Global aspects of security environment — the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project

Motivation: The security environment is evolving globally and more attention is given for other than military threats. They are major concern related to internal and external security of any country as their nature is complex and it is evolving crossing national borders. Globalization is one of processes enabling freedom of operations for criminal, terrorist and other dangerous movements endangering security environment and economy. The ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept, promoted by China, is vulnerable for attacks along land and sea legs. To face threats an international cooperation of involved countries must create opportunities to counter all illegal acts.Aim: The aim of the paper is to study security threats influencing security of economy processes by analysing the ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept. In the paper theoretical methods have been adopted.Results: The research allowed drawing conclusions related to ways of overcoming the threats toward supply chains caused by evolving security environment based on the risks related to the ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept

Security dilemmas of the Baltic region

The aim of the paper is to provide an analysis of security in the Baltic region, regarding the decision taken by NATO toward strengthening the security of the Baltic region when facing the threat from the East. It looks deeper into geostrategy as one of the keys to understand the vagaries of security dilemmas in the Baltic area. The article presents a situation analysis from both the Baltic states’ and NATO’s perspectives, having as a background recent actions undertaken by Russia

The voluntary forces’ role within the security systems of the Baltic countries: dissimilar but cohesive

The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, gained independence for the second time in the late 20th century, and are now investing in the whole society’s approach to defence, recognizing the threat from Russia, especially after the wars in Georgia (2007/8) and Ukraine (2014, 2022). Voluntary territorial defence forces are an important constituent of their national defence strategies. This paper aims to analyse these forces as an integral component of national security, based on a close connection with society, armed forces, and government. The similarities and differences between the three different volunteer forces will be highlighted and ultimately proven how they are strongly embedded in national and regional security setup, while also enhancing cross-border cooperation

Global aspects of security environment — the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project

Motivation: The security environment is evolving globally and more attention is given for other than military threats. They are major concern related to internal and external security of any country as their nature is complex and it is evolving crossing national borders. Globalization is one of processes enabling freedom of operations for criminal, terrorist and other dangerous movements endangering security environment and economy. The ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept, promoted by China, is vulnerable for attacks along land and sea legs. To face threats an international cooperation of involved countries must create opportunities to counter all illegal acts.Aim: The aim of the paper is to study security threats influencing security of economy processes by analysing the ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept. In the paper theoretical methods have been adopted.Results: The research allowed drawing conclusions related to ways of overcoming the threats toward supply chains caused by evolving security environment based on the risks related to the ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept.</p

THE SYNERGY BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND SOLDIERS IN WARFARE – THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES IMAGE DURING THE WAR IN UKRAINE

The technology has impacted all the domains of human life and one of them are military affairs. The combination of sophisticated technologies and human capacities has created new qualities based on training and education allowing to achieve advantage over less developed nations. On the contemporary battlefield this combination of people and modern weapons could cause success or lead to failure if not achieved. The range of emerging military technologies is very wide including reducing dependency on people enhancing combat efficiency. However, the technological culture of societies matters to ensure that qualified personnel could operate such a variety of systems. This is related to the values of a society and respect for other people and nations facilitating understanding and following the rules and laws, which are recognized in democratic and civilized societies. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of synergy between technology and soldiers especially when comparing the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces. There is a different perception of those armed forces based on their performance during war. The paper will focus on the Russian way of conducting aggression against sovereign Ukraine to discuss two aspects of the Russian Federation’s armed forces: technology and the human factor. The paper will use official documents and data within primary and secondary research allowing analysing and synthesising specific aspects of Russian efficiency during war

