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The cost of appeasement

Author(s): Larry P. Goodson / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

The 1938 Munich Agreement (Akehurst, 1972) by which the Allies allowed Adolf Hitler’s Germany to take the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia is also known as the Munich Betrayal or, to English speakers, as appeasement by Neville Chamberlain (Valladares, 2020). This historical moment reminds me very much of how the West has dealt with Russia since Vladimir Putin rose to power. Like Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin has been sending aggressive signals to his neighbours and Western nations (Putin, 2007) since his 2005 speech arguing that the collapse of the Soviet empire ‘was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century’” (Putin, 2005). Note that he did not men- tion the Bloodlands that Timothy Snyder described, i.e. the killing of 14 million people in Central and Eastern Europe (Snyder, 2010), or World War II (Halloran, 2015) as the greatest catastrophe.

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High power wireless power transfer for the future of the battlefield challenges

Author(s): Mohamed Zied Chaari,Rashid Al-Rahimi,Otman Aghzout / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

A significant challenge for the military lab is to reduce the weight of a combatant’s battery on the battlefield. Soldiers use electronic devices powered by wearable batteries in landings, operational combat with the enemy, and defensive exercises. Soldiers should always fully charge their wearable batteries before carrying them. The average weight of the battery is approximately 20 kilograms. During military operations, fighters have numerous electronic devices, such as night-vision goggles, headphones, LMR, navigation systems, VHF radios, and sensors. There is a high probability that fighters will lose their lives if the battery they take is uncharged or empty. Many research studies have tried to increase fighting time and maintain soldier life and links based on these devices. In this work, a wireless power transmission system with an RF microwave station and RF/DC converter circuit incorporated into a bulletproof vest will be designed. This system can harvest RF microwave energy to recharge or energize the wearable battery during a military operation. The challenge here is to develop a compact device that can capture the maximum RF strength to charge batteries carried by soldiers. The proposed device therefore considers all parameters to provide sufficient energy to power a computer at 13 watts. The strength of the RF power varies with the distance between the microwave power station Pin = 100 W and the receiver circuit.

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Analysis of strategic stakeholders in the Western Balkans

Author(s): Michael Minev Dimitrov / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

The purpose of this paper is to generate a model of the interplay between the main actors in the Western Balkans region in order to try to highlight major switch-factors and pathways for future evolution of the system. The study was carried out using MACTOR software developed by Laboratoire d’Investigation en Prospective, Stratégie et Organisation and École Pour l’Informatique et les Techniques Avancées. This computer-assisted method creates a hierarchy of objectives based on the mobilisation rates and gives some insight into what is at stake and the interested parties. The paper calculates the competitiveness index of each actor included in the model and the weighted valued position matrix showing both valence and mobilisation rate of actor-objective pairs. Valued convergence and divergence matrices (with graphic representation) outline the structure of the region. The results obtained can be used to develop possible scenarios. The structure of the Western Balkans region is subordinated to a single major divergence which is translated to the internal actors. Insulator states are losing relative weight with a narrowing field of manoeuvres. Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a focal point of polarity with a distinct vulnerability to the future line of behaviour of the Croatian element in the country.

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Economic coercion as a means of hybrid warfare: The South Caucasus as a focal point

Author(s): Khayal Ibrahim Iskandarov,Piotr Gawliczek / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

The rapidly changing security environment has brought a plethora of non-military measures to the fore. These measures have completely changed the nature of hostilities by giving them a hybrid character. With regard to the South Caucasus region, the chasm among the political courses pursued by particular states makes the overall region more susceptible to diverse external threats of a political, economic, military and cultural nature. This paper focuses on the economic component of the hybrid warfare in the South Caucasus region. The issues are considered from a security point of view and not from an economic perspective. The vulnerabilities of particular nations in the region to economic coercion are highlighted in the paper and suggestions for improving them made. The authors underscore the regional unity in the South Caucasus as a prerequisite for eliminating or at least mitigating economic dependence and healing the “regional fracture” that has lasted for decades.

