PREVENTION OF ASYMMETRIC THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF STATE-BUILDING PROCESSES

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the national and international legal framework for preventing asymmetric threats as an integral component of effective state-building and ensuring institutional resilience. It is argued that, in the context of modern hybrid confrontation and the rapid escalation of transnational challenges, Ukraine’s security system has evolved from a predominantly reactive criminal law model into a multidimensional, proactive institutional mechanism of prevention.

The study examines the core regulatory instruments, including key Ukrainian legislation in the fields of national security, counterterrorism, and financial monitoring of the shadow economy. It is emphasized that the current legal framework establishes a clear and hierarchical system of interaction among state authorities. Particular attention is devoted to the doctrinal interpretation of contemporary destructive activities, which encompass not only traditional kinetic attacks but also high-tech sabotage, attempts to use weapons of mass destruction, radiological coercion, ideological incitement, and the phenomenon of state terrorism perpetrated by sovereign actors.

The paper substantiates the thesis that effective state-building is objectively impossible without deep integration of global and European security standards. It also provides a systematic review of the implementation of international treaties, including key conventions of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Their doctrinal and practical significance is demonstrated in terms of the depoliticization of radical violence, the disruption of transnational financial support for extremism through the limitation of banking secrecy, the protection of critical infrastructure, and the mandatory criminalization of early stages of threat formation, including public incitement, recruitment, and training.

The article concludes that the synergy of national criminal legislation, strategic regulatory acts, and international legal imperatives has enabled Ukraine to develop an effective system of legal protection. This comprehensive framework is capable of neutralizing hybrid destructive phenomena at all stages of their development. It is further argued that the ability of a state’s legal system to adapt in a timely manner to emerging challenges constitutes a fundamental condition for preserving national sovereignty and ensuring the continuity of state-building processes.