Current foreign policy threats: anxieties and fears of student youth

Abstract

Background. To ensure countryʼs national security, comprehensive analysis of current and real threats, which can have significant impact on sovereignty, integrity and progressive development of the country is needed. The current unstable international envi-ronment is today a factor in emergence of new and intensification of old challenges and threats. The purpose of the study is sociological analysis of modern young people attitude to foreign policy threats to Russia in the context of fundamental change in the world order aimed to find ways to form an adequate perception of ongoing geopolitical changes and clear ideas among youth about necessary vector of Russian foreign policy in the context of emerging threats. Materials and methods. The study of youthʼs ideas about modern foreign policy Russian threats is based on materials from author's quantitative and qualitative stud-ies conducted in 2023–2024 years among the student youth of Penza, analysis of documents on the national security of the Russian Federation and data on secondary analysis of socio-logical research in relation to Russians to Russian foreign policy. Results. Based on an analysis of strategic documents of the Russian Federation in the field of national security, the main threats were analyzed; ideas of Russians and student youth about content, nature, orientation of external threats to Russia in modern unstable conditions of international envi-ronment were studied. Conclusions. The main threats to Russia today come from outside, from other countries. The main threat to the national security of the Russian Federation is military, and in particular the activities of NATO. Some young people admit the threat of military attack on Russia by any countries. According to students, “culturalˮ and economic sanctions against Russia, although they can harm, but not significant. The greatest concern among young people is continuation of the Special Military Operation, the conflict with Ukraine and the revival of the Cold War; youth are least concerned about Chinaʼs increased influence and deteriorating relations with the United States.

Keywords

• student youth
• national security
• national interests
• foreign policy threats
• russia