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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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ln the article the author reports on the 40eth anniversary of the Pugwash Movement, which has through international conferences on science and global issues earned affirmation as an important international factor and communication channel amongst scientists. The top priorities of debates and cooperation were nuclear armament issues, nuclear danger and other relevant problems of global development. The Pugwash Movement was especially influential in the period of the cold war, the Berlin crisis, the Cuban crisis, the invasion on Czechoslovakia etc. Based on discussions within the Movement the following international agreements were drafted and signed: on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the partial ban on nuclear explosion experiments, the treaty banning the use of anti-ballistic missiles, the Convention on biological warfare. Croatian scientists gave an important contribution to the Pugwash Movement through activities and debates on Pugwash issues by gathering round the Eneye/opaedia Moderna and the HAZU Institute for the Philosophy of Science and Peace. In recent years the Croatian Pugwash group has issued appeals to its colleaques worldwide informing them about the events in Croatia and its attempt to take part in the system of European security. Following up the changes in international affairs, the Pugwash Movement now has new priorities in its scope of activities, from environmental issues to the conversion of military industries.
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Since the beginning of this century one can observe ‘renaissance’ of maritime piracy, which makes international maritime transport and trade difficult and dangerous. This article presents EU’ activities aiming at reducing the scale of this procedure and it is also an attempt to evaluate their effectiveness. The article discusses the number, motives and consequences of modern piracy as well as types of anti-piracy activities conducting by EU, which are concentrated in the Horn of Africa. The statistics show, that military mission called ‘Atalanta’, carried out by European forces has resulted in decreasing number of piracy attacks in Somalia region, but the fundamental reasons of modern piracy (political instability and poverty) have remained. In the future the main direction of combating piracy should be increasing development aid for coastal states as well as using ‘soft’ instruments of anti-piracy policy, such as programs supporting coastal states’ ability to fight piracy in their territorial water.
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The aim of the paper is to describe the facts of legal regulations related to the preparation of selected companies and other organizational units to the militarization. The article presents a section of tasks justifying militarization and contains a reference to the main legal acts regulating the issues discussed. The article also provides a method for determining and selecting units for militarization. The tasks, performed by people at different levels of competence in the process of preparation to militarization, was discussed. Additionally, the article describes the rules used during the broadcast of organizational-mobilization allocations to persons designated to service in the militarized units, and also presents the principles and scope of control aimed at assessing preparations for militarization. Due to the wide scope of the subject, the author has referred only to the basic legal acts regulating the principles related to preparations for militarization, but has provided a comprehensive section of this process. The article presents the necessary information about the tasks performed in the process of preparation to the militarization from the rules of the selection of individual organizational units, the details of tasks performed in this process, to present in the final part the principles of filling units to be militarized with headcount and describes ways and scope of conducting. The aim of the paper is to present the existing legislation regulating the issue of the militarization of the economy in an emergency war.
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Kaliningrad Oblast in the Russian strategy is the westernmost garisson. It allows to recognize, control and influence the politics and defence countries all over Baltic region. It is the main threat for Polish national security. The role of the circuit in the national security politics of Russia has grown up for few years. This will cause an increase in the tension and crisis in that region.
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Current international situation causes whole range of tension that can lead to the future military conflicts between Russia and NATO. The fundamental cause in this case seems to be a very aggressive politics of Russia towards states of West. Provocative behavior of Russian aviation towards the American fleet and frequent breaking of the safety zone of the air alliance state causes growth of fear about farthest peaceful coexistence. States of Middle – Eastern Europe, like Poland, are placed in the particular situation. Our state is the buffer on the eastern boundaries both of NATO and European Union. That is why expectations from our part of constant and solid presence of alliance troops on the territory of Polish Republic exist. Such presence has convicted the county and has caused growth of sense of safety of its territory. However, it seems that these expectations can be in the range of rotational presence of NATO troop on the area of the Polish state. However, decisions in it and many other important problems connected with safety, will be undertaken on NATO summit, which will proceed in July, in Warsaw 2016.
