Complexities of Islamic Extremism in the Balkans
A comprehensive article covering recent developments in Islamic fundamentalist activities in the Balkans, citing un- or-under-reported information and sources.
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A comprehensive article covering recent developments in Islamic fundamentalist activities in the Balkans, citing un- or-under-reported information and sources.
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Russia’s actions in the Ukraine have changed the security situation in the Baltic region, which makes NATO’s long-term presence in Latvia essential for the Latvian Republic. The impacts of Russian actions on Latvian defence policy are discussed in the paper by Mr Janis Berzinš, Managing Director of the Centre for Security and Defence Research, National Defence Academy of Latvia, in Policy Paper, No. 2, 2014. It is a new way of intervention, new-generation warfare, without the employment of armed combats, using mostly influence and coercion, by means of covert operations. Abridged and adapted. The original English text is available at http://www.naa.mil.lv/ ~/media/NAA/AZPC/Publikacijas/PP%2002-2014.ashx. Even though the study came into being in April 2014, the editors regard it worthy to be published, being timeless and with general validity.
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V říjnu 1938 byl ve Vojenských rozhledech zveřejněn článek, ve kterém se jeho autorpodplukovník Karel Veit zamýšlí nad doktrinálními principy a organizační strukturouČeskoslovenské armády. Je zřejmé, že text byl napsán před všeobecnou mobilizací(23. 9. 1938) a před podepsáním Mnichovské dohody (29. 9. 1938). Redakci se přestopříspěvek jevil aktuální, proto se rozhodla jej zveřejnit. Nikdo tehdy nemohl tušit, žese za necelých 5 měsíců geopolitická situace změní tak radikálně, že se veškeré plányi odhodlání k obraně republiky stanou součástí smutné historie. Z následujícího textu,který vám v tomto čísle přinášíme, můžeme čerpat inspiraci i dnes. Je nejen doklademo odhodlanosti armády splnit svá poslání za jakýchkoliv podmínek, zároveň je takézáznamem omylů, jež se naplno projevily až ve světle toho, co přinesl pozdější vývoj.
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This paper presents selected conclusions related to the theoretical underpinnings of international humanitarian law, with special focus on the understanding of considerations of humanity and the dictates of public conscience (the Martens clause) and their impact on the regulation of lethal autonomous weapons systems. Despite the fact that different positions can be found in the doctrine, it is argued herein that the general principles of international humanitarian law are not sufficient to properly regulate the disruptive military technologies (new means and methods of warfare) and a new international norm is needed. Consequently, the paper agglomerates extra-legal and cross-cutting arguments stemming from other normative regimes that point to prioritization of the value of human life and the role and quality of the human factor in decision-making procedures relating to the health and life of victims of modern armed conflicts, which should be incorporated in it.
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Since colonial times, Somalia has been going through authoritarian and/or democratic transitions. The transitory position of Somalia was determined by geography, religion, ethnicity, tribal origins, socio-economic, and political system. Somalia is one of the longest protracted crises in the world and recurrently victim of the violent extremism that breathes into the political, social and economic country’s unrest. Somalia remains a major threat to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. More importantly, continuous uprisings, violence, and conflicts threaten peace, stability, and security in Somalia. This paper examines the root causes of these developments by considering international, regional and domestic actors in state security, peace, and stability. How tackling of terrorism, extremism and organized crime are conditioned by the effectiveness of the system of governance, the rule of law, economic growth and development and, more importantly, state security, police, and defense. This paper also placed the questions of terrorism and conflict within a global security framework and the fight against terrorism, organized crime, and illegal human trafficking and migrations.
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In recent years, the European Union, as a supranational actor, with the declared objective to play an important role in the security field, has developed its own regulatory framework and capabilities in order to manage the cross-border crises. In the service of this objective, European Union has built a mechanism aiming at coordinating and leading at the highest political level the response to threats that require by the nature of their consequences a conjugated reaction. We propose ourselves to analyse its effectiveness by studying the events that generated the triggering of the mechanism, or which could have led to the triggering of this mechanism, but did not do it. The approach of the threats that transcend the national boundaries can involve actions which start with the interconnection of states’ response capacities to their integration through the framework advanced by EU.
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The European Union is in the process of re-assessing the various challenges engulfing it. Enlargement - a flagship policy of the EU, is now materialising as a challenge, critically testing its competence. The course of Western Balkan enlargement comes with its own tier of difficulties. Complications stem from the very conceptualisation of the six Western Balkan countries as a single bloc and the underlying fragilities that characterise them. This paper attempts to deconstruct the EU’s political conditionality applied in the Western Balkan enlargement. It postulates the critical issues of ethno-political conflicts within these territories as one of the major causes behind the delay in accession and highlights the limits of EU’s approach to influence these countries. As a result, the geopolitical vacuum gives space for external actors like Russia to become proactive. The growing Russian intervention in these regions, contributes to the construction of salient political discourse in the enlargement.
