National Security Review

Public Intelligence in Public Diplomacy

Lóránt Szabolcs — 2025-08-15

This paper examines the evolution of intelligence sharing as a tool of public diplomacy through analysis of two recent cases: the U.S. intelligence disclosures preceding Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the 2023 Chinese surveillance balloon incident. Drawing on declassified documents and contemporary reporting, the article demonstrates how intelligence sharing has transformed from a purely operational tool into a sophisticated instrument of public diplomacy. The paper reveals distinct approaches to intelligence disclosure: systematic pre-emptive sharing in Ukraine versus rapid crisis response during the balloon incident. Both cases, however, demonstrate the U.S. Intelligence Community’s growing sophistication in balancing operational security with strategic communication needs. Through comparative analysis, the article identifies key patterns in how intelligence sharing can shape international narratives, build coalition support, and counter adversary messaging while maintaining credibility and protecting sources. This evolution in intelligence sharing practices, formalised in U.S. Intelligence Community Directive 405, represents a significant development in how intelligence services engage with both foreign governments and public audiences in an era of digital information warfare and great power competition.

Deployment of Paramilitary Formations of Ukrainian Extremist Nationalist Organisations and Parties in the Fighting in Eastern Ukraine in 2014

Szabó Lajos — 2025-08-15

Extremist Ukrainian nationalist parties entered national politics right away after Ukraine’s independence, but only had significant support in Western Ukraine. These parties never achieved significant political results in the Ukrainian parliamentary or presidential elections. Until the “Revolution of Dignity” of 2013–2014, these parties and organisations, as well as the paramilitary organisations associated with them, were more of an “exotic anachronism” than a real political factor.

The rise of extremist nationalist organisations and paramilitary formations are closely linked to the events following the “Revolution of Dignity”, the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the armed conflict in Donbas. During the war in Donbas, Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary formations defended Ukraine from the armed uprising of pro-Russian separatist forces as a complement to and occasionally instead of the Ukrainian armed forces, which were incapable of defending the country with arms.

The Operation and Training of Large Language Models and a Strategic Analysis of Their Application, Part 2

Bottyán Sándor — 2025-08-15

The complexity of large language models makes them a difficult subject to understand and explain, but this two-part study attempts to present their basic principles and the phenomena they reveal in a clear and accessible way. In the second part, the training cycle for large language models, the types of data sets on which the training is based, the methodology and characteristics of pre-training and fine-tuning, and common applications are explained. Furthermore, in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the large language models, a detailed SWOT analysis has been carried out to evaluate the relevant internal and external factors that may be involved in the information processing procedure of an organisation. The study is recommended for those interested in the field of information processing by national security, who are looking for a comprehensive knowledge on the large language models and want to use it in their own research.

The European Union Intelligence Agency

Márton Balázs — 2025-08-15

At the request of the President of the European Commission, former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö examined in detail the state of civilian and military preparedness of the European Union. The creation of a fully-fledged EU service for intelligence cooperation is among the recommendations of the report. As a consequence, press articles have already appeared that envisage the establishment of an independent ‘European CIA’. In this study I review the current place of intelligence in the constitutional framework and geopolitical reality of the European Union, the current intelligence capacities available to the European Union, and the ideas regarding an independent European intelligence agency.

Conceptualisation, Place and Role of Operational Psychology in Psychology and Law Enforcement Sciences 1.

Erdélyi Ákos — 2025-08-15

This article is the first chapter of a two-part study, the central theme of which is organised around the issue of operational psychology and its theoretical framework. In recent years, applied researches and practical task activities in criminal psychology have been strengthened, but scientific, empirical researches and studies related to operational psychology are less available to this extent. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that operational psychology has increased relevance in both psychology and law enforcement. The aim of my article is to present the scientific diversity of operational psychology and to highlight how a currently less conceptualised, multidisciplinary applied field can serve the effective performance of law enforcement tasks. For the above-mentioned points, I analyse the relevant literatures about operational psychology and write a review study. Despite the fact that operational psychology is a less well-defined field and operates within a less defined framework, it is clear from the literature review that this applied psychology could greatly support law enforcement tasks. Although its methodology is also immature, it can nevertheless draw heavily from the methodologies of psychology and related disciplines, which, if successfully integrated, can play an outstanding role as a special operations support field. It would be advisable to pay attention to the conceptualisation of operational psychology in addition to criminal psychology, which could also include clarifying the systems of relationships and the belonging to the scientific field.

The National Security Importance of Critical Entities Resilience and Citizen Preparedness Against Modern Threats

Ambrusz József — 2025-08-15

Today's modern hybrid threats pose increasingly complex challenges to critical infrastructure and essential service providers. Cyber and sabotage attacks against infrastructures can not only cause economic and political instability but can also have a direct impact on the daily lives of citizens. This paper explores the national security dimensions of the protection of critical organisations and infrastructures and highlights the role of the EU CER and NIS2 Directives in strengthening the protection of these organisations. The academic draws parallels with the need to increase citizen preparedness, which through active preparation and digital information can reduce the occurrence of crisis situations and facilitate effective incident management. The case study-based research illustrates the impact of hybrid threats through concrete examples, with a particular focus on the consequences for the functioning of critical services. The authors make suggestions for supporting disaster management with digital tools, including tools for citizen preparedness

Job Choice Preferences of Generation Z in the field of National Security

Szabó Hedvig — 2025-08-15

One of the most important labour market challenges of the 21^st century for the national security services is to understand the expectations of different generations of employees, especially Generation Z. Generation Z differ significantly from previous generations not only in their work preferences, but also in their lifestyle, technological proficiency and workplace loyalty. Global economic and societal changes, digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence are further reinforcing this transformation, which is of particular importance in the recruitment and retention strategies of national security services. In order to successfully answer some or all of the questions that arise in this context, the National Institute for National Security of the National University of Public Service has conducted an online survey in recent months. The results of this research are presented to the interested public in a two-part publication, the first part of which you are now holding in your hands.