The military-strategic superiority requirement is creating increasing pressure and plunging states into an AI arms race, as was the case for nuclear weapons in the 20th century. As the military use of AI has become the focus of great power competition, governments around the globe are increasingly investing in research projects to enhance their armed forces’ combat capabilities by providing them with brand-new technological equipment, including autonomous weapons systems.

Located in West Africa, Guinea-Bissau, with its 1.8 million people, constitutes what has for many years been a fragile state located in between Senegal and Guinea. Beside the overshadowing problem of not being able to sustain a stable governing system, the country is struggling with networks of drug trafficking – a problem that is not new, but has proven hard to combat in the given security context.

With water scarcity in some highly populated regions projected to increase over the coming decades, some have argued that wars over access to and control of water may become some of the most common, most devastating conflicts of the 21st century.

Australia is a destination country for trafficked victims, particularly women from Southeast Asia, who are coerced into moving to Australia under the belief they will obtain better working conditions upon arrival. However, once in the country, these women are often forced into modern slavery in the sex industry to repay traffickers’ exaggerated fees.

In the last months of 2020, Israel normalized its ties with four Arab countries. In the case of Morocco, the US issued a proclamation, recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, making it the first country in the world to do so. What consequences such recognition will have on what is essentially a conflict in limbo is unclear.

While there is no doubt that both national and international anti-piracy laws will lead to better conditions for the fight against piracy, it is evidently important to be aware of the opportunities that national laws have where international law cannot deliver.

Not only is military intervention justifiable in certain circumstances, but the simple existence of the possibility of such action occurring could also make beneficial contributions towards curtailing the occurrences of GBV and discrimination.

To adapt our security response to hybrid wars and to ensure the safety of our citizens, it appears necessary for many strategists to unify civil and military counterinsurgency, to give a greater role to civilians in defense and security fields, to work in close collaboration with different sectors and combining capabilities, as well as to choose technologically driven solutions.

In the Western Balkans, the Biden administration has all the tools necessary to achieve successful political and economic transformation. The newly-elected POTUS has a deep understanding of the region, and is all too aware that the carrot and the stick are more effective when there is agreement and mutual support between the European Union and the United States.

In order to ensure detained belligerents in conflicts are treated in accordance with principles of International Humanitarian Law, legal accountability mechanisms need to be strengthened to hold States to humane standards.