CEEOL - Browse Subjects Result

We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

CYBER ACTIVITIES IN THE GREY ZONE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE APPROACHES

Author(s): COLOM-PIELLA Guillem / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Concepts such as “hybrid threat” or “grey zone” are used to define the wide range of “political warfare” actions that countries such as Russia, China, Iran or North Korea employ for projecting their influence, plausibly denying their responsibility and hampering any response by not crossing the threshold of an armed conflict. Those characteristics allow many actors to project their power asymmetrically by hindering the attribution of their actions, preventing the allocation of legal responsibilities, making retaliation more difficult and compromising the credibility of deterrence. Although many of these actions are carried out in the physical world, the virtual domain seems the natural realm for these activities. This is due to the ambiguity, anonymity, asymmetry, economy and ubiquity of cyberspace. This contribution focuses on the “grey zone” activities in the cyber and information domains conducted by two relevant powers – China and Russia – and discuss the problems and prospects related to those.

More...

WOMEN IN THE MILITARY PROFESSION – A BOOK WITH WHITE PAGES?

Author(s): Marina STĂNESCU / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Security is difficult to achieve and, while navigating the seas churned and high stakes situations, our military has to be more than just a sum of highly trained men and women, they have to be effective leaders with skills that exceed military sphere, able to act in an adequate and proportional manner. This article presents women’s participation, work and contribution to the Armed Forces development during the second half of the 20th century in Romania. Women and men in this period did not have the same political rights, did not share the same social roles, and could not access the same professional path. Despite facing challenging circumstances, women have assumed active roles and slowly became an integral part of the Armed Forces, showing extraordinary determination and skills. In this article, I will explore the main aspects concerning the social, legal, and political conditions affecting women’s life and profession.

More...

THE ROMANIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARMS SALE MARKET’S COMPETITION

Author(s): Crăişor Constantin IONIȚĂ / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

There is a fierce competition in the international arms sale market regarding the export of very high-tech and sensitive defence material. For some developed countries, like Russia, Greece, Italy, France, Sweden, the manufacture and sale of armaments represent a substantial percentage of their GDP and a possibility to grow their income and wealth. At the same time, because of the different research and development levels of advanced technologies in the production of defence capabilities, like multi-purpose platforms, unmanned systems, robotics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence/learning machines, there is a huge discrepancy between American defence industry and the European one. This is really true when you consider the dependence of European industrial companies from their American counterparts. This dependence has obliged some European defence companies to establish bilateral or multilateral collaboration agreements to survive in the field of armaments export.For the Romanian Defence Industry, the discrepancy is even higher than Western similar companies, considering its reliance on old technologies, lack of specialists and research institutes, and acquisition of majority of its military equipment from the US. There is little interest from both the Government and the MoND to invest in national defence companies to buy their military products, which have lower technology incorporated and low performance equipment.

More...

SCIENTIFIC SECURITY AND THE BACKBONE OF THE FUTURE ROMANIAN ARMED FORCES

Author(s): Iulian Chifu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Scientific security enters the forefront of the debates related to the evolution of security and military in the future. In that respect, the backbone of the Romanian Armed Forces should move more to fields of scientific research and technological achievements with direct applications and, maybe, a proper scientific and strategic tool at the disposal of the Chief of defense. The most important fields of research should come from strategic studies, prospective studies, new technologies and their impact, applied military and security sociology, as well asInformational Warfare and impact studies.

More...

FUNCTIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF ENSURING THE SECURITY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF CYBER THREATS

Author(s): Lucian Scirtocea / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Considering the NATO and EU membership and in the context of new cyber threats, ensuring the security of information and communication systems has become a priority for both public institutions, private companies and the Romanian Army. In this article, the aim is to present the main functions and principles of ensuring the security of information and communication systems in the context of the evolution of the IT @ C field.

More...

SPACE SYSTEMS – A NEW CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR?

Author(s): Cristian Băhnăreanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In recent years, space capabilities have become increasingly important for the proper function and development of the economy and society and for ensuring security. Space is the newest operating environment for military powers, so decision makers can no longer ignore the benefits of space systems and technologies, but also the risks and threats they may be subjected to. The paper highlights the growing contribution of all these space systems to the functioning of most critical infrastructure sectors and assesses that they must be an independent sector of such infrastructures that need to be protected.

More...