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The role of citizens and geoinformation in providing alerts and crisis information to the public

Author(s): Fatime Balog,Tibor Babos / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

Mankind has been facing constant threats and challenges from natural and civilisational disasters for centuries. The fundamental responsibility of states is to protect the lives, health, and property of their citizens. However, protection against natural and civilisational disasters is a complex task in which the population also has to take part, and the availability of geoinformation is a prerequisite for effective protection. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the combined power of both citizens and technology in the task of alerting and informing the public of the opportunities offered by virtual crowdsourcing, Web 2.0, the role of geoinformation, crisis maps, and drones through the application of a qualitative method, by analysing case studies and by searching for internal connections between different phenomena. Citizens around the world can collaborate and contribute to the sharing and collection of geoinformation to create real-time, interactive maps. These so-called crisis maps support intervention organisations in obtaining information, and they can also be used as sources of information. The use of Web 2.0, crisis maps and drones, as well as the emergence of digital humanitarian volunteering, have fundamentally changed the role of the public when it comes to responding to disasters, including alerting them using geoinformation.

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The evolution of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ volunteer reserve component after the Cold War

Author(s): László Ujházy / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

When Hungary transformed to an all-volunteer force in 2004, most attention was given to the regular component and very little mention was made of reservists. The main goal of this study is to draw attention to the importance of, and the potential, in the reserve component using historical research to produce an overview of how the reserve component of the Hungarian Defence Forces has evolved since the end of the Cold War. Information was collected and analysed from the discussed time period and interpretations were made of the collected evidence through systematic methods appraising all available studies to synthesise the findings. Similarly to other countries in the region, more than a century of conscription and the Warsaw Pact legacy still haunts the Hungarian Defence Forces. Fortunately, Hungary’s NATO membership spearheaded the drive for qualitative change within the armed forces and more attention was paid to a volunteer reserve system. Hungary’s NATO membership has ushered in a new era of security guarantees and obligations which, among other things, brought with it the realisation that the time for qualitative change in the armed forces had come. Among other changes, an initial shift of emphasis towards a reserve system – followed by the adoption of the all-volunteer force model – made it clear that a new basis had to be provided upon which to address the reserve issue in Hungary.

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Polscy dżihadyści – analiza zagrożenia ze strony terrorystów islamistycznych polskiego pochodzenia

Author(s): Przemysław Mazur / Language(s): Polish Issue: 39/2022

Terrorism is considered to be one of the most serious threats in the world today. One of the most frequent motivations for its use is the accomplishment of a mission to spread religion understood in a very specific way. The aim of this article is to catalogue known cases of Poles or people of Polish origin who took part in the global Salafi-jihadist project and to understand their motivations, their way of radicalization. Finally, it is an attempt to assess the risk of Islamist terrorism in Poland.

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Broń chemiczna jako zagrożenie dla bezpieczeństwa

Author(s): Justyna Kięczkowska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 39/2022

The aim of the article is to analyze the possibility of using and producing chemical weapons as a threat to state security as well as the life and health of citizens. The article defines the basic concepts such as: security, chemical weapons, chemical warfare agents. The characteristics and classification of chemical weapons will also be presented. An important point of the article will also be an analysis concerning the activities aimed at limiting and prohibiting the use of chemical warfare agents. Based on the examples of the use of chemical weapons, the possibility of such a threat on a mass scale, coming from states, terrorist groups or sub-state structures, will be shown.

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Analiza ISIS z perspektywy studiów globalnych jako nowego ujęcia badawczego w naukach społecznych

Author(s): Marek Musioł / Language(s): Polish Issue: 39/2022

The scientific article fits into the context of research on security within the social sciences with the use of critical research concepts, developing in opposition to positivist paradigms such as realism or liberalism after the end of the Cold War. In addition, in the article the author puts emphasis on methodological aspect, using a new approach – Global Studies – to the analysis of the effects of the expansion of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East and its influence in the framework of new international terrorism.On the subject of research, the aim is to present the process of formation of Global Studies as a new academic research approach in social sciences. The application possibilities of the discussed approach will also be shown and an attempt will be made to analyze ISIS and the perception of this terrorist threat from a historical perspective, which is of scientific value in both Polish and world literature. Research methods such as comparative method and qualitative analysis will also be used as part of the study. The main question is to what extent Global Studies differs from other trends in the context of analyzing security problems and provides a useful framework for the analysis.The article presents the possibility of adapting the assumptions of Global Studies as a critical and postcolonial cognitive perspective to the analysis of the tragic fate of the Yazidis under the occupation of ISIS and the role of the media in the Internet space, used for propaganda and recruitment campaigns on an unprecedented scale, as a long-term effect of the Arab Spring.

