MEĐUNARODNI PROBLEMI

The Strategic Logic of Total Defense in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Algorithmic Resilience

Blagojević Veljko (Institute for International Politics and Economy, Belgrade, Serbia), veljko@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs
Pavić Aleksandar (University of Defense – Military Academy, Belgrade, Serbia), aleksandar.pavic@mod.gov.rs

The paper explores the impact of artificial intelligence on the transformation of the concept of total defense in the contemporary security environment. Starting from the understanding of total defense as a comprehensive system of societal and institutional resilience, the paper analyzes artificial intelligence as a structural factor that reshapes the organization of defense, decision-making processes, and state action. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, key models for integrating algorithmic systems into national mechanisms of deterrence, crisis management and warfare are identified. The inclusion of artificial intelligence as a structural factor in the concept of total defense transforms its organizational architecture, shifting the focus from the traditional civil–military concept to an integrated system of societal resistance and resistance management of the entire society. Based on these findings, the paper proposals are formulated for a strategic approach to Serbia’s concept of total defense and its transformation into a modern model that integrates political, economic, military, informational and technological capacities into a unique architecture of algorithmic resilience. The aim of the paper is to show how artificial intelligence is becoming the foundation of a new strategic logic of total defense, in which algorithms serves as a catalyst for resilience and deterrence in an era of complex security threats. At the same time, the paper highlights the potential risk of using artificial intelligence in the absence of an adequate legal framework, with emphasizing the need to strengthen social cohesion in terms of trust in institutions, resilience to information warfare and active public engagement in the modern concept of total defense.

Keywords: total defense 2.0, artificial intelligence, strategic logic, algorithmic resilience, national security