THE CONCEPT OF MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS AND ITS MULTINATIONAL UNDERSTANDING

Author(s): Crăişor Constantin IONIȚĂ / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The international competition on emerging technologies rises a new and very dangerous threat for global and regional security because of the easy access to the procurement of very high-tech and sensitive defence material. The race for who will control some domains from the future operating environment is between the United States, Russia and China, but several other state and non-state actors have reconsidered their high-tech strategies, already. It is about India, Iran, Japan, Israel and the European Union as a whole, as well as transnational terrorist and organised crime organisations or multinational companies. At the same time, the last technological developments have created a huge discrepancy in the Resolution in Military Affairs (RMA), especially because of letting far behind doctrines and the organisation of military structures for combat. This anacronism is evolving with the intent of gradually replacing regular fighters and current formations in the modern battlefield with robots/androids and joint human-machines teams. As a result, it has become imperative to develop new concepts/strategies for future conflicts that brings together all elements of advanced technologies and coordinates their joint actions on any potential adversary, in order to achieve a total and quick victory. This material will analyse the US Army’s concept of Multidimensional Operatios and how it is understood at the Allied level.

More...

NEW CHALLENGES FOR A FUTURE STATE DEFENCE

Author(s): Fabian Baxa,Aleš Tesař / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

There is an increasing number of non-state actors acting recently as well as present armed conflicts aside of state actors when non-state actors being endowed with more economic and “military” power than smaller states what enable them a broad spectrum of activities in all domains explored by human civilisation. Nowadays even an inner space belongs already to activities of non-state actors. Cyber space is an arena of these actors since the beginning of its exploitation. Putting together, it is necessary to expect a growing number of frictions among various state and non-state actors having their own interests in the same areas and time. These frictions may lead to conflicts, even armed conflicts being presented by other activities than engagement of traditional armed forces against property or interests of both, state or non-state actors with an aim to gain some advantage. Actions in an inner space or in a cyber space could be more serious than small scale armed conflict. These actions might be considered as simple criminal or terroristic acts or as casus belli, like consequences of the 11th September 2001 situation. Who is in charge of judging a nature of the offensive actions between two non-state actors? What state is authorised to declare “war against terrorism” (or criminality?) towards one or all belling parties, which are non-state actors? This situation can arise more questions and this article has an ambition to elaborate some of them to address new challenges in the field of future state defence.

More...

NUCLEAR GEOSTRATEGY OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA

Author(s): Marius-Cristian Neacșu,Silviu Neguţ / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The use of nuclear energy has changed the world's geopolitical and geostrategic landscape irreversibly, distinguishing another attribute of "high power", namely that of nuclear power, which not only means the possession of a nuclear arsenal but also trade in civil nuclear technology (nuclear reactors for electricity generation) placing the selling state and the buyer in a geopolitical relationship. What's new? The emergence of a new nuclear military power, China, perceived as a "growing tiger", and new exporters of civil nuclear technology, Russia and China, which now concentrate 2/3 of reactor construction in the world after the long period of the Cold War when the global civilian nuclear energy market was dominated by the US.

More...

GRAND STRATEGY AND MILITARY IMPLICATIONS OF NEW RUSSIA’S MILITARY DOCTRINE IN 21ST CENTURY: GEOSTRATEGIC ASPECTS OF HYBRID WARFARE STRATEGY AGAINST GEORGIA AND UKRAINE

Author(s): Vakhtang MAISAIA / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

