International security in international relations theory: levels of analysis and explanatory frameworks

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of international security within contemporary International Relations theory, with a particular focus on levels of analysis and explanatory frameworks. The relevance of the topic is determined by the transformation of the global security environment in the early twenty-first century, manifested in the hybridization of armed and non-armed conflicts, the increasing role of non-state actors, the spread of cyber and information threats, and the growing technological dimension of security. Under these conditions, traditional military-centred approaches that long dominated International Relations theory appear limited in their capacity to explain current security processes. The subject of the study is theoretical approaches to the analysis of international security within the main paradigms of International Relations theory, namely realism, liberalism, and constructivism, as well as their corresponding analytical levels and explanatory frameworks. The aim of the article is to systematize theoretical approaches and levels of analysis of international security in order to establish a coherent methodological basis for examining contemporary security challenges. The objectives of the study include clarifying the conceptual boundaries of international security within International Relations theory, identifying the analytical potential of individual, state, and systemic levels of analysis, and conducting a comparative assessment of the explanatory capacity of the main theoretical paradigms. The methodological framework of the research is based on general scientific and specialized methods, including system analysis to identify interconnections between different dimensions of security, comparative analysis to contrast theoretical interpretations, structural-functional analysis to examine the role of institutional factors, and conceptual generalization. The results of the study demonstrate that no single theoretical approach provides a comprehensive explanation of contemporary international threats, while effective analysis of international security requires the integration of individual, state, and systemic levels of analysis. It is shown that the interaction of structural conditions of the international system, institutional regulatory mechanisms, and ideational factors related to identities and political discourses forms a coherent analytical model for the study of security processes. The conclusions indicate that the integration of analytical levels and explanatory frameworks ensures a holistic theoretical understanding of international security and enhances the analytical capacity for examining contemporary security dynamics within the international system.