The Military University of Land Forces, Department of Public Safety, Wrocław, Poland
The Military University of Land Forces, Department of Public Safety, Wrocław, Poland

Summary/Abstract: In this dynamically changing era, in with an increasing multitude of surprising phenomena affecting the socio-political order, focusing on history of “forgotten” parts of the world, such as the Falklands, might only at first glance appear unjustified. After a deeper consideration, it is far from being so. After all, there are plenty of locations around the globe where disputes related to zones of influence, resources and territories are still ongoing. Only some of them are considered significant enough from the point of view of international security to be worthy of being written about. The state of existing knowledge should also be periodically reviewed, and the public should remain aware of pending threats, not only of those which almost every day are communicated through the media, but also of those far-away and forgotten (by some). Undoubtedly, the Falklands are a clear example of such a corner of the world. The dispute over the Islands between Argentina and the United Kingdom has its sources rooted deep in distant history and is of colonial origin. Although formally the conflict over these isles ended in 1982, tensions between Argentina and Great Britain make the threat of outbreak of another conflict, perhaps more drastic than the previous one, a real one, worth reflecting upon. In the face of mounting tensions between the two countries, the question arises not whether it could lead to an open conflict between them, but rather when and under what circumstances this might occur. And if it comes to that, what will be the real reason for the battle being waged? Before focusing in more detail on these questions, the two geopolitical determinants, which play an important role in the dispute over the Falkland Islands will be presented here. One of the determinants is geographical in nature, i.e. the location of the Islands on the world map, and the second is an economic one, linked to huge energy resources that lie beneath the Falklands. In order to discuss the present situation of the Islands, the colonial past of the archipelago cannot be ignored. This past history still weights heavily on the relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina, and just as it had contributed to the conflict of 1982 it also remains a factor in the current tensions between the two countries.

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