A paper reflects new dimensions of New Cold War geostrategic balance implications at pan-regional(European) and regional (Black Sea) levels that already has been transformed into classical hybrid warfare between the Russian Federation and NATO due to the Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Currently adopted military doctrine of the Russian Federation envisages engagement into two military conflicts simultaneously and constructed its strategic operational framework founded on incorporation of three combat elements: military, non-military and information warfare measures and proper concepts. Hence, it means that Russia can beginwar-game scenarios at the same time against two neighboring nations as it occurs at time being against Ukraine and Georgia. At that respect, the incumbent Russian military leadership in aegis of so-called “GerasimovDoctrine” is promoting hybrid warfare as a key dominant grand strategy with relevant theater strategy and operational art elements (for instance, operational – strategic command HQ “South” and 5 Army Corp HQs). The military “muscle” could easily skew and twist European security environment that is much unprepared to the geostrategic challenge – Crimea occupation and annexation in 2014, war with Georgia in 2008, hybrid attack to Estonia in 2007 and very recently large-scale military intervention in Azov Sea and pending regional hegemony conditions in Caspian Basin. These military asymmetric challenges and risks deriving from the arms race derailed by the Russia’s incumbent authority, and security dilemma embroiled with by the elements of WMD are sufficient indications why the European security is plausible fragile against such challenges. From academic standpoint, the thesis deals in analyzing with the most dangerous threat targeting the European security architecture – asymmetric military challenge and realization of which is pursued in wagging hybrid war against Georgia and Ukraine. The new type of warfare is a probe stone perfected against these two post-Sovietnations indicates and poses real menace, mainly geostrategic origin, easily targeted NATO member-states, including Poland. The article predisposes reflection and understanding true meaning of so-called “GerasimovDoctrine” and the whole new version of Military Doctrine of Russia and how it is implemented at the stage. A shift transformation takes place in realms of contemporary century warfare doctrinal planning and the transformation has already implicated of identifying new type of warfare strategy – asymmetric war with representation of hybrid warfare that contributing in re-shaping a grand strategy that allows policymakers to steer through the uncertainties of a complex international security environment; Elaboration real content and new definition of “hybrid war” and its dual fold implications how to quell and deal with asymmetric military challenges and risks and how to cause the challenges on its matter. Moreover, it describes and review reformatting modality in planning and wagging war due to the military technology development that contributed to a far more complicated strategic environment for war than that of previous century. In that respect is to be identified new style of warfare – Urbanistic warfare presented in 2008 August Russia-Georgia war as well as in war in Ukraine (Mariupol battle) new definition of the warfare in general matter.

More...

PUTIN’S POLICY IN UKRAINE: A DESTRUCTIVE, UGLY, ATTRITION BASED WAR, FOUGHT AIMLESSLY, FOR THE SAKE OF WAR

Author(s): Iulian Chifu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

It is a challenge to try to draw conclusions and find the characteristics of an ongoing crisis. Even more so when it is a large-scale war, like the one fought by Russia in Ukraine, a war already defined as a war of aggression of Russia in Ukraine, unprovoked, illegal and unjustified, an invasion of Russia in Ukraine aimed at conquering new territories for Moscow to annex. But, after three months of war, some basic arguments are already in place and it is worth assessing the regularities of this war and its particularities in a way that allows us to predict the evolution of this war. And if no two wars are alike, comparisons give us hints about previous behaviors and perspectives of evolution. In this case, the 7 districts buffer zone in Nagorno Karabakh could give us a hint on the way the destruction of Eastern Ukraine will be used in the future by Russia to deny any the presence of weapons close to its borders.

More...

TURKISH INTERVENTION IN SYRIA AND GEOSTRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS ON THE EUROPEAN UNION

Author(s): Andrei-Cristian Moraru / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Operation "Peace Spring" is an event of major importance in understanding the relationship between Turkey and Syria, the future relations between the two states and the European and international community. Turkey's design of a security zone has created stability for the state in question and destabilized the entire region at the societal level. Thus, the instability generated is a vulnerability for European and international security and can be exploited by countries that oppose the democratization process or countries that have political and financial interests in that area. In today's society, disinformation is a real risk, being a measure implemented by many state and non-state actors in order to achieve security objectives. The phenomenon is also present in the current case study, playing an important role in the evolution of regional instability. The implications for the European Union security stem from soft-power influences in the collective minds of imperialist states that threaten the continent, the continued disinformation of policymakers, and the influence of decision-making in democratic states. The Operation set a precedent for the current military conflicts in the vicinity of Romania, being visible the intention of the Russian Federation to create a "safety zone", following the recent expansion of democratic and societal values.

More...

THE ROLE OF INTUITION IN MILITARY DECISIONS

Author(s): George Adrian AIONESEI / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Over the course of history, the decision-making process was at stake for many military commanders and their ability to act in critical situations. All historical events occurred as a result of powerful people making either a beneficial or detrimental decision. Therefore, the first part of the paper will be focused on the importance and the main elements of the decision-making process. Furthermore, the complexities of this process will be displayed along with the limitations that can influence the decision-maker. Also, the approach that a leader might choose affects the outcome of a specific situation. In the second part, attention will be directed at intuition as a favorable attribute for the leaders of the armed forces and how it can be taught in order to achieve the intuitive judgement necessary in the military. This paper’s goal is to analyze the effectiveness of using intuition in the military decision-making process rather than the rational evaluation that has been used and taught for years. Because military circumstances are so fluid these days, the decision-making process is hampered by a dangerous tempo of action, disordered intelligence, and agitated activity rather than a basic,easy-to-implement approach. In such situations, decision-making is rarely clear and objectively rational but rather intuitive.