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Zbyt długo utrzymywane zbyt niskie stopy procentowe NBP zagrożeniem dla bezpieczeństwa finansowego Polaków i rozwoju gospodarczego Polski

Author(s): Natalia Redo / Language(s): Polish Issue: 39/2022

Economic policy tools generate various effects – not only the desired and easily perceived ones. That is why, especially in the case of Poland, which is an economy that is catching up with the developmental gap with Western countries, it is so important to have analytical thinking skills and to use the experience of not only own economic policy, so as not to make mistakes that could have been avoided and thus prevent the reduction of the financial security of Polish society and the deterioration of its standard of living in the coming decades. By keeping interest rates too low for far too long, the Polish National Bank not only increases the inflationary pressure in Poland, but also contributes to the deepening of the problem of excessive indebtedness (not only) of households in Poland in relation to their level of wealth and creditworthiness. That is why it is so important that the central bank in the 21st century – according to the opinions of a growing number of experts – should ensure a broader financial stability, rather than just keeping an eye on inflation and counteracting financial imbalances.

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AIRPORT SECURITY – INTERNATIONAL AND POLISH PREVENTIVE AND RESPONSE TO TERRORIST THREAT

Author(s): Julia Wioletta Tocicka,Ewa Jakubiak / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The rise of new technologies, free circulation of goods, services and people, as well as the transformations that have been embedded in civil aviation, have greatly contributed to the need to implement and continuously improve the safety management system (SMS). The process of managing airport safety affects the health and life of many people and requires extensive mate- rial expenditure. It involves both ensuring the so-called acceptable level of safety performance (AloSP) of aircrafts, airport infrastructure and passengers in every phase of flight, airport rescue, as well as protection against unlawful interference. It is assumed that the introduction of the safety management process at airports will foster: 1) enhancing the safety culture, 2) establishing a transparent and documented approachto achieving safe operations, 3) introducing changes in a controlled manner, with continuous improvement of the safety program/system, thus helping to optimise the resources required in the process of implementing changes, 4) a better under- standing of the interfaces and relationships related to airport security, 5) earlier detection of threats to airport civil security, 6) improving the ability of the state/civil aviation entity to collect safety data for the purpose of conducting safety analysis, 7) streamlining safety-related commu- nication, 8) possible financial savings (obtaining discounts on insurance premiums and/or lowering employee insurance premiums based on the outturns of the safety management system, 9) cutting the costs of operations by highlighting inefficiencies in the existing processes and systems, 10) avoiding costs related to accidents and incidents by means of proactive hazard identification and safety risk management (SRM).

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Mobile Forensic Platforms as Technological Innovations in Rapid DNA Analysis and Support in Security and Justice System

Author(s): Magdalena Jabłońska-Milczarek / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

There is a strong internal need in the criminal justice system to obtain forensic information as fast as it is possible. A response to this requirement can be the implementation of real-time, on-site mobile forensic platforms that are able to perform robust scientific analysis outside the controlled laboratory environment. In this paper, new technological solutions and forensic systems are discussed, mainly based on rapid DNA instruments. The benefits and disadvantages of this approach are shown as well as its impact on the system of criminal justice.

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Countermeasures for Combatting the Terrorist Use of Aerial Drones — Bringing Research and Innovation to Operational Reality

Author(s): David Fortune,Holger Nitsch,Andrew Staniforth / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

This article outlines the issues surrounding unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) illegal incursions and malicious attacks that occur with alarming regularity, providing evidence of the continuing threat posed by actors with hostile intentions, including committed and motivated activists seeking to pursue their political, ideological or environmental goals. As unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (drone) technology continues to evolve rapidly, the response to UAVs threats must keep pace with it, with an understanding of the dangers and risks posed by drones remaining a key element in reducing incidents involving illegal drones.

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The Financing of Terrorist Activities

Author(s): Waldemar Zubrzycki / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The functioning of terrorist groups, like all other organisations, require appropriate financial resources. The phenomenon of terrorism needs a series of resources available for the terrorist organisations, including financial support. Terrorist financing is an area that cannot be completely defined, and the conclusions concerning it are often based on speculations and assumptions. However, it is known that there are many ways to obtain it, both legal and illegal. There is also no doubt that terrorists are still looking for new, hitherto unknown ways of financing their activities. It includes the direct expenditures for the attacks and the costs of establishing and maintaining the organisational infrastructure, its security logistics, and promoting their ideology. Among counterterrorism experts, one can come across the opinion that cutting off their funding sources is an effective method of dismantling terrorist organisations. Combating terrorism financing became an essential tool to counteract this menacing phenomenon. This article aims to overview how funds are raised and used by terrorist organisations.