Rada Arktyczna jako forum pokojowej współpracy w Arktyce

The Arctic has been affected by the climate change stimulated institutionalisation of cooperation among ‘Arctic nations’, and the Arctic Council has been influential toward a peaceful future. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the Council as a regional intergovernmental organisation facilitating nonviolent cooperation and collaborative solutions toward the Arctic, preserving its ecosystems and natural environment. The research questions are how the Council deals multidimensionally with the Arctic and what is conflict potential due to security developments. The thesis is that the Council is effectively performing its missions as a cooperation forum despite differing agendas among members and observes. One of the reasons is that the military aspect is not included in the agenda. The paper is based on qualitative research founded on academic papers and official documents, including member states and observer nations’ perspectives and positions toward the region and Council. The assumption is that the Council must distinguish between individual national and shared goals to preserve peaceful cooperation. The teamwork is essential but is increasingly complicating as of differing nations’ agendas. The paper is contributing to systematise the perception of the Council and the challenges it is facing. Zmiany klimatyczne w Arktyce wpłynęły na instytucjonalizację współpracy „państw arktycznych”. W tym kontekście utworzenie Rady Arktycznej było ważne dla pokojowej przyszłości regionu. Celem artykułu jest analiza Rady Arktycznej jako międzyrządowej organizacji regionalnej promującej pokojową współpracę i skoordynowaną eksplorację Arktyki, z zachowaniem jej ekosystemów i środowiska naturalnego. Pytania badawcze dotyczą tego, jak Rada radzi sobie z obecną wielowymiarową sytuacją w Arktyce oraz czy istnieje potencjał sytuacji konfliktowej w związku z ewolucją sfery bezpieczeństwa. Teza artykułu przyjmuje, że obecnie Rada Arktyczna skutecznie wypełnia swoją misję jako forum współpracy, pomimo różnych celów państw członkowskich i obserwatorów. Jednym z problemów jest nieujęcie w programie aspektu militarnego. W artykule wykorzystano badania jakościowe oparte na analizie oficjalnych dokumentów i opracowań akademickich, w tym stanowiska państw członkowskich i obserwatorów wobec regionu i Rady. Oceniono, że Rada Arktyczna musi dokonać rozróżnienia między indywidualnymi oraz wspólnymi celami państw, tak by kontynuować pokojową współpracę. Współpraca jest kluczowa, jednak staje się coraz bardziej złożona ze względu na różne cele zaangażowanych państw. Artykuł powinien przyczynić się do usystematyzowania i lepszego zrozumienia działań Rady Arktycznej oraz wyzwań, którym musi sprostać

The Impact of Russian Aggression Against Ukraine on Estonian Security

Historically, Estonia has suffered many years of hostilities inflicted by Russia, with Russia being a constant threat towards the nation’s identity and sovereignty, including the loss of its independence and coming under and enduring belligerent Russian occupation. Recently, Moscow’s policy escalated by their unilaterally using military power against Ukraine in an attempt to subordinate the nation while harbouring desires to restore their sphere of influence. 2022’s aggression came as no surprise to Tallinn, as the nation’s leadership had issued warnings about Russia’s intentions, based on understanding its nature and being aware of what a so-called “Russian world” means. This article aims to focus on presenting the impact of Russian aggression against Ukraine on Estonia within three domains of understanding; those of the political, public, and military, and the author will use scientific methods including the collection of original data and a systematic review of existing literature and studies, along with analyses, syntheses, and elements of comparative analysis. The case study, of course, concerns Estonia. The research contends that the Russian Federation is and will continue to be considered an existential threat, one which carries out both continuous and decisive non-military and military activities against its neighbours. These activities require Estonia to improve internal security with the need of regional and international support

Hybridity – a ‘new’ method to accomplish dominance

The term ‘hybrid warfare’ proved to be very popular among academics, military thinkers and professionals leading to a variety of definitions and approaches. It was linked with the new generation concept popularised by Russian military thought. The essence of the hybridity is not new, as using a combination of military and non-military instruments is as old as mankind and is recognised but interpreted differently. The paper examines both the concept and its implementation based on case studies and theoretical considerations. It debates possible ways of using it to confront targeted nations by a combination of a variety of tools and approaches

The Military Deterrence and Strategic Resilience Within the Nato North-Eastern Flank

Zagrożenia dla bezpieczeństwa europejskiego stały się ponownie przedmiotem dyskusji i działań podejmowanych przez państwa i NATO w następstwie użycia przez Rosję sił militarnych dla zmiany granic państwowych po 2008 roku. W reakcji na nową sytuację problematyka odstraszania i budowania narodowej oraz organizacyjnej odporności strategicznej na zagrożenia militarne i niemilitarne nabrała szczególnego znaczenia, zwłaszcza w odniesieniu do wschodniej flanki NATO. Państwa graniczące z Rosją są bezpośrednio zagrożone możliwością użycia przez nią sił zbrojnych, znajdują się również pod jej presją w ramach działań hybrydowych. Celem artykułu jest przybliżenie teoretycznych podstaw koncepcji odstraszania i odporności na przykładzie działań NATO i krajów bałtyckich w tym zakresie. Pomimo to, iż wstępna ocena omawianej problematyki wykazuje skuteczność działań, to jednak wymagają one dalszego doskonalenia i inwestowania w rozbudowę określonych zdolności obronnych. Artykuł opracowano, wykorzystując metody jakościowe odnoszące się do teorii i praktyki prezentowanej problematyki.The threats to European security have become the subject of discussions and actions taken by states and NATO because of using military forces Russia’s to change state borders after 2008. In response to the new situation, deterrence, building national and strategic resilience to military and non-military threats have gained importance again. It was especially true regarding NATO’s eastern flank as being directly threatened by the possibility of hybrid and potentially military engagements. The article aims to present the implementation of deterrence and strategic resilience concepts, especially concerning the activities of NATO and the Baltic countries. A preliminary assessment shows that the arrangements are adequate but require further actions and investments. The article was developed utilizing qualitative methods of analysis, synthesis and case study referring to the theory and practice of the deliberated issues