More...

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON WARFARE

Author(s): Cătălin BALMUȘ,Ioan CRAMAR,Andreea-Alexandra CRAMAR / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Over human history, war has been documented since people tend to conflict over territories and control of resources. Over centuries, was became an integral element in demonstrating strength and power among states and plays a significant role in the international system. The paper looks into the impact of technology on warfare by focusing on elements like autonomous vehicles, ethical conflicts posed by autonomous vehicles, the proliferation of war and human suffering, and stealth technology and aerial combat. Technology plays a significant role in modern warfare due to new approaches to making, moving, and concealing military equipment. In addition to improvements in weaponry, technology has played another important role, forcing the military leadership to develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures to be able to reduce or negate the advantages of intelligent weapons. There has also been the proliferation of war and displacement of people. Cyberwars and aerial combat have taken a new shape where the latter uses stealth technology to avoid detection and launch surprise attacks on enemies. The advent of stealth technology, as well as sophisticated guidance capabilities, has helped reducing collateral damage, nevertheless, it has also led to more human suffering, as shown by nuclear weapons, autonomous vehicles, and deadlier arsenal.

More...

THE ROLE OF UKRAINIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES WITHIN THE WAR IN UKRAINE

Author(s): Adrian-Corneliu DIEANU / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The analysis of Ukrainian special operations forces’ capabilities is an important endeavor in studying the development of the war from Ukraine – as a consequence of the Russian Army invasion, in February 24, 2022. The actions of the Ukrainian elite military forces contributed to the failure of the initial Russian military planners’ strategic aims. National Ukrainian Army initiated the preparations to defend against an invasion force of the Russian Federation Armed Forces of 200,000 militaries, grouped in tactical units around the Ukrainian borders. Special operations Ukrainian forces had the significant role of stopping Moscow’s objectives established at the beginning of the Russian invasion and of obtaining these remarkable results within the fights against the Russian army’s units; they stood out, especially within the planned action of defeating the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. The role of Ukrainian special operations forces within the war in Ukraine consisted in bold actions behind the adversaries’ lines, resulting in destroying certain command points and in eliminating several important commanders from the command chain of the Russian Federation invasion forces. Ukrainian special operations forces engaged efficiently the fight with the Russian elite forces that landed in the neighborhood of Kyiv and also blocked the military actions that intending to get the control over certain strategic objectives.Interrupting the logistic flow of the Russian Armed Forces, destroying the Russian logistic centers from Ukrainian and Russian territory, as well as organizing resistance cells for guerrilla fight within the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russians are among the successful missions of the Ukrainian special operations forces. The endeavor of the current article is to analyze the Ukrainian special operations force’ transformation process since 2014 – an evolution from a structure specific for the „Spetsnaz” and Soviet Union (U.R.S.S) to the current capabilities and modern endowment, driven upon a development & training program, commonly developed with special forces units from NATO armies.

More...

US-ROMANIAN RELATIONS – STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Author(s): Gabriel GABOR / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In this paper, we aim to analyze the evolution of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States of America. Launched on 11 July 1997, the partnership was a political and diplomatic platform for cooperation between the two countries. The novelty of this article is the SWOT analysis of the Strategic Partnership but also it's deepening. We propose that the Strategic Partnership be institutionalized and instrumentalized in the form of a new format for cooperation and collaboration. One of the three pillars of our country's foreign policy is the privileged relationship with the United States of America, which must be deepened and developed. The Strategic Partnership concluded between Romania and the United States of America is the only certitude for our country to survive as a state, and to preserve its entire territory. This year we celebrate 25 years since this partnership emerged on the stage of History. Now, as we experience uncertain times marked by fierce geopolitical competition, it is high time we developed and formalized our Strategic Partnership. Not that we want to minimize NATO’s role, but the Alliance without the United States does not have the strength to oppose multiple challenges at international level. The Strategic Partnership strengthens our country’s profile while being the certitude of our country’s preserving its territorial integrity, and full sovereignty. The bilateral relationship has become a model of diplomatic cooperation and has manifested itself in various domains, political, military, economic, informational, environmental, social, and cultural.

More...