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Experiences of last couple of years indicate that more and more objects achieve their political objectives without official declaration of war. Armed force is used in not a traditional way and the so-called substitute troops begin to become increasingly bigger part. The article aims to characterize the conflicts below the level of open war of alternative nature conducted between the border of war and peace. The content of the article presents the theory of unconventional warfare and its description. It brings us closer to the conception of gray zone conflicts. It explains the concept of gray zone and shows the challenges linked to rivalry for the influence zone and security provision.
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The aim of this paper is to describe the facts of the peaceful supplementation of the armed forces in Poland. The article presents the general description and rules of the voluntary forms of military service: preparatory service, National Reserve Forces, professional military service with reference to the main legal acts regulating the issues discussed. The article includes the description of the possibilities for the selection of volunteers for the various forms of existing forms of military service and the impact of that choice on the quality of the human factor shaping the current state of the Armed Forces. In addition, the publication also contains a description and analysis of planned changes aimed at improving the functioning of the National Reserve Forces. This process has a direct impact on the territorial (local) security, but also due to the fact that the National Reserve Forces are currently the main source of candidates for military service on the quality of the peaceful supplementing of the armed forces, and also on the national safety in general.
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The article refers to the issue of the two subjects of security – the human being and the local community – playing role in implementing the concept of the UN human security. These are the individual countries which had to, and still have to fulfill this global concept of human security. After the Cold War the states were expected to focus on the security of a man rather than on further militarization. Is the concept of human security well known in social practice? How can this concept be supported in local communities and by education? The article seeks answers to these and other questions related to changes to subjects of security such as a human being, local community and the state.
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Observing the events and crises that occur around the world in schools, there is a question: Doschools in Poland, apart from the organizational, program and legal changes, consider creatingand strengthening the safety of children and young people? Especially with the exposure of newthreats that may appear, defined as terrorism. After the analysis, it can be concluded that Polishschools do not teach children how to behave in the event of a terrorist threat. Preparation dependson many factors, including mainly anti-terror awareness, which depends primarily on properlyorganized and conducted educational and legislative activity of the state. In the presented article,the authors distinguished and characterized (author's approach) a picture of contemporary schoolreality in the discussed area, especially legal - development - educational contexts in whichchanges should occur. In the legal area, the analysis included regulated provisions of the Act of10 June 2016 on anti-terrorist activities (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 796), the Act of 1 March2018 on counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism (Journal of Laws of 2019,item 1115) and the Act of 26 April 2007 on crisis management (Journal of Laws of 2019, item139) whether they may be applicable in the discussed issues. Bearing in mind that the safety ofcitizens, and thus of children and young people, is a timeless problem, it should be postulatedthat educational institutions in Poland should as soon as possible introduce new curricula foranti-terrorism prophylaxis into their curricula.
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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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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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The issue of the military order is a very complex one. When giving or executing an order, one should always take into account the necessity to make choices. The decisions taken may in the future imply criminal liability as a consequence of the order that is contrary to legal norms, or executing it. The purpose of the article is to present the problem of giving an order from the perspective of the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia, with a detailed account of the R. Krstic’s case. The author tried to answer the questions: What is the scope of the commander's liability? Is he liable only for the orders he has given? Does this liability extend to the behavior of his subordinates as well? In the presented article an analysis of selected court cases important from the point of view of the problem of giving an order was carried out. For this purpose, the regulations of International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg were analyzed. Subsequently, an analysis of selected court cases being investigated under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In conclusion are indicated the regulations of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the regulations of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
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One of the key preconditions for building up and maintaining the Venetian naval empire in the early modern period was a successful connection between the interests of the local elites and the central authorities. The Venetian possessions in the Eastern Adriatic were no exception to this rule, and the noble families from the communes of Dalmatia and Bokelj played a particularly important role in this respect. For generations, their members held various public posts of local significance throughout the said area. From the mid-17th century, the local elites were increasingly involved in the Venetian military service. In this way, the Venetian military organization in the Eastern Adriatic region became the most important field in which the interests of the central authorities in Venice and the local elites were intertwined and firmly connected. An excellent example for studying this form of integration between the local elites and the state is the noble family of Buća (Bucchia), one of the ancient and especially respectable noble kindreds of Kotor. After some members of the family distinguished themselves in important civil services of the Republic, the Buća became more intensely involved in the Venetian military organization during the last decades of the 17th century.