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The aim of this study is to show that Turkey’s experience in the operations of Syria in the hybrid environment is more than a lot of states’, and increased its political influence in the region as well, and thus would have a say in the process of reconstruction of Syria after the civil war. The US, for the time being, wants to create an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria, and despite Turkey’s all objections, it makes an alliance with PKK’s Syrian branch PYD/YPG or so called as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for fighting DAESH. The US has provided all kinds of assistance to the PYD/YPG, including arms and money. Seeing this as a threat to its survival, Turkey first conducted the Euphrates Shield Operation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on August 24, 2016, and then the Operation of the Olive Branch on January 20, 2018, and finally the Peace Spring Operation on October 9, 2019. The main purpose of these three operations was to clear the area from the PYD/YPG and DAESH terrorists and to contribute to the reconstruction of stability in Syria by considering the territorial integrity of the country.
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The digital tax system is becoming extremely essential in the modern world. As we look at the system itself as a great benefit for its users and states as well, we tend to forget the role of personal data within it. Personal data play crucial role in the errorless digital tax system. The new regulation of EU, General Data Protection Regulation is addressing processing of personal data within the state administration of EU member states. The aim of this article is to examine the effect of GDPR on the digital tax system and encourage wide academic and public discussion in relation to processing of personal data in the digital tax system.
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In the first issue of the Bratislava Law Review magazine for 2018, our article addressed the problem of legal regulation of relations related to the crypto sphere “Failure to repatiate funds in foreign currency from abroad and modern issues of currency regulation” was published. In December 2017, Bitcoin predicted the cost of $ 40 – $ 100 thousand. However, in 2018, the situation changed-the Bitcoin exchange rate began to lose from $ 0.5 to $ 1 thousand per day, and its market capitalization fell to $ 70 billion. The crisis of the crypto market has affected not only the capitalization of cryptocurrencies, but also the issues of legal regulation of relations associated with its use. Currently, only three countries – Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan – recognize cryptocurrency as a legal means of payment. In Spain, the cryptocurrency is classified as an electronic means of payment only in relation to the gaming business. The legislation of Germany, as well as Finland, allows to classify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments. In China, Singapore and Norway cryptocurrency is considered as a financial asset in the US – as property, i.e. developed countries are in no hurry to equate cryptocurrency to means of payment.
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Depending on the inclination of the authors and the focus of their security research, we recognize two most common approaches: the first focuses on the stability of national governance structures and territorial integrity (state and/or national security); while the second approach focuses on security as a civil right in daily life, the availability of necessary resources and the quality of life. The latter approach is known in theory as the concept of human security. Considering the fact that a comprehensive analysis of the security situation involves elements of both approaches, in the paper we consider the complex relationship between state and non-state security actors through the hybridization of the political system. The mismatch between the level of the national strategy and its operationalization at the level of meeting the needs of citizens requires the introduction of new elements in the space between the strategic and operational levels. The outlined approach can be called the Hybrid Security System because of its potential contribution to raising the level of Human Security (HS) in local communities. We will present the hybrid security system conceptually in the form of a decentralized computer network. The presented diagram of System Dynamics and the proposed model of HS operationalization through the hybridization of security systems using the potential of Information and Communications Technologies are a good basis for the analysis and raising the level of citizens’ security in relation to current threats.
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When considering the military power of the United States, it is necessary to distinguish military force and military power. Military force represents an organization that is equipped and trained to use force. America is clearly the largest military power in the world, and that is a fact. However, the term military power is significantly wider than that of the military force. It also includes elements related to the threat of using force and many other activities related to the involvement of military force in contemporary international relations, including international defense cooperation, military-technical cooperation, the purchase and sale of weapons and military equipment, and more. The paper focuses on this exact segment of military power, understood as a willingness to engage the US military force outside their national territory. The aim of the paper is to describe the evolution of the United States’ strategic thought regarding military power as a foreign policy instrument by analyzing the key processes in specific historical conditions from their independence to modern times. The results of this analysis will represent valuable indicators for a future role of military power in the US foreign policy in terms of potential conflicts for the preservation of global hegemony.
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From a theoretical point of view, this paper considers the evidentiary action of recognizing the voice of the perpetrator by the witness. It is the identification of the voice by a person who is usually an "unprofessional listener". Due to the specificity of the voice as an object of recognition, the involvement of forensics (linguists and phoneticians) in the organization and immediate realization of the voice recognition action seems inevitable. Their activity would be manifested in giving guidance to the authority on how to increase the efficiency of voice identification and the accuracy of witness testimony. The witness gives evidence based on his perceptual (auditory) abilities in a procedure prescribed by the law, in which the credibility of his/her testimony is simultaneously checked and assessed. The Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Serbia establishes the legal framework for taking the voice recognition action, while the content of performing the direct recognition action is determined by the criminal-tactical rules.
