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Andrew W Neal

@andrewwneal.bsky.social

530 followers 600 following 80 posts

Professor of International Security at the University of Edinburgh Creator of the National Security and Defence Documents Dataset Also: critical security studies, emergency powers, parliaments, UK, Scotland, Australia, undersea infrastructure

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Apr 1

🌐 MAJOR UPDATE: National Security and Defence Documents Dataset (1987-2024) v2.0

I'm excited to announce the release of version 2.0 of our comprehensive dataset on global security and defence policies! 📊

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · 1d

Hear me now! Well, soon...

BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 1d

'Why do countries publish national security strategies? New insights from AI and global data' a new International Studies and Emerging Technologies working group event 💻

w/ Andrew W Neal on 22 October 🎉

find out more 👉 https://ow.ly/SvGk50X7FJw

Why do countries publish national security strategies? New insights from AI and global data- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) | BISA

- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) Working Group

ow.ly

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · 12d

Going to Salzburg to talk about Large Language Model research in IR was fun!

Markus Gastinger @markus-gastinger.eu · 15d

Last Friday (Sept. 19), @andduer.bsky.social, @mcortinaescudero.bsky.social, @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social and I had the great pleasure of hosting an excellent workshop at @unisalzburg.bsky.social on how to use Large Language Models #LLMs to boost International Relations research. A short 🧵1/4

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Analysis is based on sentence-level semantic search of inductively-discovered threat topic groups, filtered to include the word 'threat'. Data sourced from the Edinburgh National Security and Defence Documents dataset. datashare.ed.ac.uk/handle/10283...

National Security and Defence Documents Dataset (1987-2024) v2.0

datashare.ed.ac.uk

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

State-sponsored threats:
Both espionage and sabotage emerge as prominent concerns in 2025—espionage doubling from the 2020-2023 baseline whilst sabotage appears as an entirely new threat category—reflecting intensified state competition and the targeting of critical national infrastructure.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Missile threat salience rose 90% in 2025, likely driven by proliferation of advanced ballistic and hypersonic capabilities amongst adversarial states and the erosion of traditional arms control frameworks.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Hybrid warfare salience increased 67% by 2025, indicating growing governmental concern over coordinated grey-zone operations that blur the boundaries between peace and conflict through disinformation, cyberattacks, and economic coercion.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

AI and emerging technologies:
Artificial intelligence appears as a discrete security threat for the first time in 2025, marking official recognition of AI's dual-use potential and autonomous systems vulnerabilities in an increasingly technology-dependent security landscape.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Military/Traditional Threats:
Military threats peaked early (2002-2003) and have maintained consistent but lower-level attention, with recent uptick in 2025, reflecting renewed conventional security concerns.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Climate: emerging priority
Climate-related security concerns were absent from early documents but emerged in 2009 and peaked in 2020. Notably, explicit mention climate threats have disappeared entirely from 2025 documents, suggesting a possible shift in framing or priorities.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Nuclear: persistent concern
Nuclear threats have maintained steady relevance throughout the period, with notable spikes in 2008 and consistent presence in recent documents.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Cyber: rise and plateau
Cyber threats first gained significant attention in 2009 and peaked in 2015. Unlike terrorism, cyber threats have remained consistently present but at lower levels recently.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

Terrorism: declining
Terrorism emerged as the primary security concern post-9/11, peaking during 2008-2009 and maintaining high levels through to 2018. However, there's been a marked decline in recent years.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 26

In response to the new UK National Security Strategy and SDR, here's my analysis of changing threat topics in UK national security and defence documents since 1998.
@uoe-sps.bsky.social @scga.bsky.social @rethinkingsecurity.bsky.social @chathamhouse.org @rusi.bsky.social @edinburghpir.bsky.social

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Jun 12

My chapter "NATO accession, democratization, and security sector reform" is out! I examine SSR & democratisation in CEE, highlighting how historical positionality shapes understanding.

Explore the book (ed. @tbonacker.bsky.social): edin.ac/3FOOB4c
#SecurityStudies #Democratisation #PoliticalScience

Securitization, Politicization and Social Differentiation in History

www.nomos-shop.de

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · May 23

Happy to win this little internal prize for my National Security and Defence Documents Dataset (1987-2024) 😊

datashare.ed.ac.uk/handle/10283...

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · May 16

🤣

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · May 16

'You could go off to the Shetlands with a shovel and cut off the internet to the Faroe Islands fairly easily if you wanted to'

I somehow managed to say this BBC Radio Scotland. I hope nobody gets any ideas 😂

They don't call me Professor of International Security for nothing you know.

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · May 11

Lord Robertson, former head of NATO, was a highlight, with his Scottish raconteur style. Also my first time seeing a PM up close. Pro-Palestinian protesters held a diligent presence outside, good for them. I spoke on a great mixed panel on energy security.

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · May 11

A fascinating few days at the London Defence Conference. Quite an eye opening range of views from a mixed defence industry/policy/academic crowd, very hawkish at times (perhaps unsurprisingly). I had to remind myself that it's just one sector among many.

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Apr 8

OMG. The revolution may not be televised, but the war will be memed on TikTok.

Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · Apr 8

China continues trolling the US with new videos. Here’s one - “US sweatshop factory”

Reposted by Andrew W Neal

Rethinking Security @rethinkingsecurity.bsky.social · Apr 7

An updated dataset aims to make available for analysis every national security & defence policy document ever published anywhere globally. @andrewwneal.bsky.social explains how the collection reveals trends in public security discourse & threat perceptions.

rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/2024/11/14/n...

Introducing the National Security and Defence Documents Dataset 1987-2024

A new dataset aims to compile and make available for analysis every national security and defence policy document ever published anywhere in the world. The dataset’s creator, Andrew W. Neal, explai…

rethinkingsecurity.org.uk

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Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Apr 4

Truly terrifying: arbitrary, vindictive, discrimatory, cruel, callous, and hypocritical. Not to a mention a compete disregard for the law or courts.

www.cnn.com/2025/03/29/u...

A PhD student was snatched by masked officers in broad daylight. Then she was flown 1,500 miles away | CNN

Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk was walking alone Tuesday night to meet friends at a dinner where they would break their 13-hour fast when six plainclothes officers suddenly encircled her ...

www.cnn.com

Reposted by Andrew W Neal

Janel Comeau 🍁 @verybadllama.bsky.social · Apr 3

I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island

and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods

forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold

560 7.1K 29K

Andrew W Neal @andrewwneal.bsky.social · Apr 3

@dandrezner.bsky.social not mincing his words

Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · Apr 3

Variations on a theme. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/american-f...

American Foreign Economic Policy Is Being Run By the Dumbest Motherfuckers Alive

The fuckwittery continues unabated.

danieldrezner.substack.com

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