list of references, it was not possible to find a scientific discussion on the topic of the study. During the revision, the author is recommended to pay special attention to the elimination of this remark, as this will make a positive contribution to the strengthening of scientific novelty. Accordingly, this will increase the demand for a scientific article from a potential readership. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. Taking into account all the above, we conclude that it is necessary to finalize the article, after which it can be published. Subject to high-quality revision, the article will be of interest to a wide readership.

Second Peer Review

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The subject of the study. The subject of the study is the relations that arise in the process of ensuring national security. The research methodology used by the author is based on the following methods of scientific cognition: comparison, analysis, synthesis of theoretical material. Relevance. The topic proposed by the author seems to be very relevant. First of all, this is due to the fact that the study of international experience in ensuring national security allows us to adopt effective tools and apply them on the territory of Russia. Scientific novelty. The scientific component of the study consists in the analysis of various instruments for ensuring the national security of various states. The article should formulate the elements of scientific novelty more specifically. What is the difference from similar studies? Bibliography. There are foreign sources, in general, the list of references consists of 30 titles. The analysis of the bibliography allows us to conclude that the author has studied scientific works on the subject under study. Appeal to opponents. The article contains targeted links to research, and their critical assessment is partially given. Style, structure, content. The style of the article is scientific and meets the requirements of the journal. The article highlights the structural sections according to the semantic principle. In the introduction, the author substantiates the relevance of the research and defines the tasks. The author examines the normative legal acts regulating the process of assessing national security in Russia at a good theoretical level. It would be necessary to explain how Table 1 is filled in. Special attention is paid to the comparative analysis of national interests, as well as indicators of economic security of the United States and Russia. As comments and recommendations, I would also like to note the following. It would be necessary to change the text of the "essence" to the categories more commonly used in the theory of national security (elements of national security that make up the itp), or to give the author's definition of the concept of "the essence of national security". References to normative legal acts in the text should be given in the form: According to the Decree.... Or the Text [bibliography number]. The author writes: "a competitive approach to evaluating different countries can only be implemented if used." To evaluate what? It is necessary to clarify. When listing, it is necessary to replace ? with either a number or –. In Table 1, the units of measurement must be given. Replace typos in columns 2020 and 2022 (duplicate row names instead of values). In table 3, remove the first row, because it duplicates the name of the table. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. The presented material may open up new perspectives for further research. It will be of interest to those who study the problems of ensuring national security. The article partially meets the requirements of the journal "National Security / nota bene" for this kind of work, and is recommended for revision.

Third Peer Review

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The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The peer-reviewed article examines a competitive approach to assessing the national security of the Russian Federation. The methodology of the study is based on the processing of statistical data on various countries, the application of the method of comparative analysis and a competitive approach to assessing national security. The authors associate the relevance of the work with the need to form a system for monitoring and evaluating indicators, constantly adapting them to the changing international and local conjuncture in conditions when Russia has entered a period of escalation of challenges to dynamic development and security and needs an appropriate restructuring of criteria and tools for assessing national security. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the fact that the authors have identified the main directions for improving assessment based on the implementation of structural-hierarchical and competitive approaches, it is shown that the hierarchical structure of indicators makes it possible to focus on the most important international complex and integral indicators, to increase the efficiency and reliability of national security assessments Structurally, the following sections are highlighted in the article: Introduction, Literature review and research, Materials and methods, Research results, Conclusions, Bibliography. The article provides examples of understanding the term "national security" in various countries, it is noted that the methodology of national security assessments is characterized by an abundance of proposed approaches and methods with the obvious dominance of the method of expert assessments, while the risk-oriented approach is dominant, providing for consideration of deviations from the thresholds set by experts. In our country, monitoring and assessment of the degree of achievement of goals and solving security tasks is carried out within the framework of nine priorities according to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation. The article presents a rating of integrated security indicators of 15 countries, obtained on the basis of calculated dimensionless indices using methods of multidimensional statistical analysis, in which our country is ranked 12th after Canada and ahead of Sweden, also ahead of Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The text of the publication is illustrated with two tables and seven figures. Table 6 deserves attention, which shows the associative correspondence of the national interests of the United States and the Russian Federation, which allows for cross-country comparison of indicators. In conclusion, the authors note that the state of security is not an absolute value, but is characterized by relative indicators obtained from the results of a comparative assessment of indicators of competing countries. Therefore, security monitoring and assessment should be carried out on a cross-country rating basis with a comparison of different countries, including countries whose activities are the source of the main challenges and threats. This is the essence of a competitive approach, the application of which will allow management bodies to assess the state of security, taking into account the dynamics of development and international activities of countries capable of influencing the state of security in Russia. The bibliographic list includes 30 sources – domestic and foreign scientific publications on the topic under consideration. The text of the publication contains targeted references to the list of references confirming the existence of an appeal to opponents. The reviewed material corresponds to the direction of the journal "National Security / nota bene", reflects the results of the work carried out by the authors, contains elements of scientific novelty and practical significance, may arouse interest among readers, and is recommended for publication.