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Environmental Safety — Selected Instruments of Legal Protection

Author(s): Piotr Chlebowicz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The article reviews new research directions in criminology and makes an attempt to place the problem of bird protection in the urban environment against the background of these theories. The author presents the issue of the legal protection of endangered bird species in the context of human activity, at the same time emphasising that extinction threats will not always have a criminal nature. The article points out that virtually all the authors dealing with green criminology highlight the importance of criminological research on the advanced forms of crime (such as organised crime and white collar crime) for the natural environment areas. Currently, criminological sciences have begun to extend their interest to broadly understood environmental threats. The author stresses that ecological issues have been recognised as an important research field of contemporary criminological sciences and that new concepts and a new conceptual framework for describing the interdependence of crime and other pathological phenomena, including the destruction of the natural environment, have appeared in criminology worldwide. The second part of the article/paper refers to the application of Article 181 of the Criminal Code in relation to perpetrators destroying habitats of endangered bird species.

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Organizacje społeczne w realizacji zadań proobronnych

Author(s): Andrzej Soboń,Marta Adamczewska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

Involvement of social organizations in defence issues is both an opportunity and a challenge for the state, which should properly use the potential of social organizations. The research carried out among the V4 Group countries and Lithuania confirmed that all countries less or more use pro-defence organizations. It is one of the state’s security interests. The legal acts that define the participation of citizens in defence issues in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania are constitutions, which provide the right of citizens to association. The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Association, which is a pro-defence organization in Lithuania, included in the defence system of Lithuania, is of particular importance. A clear specification of the tasks, rights and obligations performed by pro-defence organizations is required. The authors recommend that pro-defence issues in Poland should be defined in a similar way like in Lithuania, including pro-defence organizations to the state’s defence activities.

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Termination of war: factors affecting the outcome (in the example of the Second Karabakh War)

Author(s): Khayal Ibrahim Iskandarov,Piotr Gawliczek,Jerzy Tomasik / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

Termination of war has become one of the most important aspects of modern warfare for the last couple decades. There are a number of factors presented by the historians, military analysts and defence policy critics, which affect the outcome of the war. The presented paper describes the comparative analysis of pre-war strength of Azerbaijan and Armenia, indicates the factors leading to Azerbaijan’s resounding victory and Armenia’s defeat in the Second Karabakh War. The authors highlight four generalized factors in order to shed light on Azerbaijan’s victory. The paper examines the means of war termination and associates only one of them – “Negotiated by Third Party” with the outcome of the Second Karabakh War.

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Factors affecting the strategy of deterrence against hybrid threats (The South Caucasus as a focal poınt).

Author(s): Piotr Gawliczek,Khayal Ibrahim Iskandarov / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The genesis of deterrence has been studied in the paper. The characteristic features of deterrence strategy have been presented. The evolution process of deterrence concept has been delineated, five waves of deterrence have been brought to the spotlight. The factors affecting the implementation of a deterrence strategy have been underscored. The South Caucasus has been chosen as a focal point and its comparison with other regions has been conducted. The vulnerabilities of the countries in the region have been presented. The recommendations have been made for developing a robust deterrence strategy against external actors. Azerbaijan’s strategy of deterrence for the last couple of years was thoroughly studied regarding its deterrence strategy. The authors endeavored to touch upon various aspects and elements of Azerbaijan’s deterrence strategy in comparison with other countries in the region.

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The threat of digital surveillance

Author(s): Adam Reichardt / Language(s): English Issue: 01+02 (55)/2023

Surveillance is nothing new when it comes to authoritarian regimes as it has always been a tool to keep control and maintain order. The rise of digital technologies, however, has made it easier for regimes to monitor and control their populations. But it is not only autocratic governments which have adopted these technologies, adding to the risk of the decline of democracy and freedom.

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How well-brought up girls became unbeatable warriors - The path from battle glory to modern feminism

Author(s): Andrzej Zaręba / Language(s): English Issue: 01+02 (55)/2023

The role of women in conflict is often viewed asbeing on the home front, far away from the front linesof battle. Despite this, the story of Poland’s strugglefor independence in the First World War would notbe complete without acknowledging the selflessactivities undertaken by female volunteers.

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