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One of the determinants of free, fair and credible election is the security of lives and property before, during and after the electioneering process. Despites the fact that large number of Military and Paramilitary personnel are mobilized for the conduct of Elections, cases of violence, snatching of ballot boxes, loss of lives and property are on the increase in most elections in Nigeria during the fourth republic. In light of the above, this paper examines the challenges and prospects of 2023 general elections with regards to the security of lives and property through the instrumentalities of the Nigerian Police Force and other security personnel. The main objective of the paper is to assess the implications of using the police and other security personnel on national security in 2023 general elections. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach for the purpose of obtaining the required materials through the contents analysis of documents from National Independent Electoral Commission, Election (INEC), Independent Observers reports, observations from the participating political parties, the reports of Transparency International and extant laws. The outcome of the paper revealed that the major challenges envisaged from 2023 general elections is the fact that the security of lives and property of citizens may not be guaranteed if the security Agencies carry out assigned responsibilities in an unprofessional and partisan manner. The study therefore recommended that the security agencies should carry out assigned duties and responsibilities in a professional and non-partisan way in order to guarantee the security of life and properties of citizens before, during and after the 2023 general elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses methods of historical and comparative analysis and studies the functioning of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) since its establishment. It finds out, that the debate on the institutional performance is characterized by a consensus, i.e. the lack of reforms has led to the lack of its effectiveness. Nowadays, such a finding is even more evident, the aggressive war that one of the permanent members, Russia started against Ukraine, added new arguments of the same logic. The paper draws on secondary data to explore the weaknesses of the UNSC with a particular emphasis on the negative impact of the veto right. It highlights the limits of the UNSC and the attempts of state coalitions to overcome them. It elaborates on criteria for legitimate right to accede to UNSC permanent membership and justifies the relevance of four of them on the grounds of their current appropriateness. Further on, the paper introduces outcomes of a cross-country analysis of a G-4 (Germany, Japan, Brazil and India), the most influential state coalition for UNSC reform. The results of the comparison illustrate legitimate potential of states to become permanent members of the UNSC. The discussion includes policy recommendations for UNSC reforms: adopting criteria for legitimacy of permanent UNSC membership; change in the structure of the permanent UNSC membership; abolition of the veto right and introducing the method of qualified majority voting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada has legislated its commitment to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (UNDRIP). This legislation requires Canada to reform its laws to be consistent with UNDRIP and to recognize Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination. Little has been written on Indigenous peoples role in federal emergencies. Canada's Emergencies Act and Emergency Management Act do not mention Indigenous peoples. As such there is no requirement for Canada to engage with, or report to, Indigenous peoples at times of emergencies in spite of the often devastating impacts on their people, territories, resources and infrastructure. This paper explores the ways that Canada can recognize First Nation jurisdiction and work with Indigenous peoples at times of emergencies. Experiences with forest fires, floods and invasion of the military provide lessons for how to reform Canada's emergency laws. These reforms must be enacted through engagement with First Nations and with particular attention to capacity building, protocols and agreements for coordination and support. Canada's emergency laws have an important role to play in implementing UNDRIP and the rights and title of First Nations in Canada. With so many natural disasters being caused by climate change, it is critical that First Nations play a strong role in Emergencies in their own territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security culture represents an extremely important concept nowadays, as a consequence of the security issues that were characteristic for the last decade and which rose, even close to Romania's borders. Security culture has been and continues to be a powerful tool in the process of ensuring state security. In brief, security culture is a combination of knowledge and attitudes toward the security issues of the state. Since 2010, the concept has been emphasized in the Romanian national defence strategies, which support the need to consolidate such a culture. Due to these strategic documents, authorities in the field of national security have pointed their efforts in the direction of strengthening security culture among citizens. In order to carry out optimally these efforts, it is important to know the evolution of the security culture concept, which elements of the past could hinder the current process of consolidating security culture and what are the issues on which authorities should pay more attention. The way security culture has been shaped during the communist regime is extremely relevant for today's efforts. Also, it is important that the process of consolidating security culture starts from a good knowledge of the Romanian national culture. Therefore, the main objective of this is to present relevant information about the characteristics of Romanian culture and data about how security culture has changed over time, from the communist period to the democratic actual regime. The research method used was "literature review" by integrating multiple data from different findings and perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discussed Nigerian military, national security and the role of the mass media in democracy. The media are critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project. During colonial rule, the press led the fight for Nigeria independence. During military rule, the media led the fight to return the country to democracy. The study explained that the press has been the foremost instrument of fighting for equity, justice, unity and the development of Nigeria. Journalists should be empowered to tell the powerful stories that will aid our overall collective development; keep our leaders and institutions accountable; foster peace and unity; as well as inspire a sense of patriotic duty amongst the citizenry. To strengthen the media, which is the Fourth Estate of The Realm in democracy is a task that must be done. The mass media in Nigeria should be used to enhance and sustain the security of the nation. This means that mass media should never be used as divisive instrument among the people of Nigeria but rather should be used for the promotion and consolidation of national unity and integration. It is also recommended that security operatives should work with media practitioners as watchdogs of the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some states possess more advanced military technologies than others? Our study explores the vertical proliferation of land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), seeking to understand which demand- and supply-side factors best explain why some countries acquire more sophisticated LACMs. We theorize that states' security environments, regime types, possession of related strategic technologies, and membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) influence the possession of more sophisticated cruise missiles. Our analysis employs a unique new global dataset with granular data on every LACM national militaries have deployed. We use this dataset to evaluate the proliferation of LACMs across the international system from 1991–2015. Using a selection model that first controls for the horizontal proliferation of LACMs, we find that insecurity, scientific and technical expertise from related technologies, the possession of highly authoritarian and highly democratic regimes, and MTCR membership all have positive effects on the sophistication of LACM-possessors' arsenals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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