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One of the most urgent issues of ensuring the innovative development of the Ukrainian defense is the attraction of additional funds to the development of the scientific and technological and industrial base of enterprises, as well as the preservation and training of scientific, technical and industrial personnel.In the context of extremely inadequate budgetary support for the mass production preparation of new types of IAF and import substitution measures, the own working capital of enterprises in the form of a part of the net profit received from production activity remains the sole source of such financing. Enterprises for designing products of their own production are forced to raise funds from other activities. In such circumstances, the source of financing is the profit received from the sale of own products. At the same time, securing innovative development of the defense industry is impossible without attracting investment, including foreign ones.The purpose of the article is to analyze the current pricing mechanism for the products of the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex, to identify problematic issues and to substantiate the possibilities of using foreign, in particular Swedish experience, to solve them.Modern pricing system for military products, which is based on the application of costing method, which is essentially cost-effective, as it is based on data on the complexity and cost estimates for previously completed work, does not stimulate the implementation of the enterprises of the defense-industrial complex of organizational, technological, scientific and other innovations that help to reduce the cost of production and improve its quality. The new system should be based on the so-called "Value Pricing Concept", the concept of the dependence of the price of products on its quality or value for the customer. The value of products for the Customer is determined by its tactical and technical characteristics, technical characteristics that characterize its quality, the effect of use in both war and time of war, as well as the effect of possible use in other, non-military, fields of activity.The analysis of the procurement system for military products for the Swedish Armed Forces has shown that it fully complies with the principles of the "Value Pricing Concept" and is consistent with EU and NATO procurement procedures. Therefore, in such a situation, it is extremely important to study the experience of European countries and, above all, of Sweden because of its non-aligned status and the closeness of Ukraine's and Sweden's positions on defense potential. In particular, in the ranking of the Global FirePower website Ukraine is ranked 22nd, Sweden - 26th.
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This article analyzes crusading in Prussia (present-day Poland, Lithuania, and parts of Russia) as a specific form of experience, specifically by examining two elements of that experience: the use and function of relics, and the perception of crusading in Prussia as a pilgrimage. While the expeditions have been previously cited for their brutality and lack of connection to the ‘real’ crusades to Jerusalem or other theaters, like Spain (due to the lack of holy shrines in the region, and the motivations of their participants), this article presents a challenge to that narrative: relics and pilgrimage formed key elements to the crusading experience in Prussia from an early stage, developing over the course of a century. This article first addresses the contested issue of whether or not relics were used in the military expeditions by consulting not only the extensive primary sources available, but also the most recent and up-to-date scholarly research, concluding that they were, indeed, used on the battlefield. It also analyzes the role of other objects, namely banners and images, to assess the religious elements of the crusade experience in Prussia. It then proceeds to the veneration of relics at shrines throughout Prussia by crusaders, demonstrating the role of these shrines in reinforcing the religious experience of crusading in Prussia. What emerges is a more complete picture of how people in the Middle Ages perceived crusading and holy war on the last pagan frontier of Europe.
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All our best and most reliable allies are in Europe, as well as Canada and Australia. Everyone knows about NATO’s Article 5, but Article 3 is maybe the most important. It says that “All the parties will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attacks”. In other words: you will do your own part to defend yourself. Lithuania has earned a place of respect in the administration and in the Congress. And Lithuania has been a leader in that for years. Not just the ability of the men and women in uniform in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but also in terms of modernization efforts. Lithuania has earned a place of respect in the administration and in the Congress.
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The subject of this dissertation is the European Union policies in the area of combating terrorism. The fact that terrorism is regarded as being one of the biggest threats to European Security determined the choice of the subject. The author has tried to explain the terminology applying to terrorism, the history of terrorism, and present methods of fi ght against it. The objective of the article is the analysis of the European Union main actions taken and decisions made in this respect. One of many determinants that infl uenced tightening of this policy were the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001. Also, frequent terrorist attacks forced the European Union member states constant cooperation and continued eff orts regarding actions to counter terrorism which is both social and political phenomenon.
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