Abstract: The subject of this article is the methodology of reconstruction of national security as a complex social and political-legal phenomenon in modern scientific knowledge. Special attention is given to the provisions of the theory of state and law, political science, as well as official documents – the acts of strategic planning that are of theoretical and applied significance due to the presence of formal definitions in their texts. The article employs formal-legal and doctrinal analysis of scientific sources. Methodological framework is comprised of the category of “system” and systemic approach in various interpretations. Logical analysis is conducted on different variants of definitions of the category “national security system” and “system of ensuring national security”. It is revealed that systemic analysis, which historically is one of the most popular approaches that can reflect the multidimensional objects of research, has long been included into the scientific tradition of studying national security. The author explores several variants of systemic approach: the theory of national security as a system; national security as a system property; and national security as a system. The analysis of interpretation of national security as a system determines the two main categories: national security system and system of ensuring national security. The first category features mostly scientific interpretations, while the second category has received a legal definition, having transformed from the scientific category into an element of the object (social reality), and simultaneously, means of its construction. The author indicates the existence of methodological pluralism in determining the components of national security systems. The article examines successful and unsuccessful examples of application of systemic approach in studying national security, and identifies typical methodological errors. The author concludes on the limited heuristic possibilities of systemic approach in reflecting the dynamics of ensuring national security, as well as underlines the need to use the categories of “mechanism”, “regime"”, or “process”.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the trends of reflection of the problems of national security in the Russian scientific works within the framework social and humanities disciplines as a whole, and jurisprudence in particular. Research methodology is define by uniqueness of the subject matter. Analysis is conducted on the texts of thesis works defended in jurisprudence, economic, sociological, philosophical, and political sciences in the XXI century. Using the level approach, the author proposes classification of scientific works depending on the proximity of their subject to national security as the complex object of study, as well as gives a brief overview of the structure of research from the perspective of different scientific disciplines. Attention is turned to underdevelopment of cross-disciplinary relations within the framework of the universal theory of national security. The author creates a five-level model of the theory of national security that allows ranking research from the applied levels to most abstract. In the context of this model, the author examines methodological approaches towards national security that formed within the framework of different social and humanities disciplines. The conclusion is made on the leading role of political science in creating a cross-disciplinary theory of national security; however, emphasis is placed on the fields available for analysis using solely the legal scientific methodology. Considering the revealed lacuna with regards to fundamental legal research, the need for further theoretical-legal research of national security is substantiated.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the trends of reflection of the problems of national security in the Russian scientific works within the framework social and humanities disciplines as a whole, and jurisprudence in particular. Research methodology is define by uniqueness of the subject matter. Analysis is conducted on the texts of thesis works defended in jurisprudence, economic, sociological, philosophical, and political sciences in the XXI century. Using the level approach, the author proposes classification of scientific works depending on the proximity of their subject to national security as the complex object of study, as well as gives a brief overview of the structure of research from the perspective of different scientific disciplines. Attention is turned to underdevelopment of cross-disciplinary relations within the framework of the universal theory of national security. The author creates a five-level model of the theory of national security that allows ranking research from the applied levels to most abstract. In the context of this model, the author examines methodological approaches towards national security that formed within the framework of different social and humanities disciplines. The conclusion is made on the leading role of political science in creating a cross-disciplinary theory of national security; however, emphasis is placed on the fields available for analysis using solely the legal scientific methodology. Considering the revealed lacuna with regards to fundamental legal research, the need for further theoretical-legal research of national security is substantiated.