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In the assessment of Serbia's security within the Balkan geopolitical node, it is important to analyze the position of foreign political centers of power and their geopolitical partners in the region, as well as the relations with other geopolitical nodes (Caucasus, Middle East) or key zones (Bosphorus, Dardanelles, Suez). Usually, power centers such as the US, NATO, EU, Russia and others demonstrate their inclination to protect the interests of a particular ethnic group, religious inclination, or state. The relations between Eurasia (Russia) and Orthodox Serbia, as well as between Mitteleurope (Germany, Austria) and Catholic Croatia can serve as examples from history. From the specific European, Eurasian and global centers of geopolitical power, the Balkans are viewed in terms of a very specific geopolitical interest. In such a sensitive environment, the Republic of Serbia seeks to find a balanced relationship both with the great powers and with the states and peoples in the immediate environment. Balancing military neutrality, threading the path to European integration, and turning to Russia and Eurasian allies, all raise a number of issues in the area of security and stable political positioning on the contemporary world stage.
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The Cyber security topic becomes a complex, interdisciplinary and multidimensional problem in the contemporary theory and practice of the International Law.
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A secure environment plays a crucial role in the overall stability of the economy, having an impact and contributing to its competitiveness. Although an absence of security risks cannot certainly drive the country's economic development and competitiveness, its existence would definitely have far-reaching consequences for the economy. The paper aims to analyze the national security of the European (EU) countries and Serbia, reflected in the following security indicators: business costs of terrorism, business costs of crime and violence, organized crime, and the reliability of policy services. In this context, the study provides a comparative analysis of the mentioned indicators in order to assess their trend, as well as the correlation between national security and national competitiveness with the aim to determine how national security affects national competitiveness. The empirical analysis of the study includes 28 EU member countries and Serbia as a candidate country, covering the period from 2011 to 2017, with data available in the Global Competitiveness Reports. The findings of this study allow for a better understanding of the overall national security and its impact on the national competitiveness in the context of the EU and Serbia.
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The authors seek to highlight the modernity of studying various issues in criminology and their inter-relatedness to the fields of social sciences and humanities in general, such as sociology, criminology, security, and all deal-related, often opportunistic, "Interlaced" phenomena. Related issues have been studying the relevant safety facts and science that are incorporated in them, not mutually exclusive items related observation, rather than grouping them in one goal - preventing social negative social phenomena. The authors give special attention to the determining of the concept of a political crime, and terrorism. Crime, delinquency - occurs whenever a gain of three quintessential elements of their existence: the victim, the offender and the place of execution. Accordingly, the basis for the philosophy of prevention consists in disrupting or disabling synergies of these three elements. While the idea of crime prevention may be an unattainable ideal, a lot can still be done in an efficient process minimizing the occurrence of crime.
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Corporate governance is a complex process that represents a relatively new concept in the countries in transition, as is the case in the Balkans. A particularly important phenomenon is that of company managers, running state-property companies, mostly in the company’s success, but largely invested in their personal gain and self-promotion. It is often the case that they sign detrimental contracts for their own profit, therefore, jeopardize, and weaken the entire economic system of a country, which represents a serious security risk. Modern cooperative governance assumes an entire set of security measures that have to be undertaken in respect to the degree of threats that may jeopardize the profit and success of a company.
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To undertake military intervention or not, is a question that affects all countries in the world in situations of mass violations of human rights and the rules of international humanitarian law, especially the states that have resources and means for direct engagement in the resolution of such situations. For many countries, the answer is simply negative. Their justification is that these crimes do not occur on their territory and it is not worthy that their soldiers die trying to restore peace and security in other countries. The most powerful countries should actively be involved in the prevention and ending of situations of gross human rights violations, which at the same time represent a shame for the whole civilized world. The most powerful countries should intervene because they have the necessary capacity to maintain the peace and security in the world.
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Terrorism is a phenomenon that has been present for many centuries. The fight against terrorism is as old as terrorism itself. In the new era it takes on a new dimension but still with no successful results. The reason for that can be found in the impossibility of forming a consensus on what terrorism is and who terrorists are. The perception of terrorism has changed after the attack on the WTC and within the organisation of the fight against terrorism. That struggle today, in its efforts to win against terrorist organisations, leaves a deep mark on the institutions and processes in a liberal democratic society. A person in the West can be a victim of terrorist attacks but also a victim of control and deprivation of freedom, which is implemented by legitimate elected political governance, in the fight against terrorism. Today there is a significant danger that a liberal democratic state will become a state of terrorism and take terrorist actions on its citizens and all in the name of security.
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