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The politics of “hard” economic security in Eastern Europe under hybrid and military threats

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Category: Content №2 2026

Last Updated on 25 April 2026

Published on 30 November -0001

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Authors:

O. Sokhatskyi*, orcid.org/0000-0001-8735-866X, West Ukrainian National University, Ternopil, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

V. Schuchmann, orcid.org/0000-0002-1427-3312, LLC “Financial Company “Absolute Finance”, Ternopil, Ukraine, e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

V. Panasyuk, orcid.org/0000-0002-5133-6431, West Ukrainian National University, Ternopil, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

R. Vlokh, orcid.org/0009-0005-1132-8284, West Ukrainian National University, Ternopil, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

T. Dluhopolska, orcid.org/0000-0003-1925-963X, West Ukrainian National University, Ternopil, Ukraine, e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

* Corresponding author e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

повний текст / full article

Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu. 2026, (2): 187 - 195

https://doi.org/10.33271/nvngu/2026-2/187

Abstract:

Purpose. This study substantiates the shift toward “hard” economic security in Eastern Europe under sustained military and hybrid threats (2014–2025) and develops a composite Hard Economic Security Index (HESI) for cross-country comparison.

Methodology. The research combines institutional-structural, comparative, and risk-oriented approaches. Quantitative procedures include indicator selection and operationalization, min–max normalization, composite index construction, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for domain weighting. The framework integrates multidimensional assessment across energy security, defence-industrial capacity, hybrid and cyber resilience, technological autonomy, and institutional stability. Visualization is used to present cross-country differences.

Findings. The article assesses how five author-selected factors contribute to the dynamics of the resilience indicator in the context of war-related disruption, energy coercion, technological constraints, and hybrid pressure. It proposes and empirically tests HESI, enabling the ranking of selected Eastern European countries by their capacity to sustain core economic functions under military and hybrid escalation. The results indicate differentiation across cases and suggest that resilience depends on the configuration and balance of capabilities rather than on any single variable. The analysis highlights a regional transition from “soft” economic security logics toward securitized, risk-control-based policy.

Originality. The study demonstrates that the global and regional indices available do not provide an integrated measurement of economic security tailored to military and hybrid confrontation. HESI offers an original composite tool that consolidates economic, security, technological, cyber, and institutional dimensions into a unified analytical model suitable for structured comparison under conditions of systemic disruption.

Practical value. The proposed framework provides a practical toolkit for policymakers and researchers in diagnosing vulnerabilities, prioritizing resilience investments, and designing coherent hard economic security strategies. HESI can be applied to strategic planning, monitoring of adaptation policies, and refinement of national and EU-level economic security measures for states exposed to persistent military and hybrid risks.

Keywords: finance, security, hybrid threats, cyber threats, resilience, energy, determinants, risks

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