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SPECIFIC TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Author(s): Narcis-Vasile GRIGORAȘ / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In this paper, I want to present the value that the human resources department brings to the organization of which it is part. It consists in its ability to fulfil its role of activating the development of human capital and its sustainability. Long-term performance and market leadership could not be achieved by organizations without motivated, hard-working employees and a strong sense of loyalty to the employer. Throughout the process that employees go through since joining the organization, the human resources module needs to be aware of the importance of actively implementing performance management tools in order to monitor key activities. In order for performance management to function optimally in a department, the objectives and functions to be performed by this team must be identified in accordance with the organization's strategy. Then, the most representative and relevant key performance indicators are chosen for the mutually agreed objectives. And in the second part of the paper, I will present a case study of the application of these key performance indicators on the units of the Romanian Army.

More...

NATO AND EU STRATEGIC REVISION. CONTEXTUAL FACTORS BEFORE AND AFTER THE RUSSIAN – UKRAINIAN WAR

Author(s): Cristina Bogzeanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The present paper approaches the significant contextual aspects in which 2022 NATO and EU strategic revision process is taking place. The study premises that Russian unjustified military aggression on Ukraine and the subsequent security challenges for the European security environment are only the most recent, visible, and implicitly, attention catching ones, and that the background of the current strategic revision of both NATO and the EU is wider and marked by the succession of internal and external crises in the last decade. However, despite the need to approach all these challenges, Russian invasion of Ukraine has a key role in these organizations’ strategic revision, as it can be considered a wake-up call, an undeniable proof that both NATO and EU have to adapt their role in the regional and international security context. Through this rather descriptive approach, this paper is meant to bring to attention the complexity of the current international and regional context, shaping NATO and EU strategic revision. Also, we will argue that one of the main challenges that are to come after this revision will consist in dealing with NATO-EU relation in the best possible manner. In order to do so, the argumentation will be built departing from the general regional context, taking in consideration both internal and external trends, continuing with the origins and signification of NATO and EU strategic revision. This will be the basis on which we intend to reveal some of the challenges of NATO-EU relation and how this relation was impacted by the unjustified Russian military aggression on Ukraine. The argumentation capitalizes recent events with relevance for NATO and EU approach to security and is built on inputs from the level of population perception on NATO and EU, as well as from national foreign politics and trends specific to the organizations themselves. Given that this paper was written before NATO actually published its 2022 Strategic Concept, the author will mostly capitalize on EU’ s official documents and, implicitly, on EU’ s perspective. The study concludes that despite the highly conflict-prone context, there is also a favourable ground not only for the EU to progress in its military dimension but also for doing this in full coordination with NATO, avoiding duplications.

More...

THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WAR AND THE IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE MODERN NATION-STATE

Author(s): Mario MARINOV / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The prospect of a nuclear conflict can be viewed as a concept of terrifying significance to civilisation. It is a contingency that is the antithesis to human existence in organised societies. The following paper is an examination of the effects, which can be brought upon mankind through the large-scale deployment of nuclear weapons and the impact upon the structure of modern civilisation, viewed through the lens of organisation theory. The paper presents some of the principal short-term and long-term consequences from the utilisation of nuclear weapons, based upon research covering the past five decades. The paper examines the impact of nuclear weapons on society by presenting the modern nation-state as a complex social organisation, whose social structure and complexity would be severely degraded. The paper concludes that the deployment of nuclear weapons in the modern era would have consequences of utmost severity in transforming national societies and the nation-state, severely altering, or outright eliminating their ability to function effectively and necessitating societal readjustment and even devolution to ensure survival.

More...

MILITARY APPLICATIONS OF COGNITIVE SCIENCES: COGNITIVE WARFARE, A MATTER OF PERCEPTION AND MISPERCEPTION

Author(s): Olga Raluca CHIRIAC / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The concept of cognitive warfare is steadily gaining more and more attention in security and defense discourse. By employing a cognitive psychology perspective, the article is examining how perception and/or misperception factor into cognitive mapping of strategic and operational concepts. The central aim of the paper is to outline that the approach to the human domain is deeply rooted in nationally conditioned perception. The article is looking to achieve this academic goal by comparing the NATO conceptualization of cognitive warfare to the Russian Federations'. The structure is as follows: first, there is a brief review of the cognitive psychology paradigm, especially key concepts as they relate to the scope of the paper. The subsequent sections compare the NATO cognitive warfare approach to the opposing view, namely the one of the Russian security and defense apparatuses. The "special military operation" in Ukraine initiated by the Kremlin in 2022 confirmed that in the event of a territorial aggression against a NATO member state, the alliance as a whole remains the basis of European security and defense posture. It is for this very reason that the alliance ought to objectively analyze how Russian decision makers perceive Western perspective in the cognitive realm.

More...