Security and Defence Quarterly

3-20

Authors: Ryszard Parafianowicz

Dynamic changes in the security environment are forcing us to reflect on the shape of the international order at the end of the second decade of the 21st century. The aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, which is confirmed by the conflict with Georgia in 2008 and the current situation in Ukraine, indicates that the use of military violence in the resolution of international disputes is not a historical category at all. This is of particular importance to the geopolitical location of the Republic of Poland. The length of our land border with the Russian Federation is 210 km, while with Belarus it is 418 km. The above fact has a fundamental impact not only on the public debate on the security of our country and the region, but also, and perhaps most importantly, on the shape of defence policy and the content of planning possible measures to prevent and counteract the escalation of prospective tensions in NATO-Russia relations. Both Russian military doctrine and the opinions expressed by politicians and specialists dealing with military issues and political and military experts indicate that, from the Russian perspective, the Baltic States’ membership of the North Atlantic Alliance and the presence of NATO troops on the territory of these countries, is highly unfavourable. Therefore, there are grounds to believe that countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are treated by Russia as natural bridgeheads, convenient for bringing possible strikes against Russia. Therefore, it is possible that blocking communication routes leading to these countries, while cutting them off from the support of allied land forces, may prove to be a key success factor in the situation of a hypothetical armed conflict, aimed not only at depriving these countries of their sovereignty, but also aimed at discrediting the power of the Alliance.

48-73

Authors: Katerina Veljanovska Blazhevska

There is no unique definition of migration nor is a simple classification of migration possible either, because of the existence of multi-dimensional migration criteria such as cause, length, distance, direction, volume, velocity, migratory status etc. The purpose of the paper is to develop significant data that will provide insightful conclusions for the factors that contribute to high migration of youth from Kosovo. The qualitative empirical research is meant to find out the extent to which youth were satisfied with the way of life in Kosovo, what the reasons were for that, and whether that would change their way of life.

100-118

Authors: Andrzej Czop

The author benefitted from the support of the private security sector as the Chief Officer of the City Police. When, after leaving the service, he was the President of the Polish Association of Employers Protection Branch “Małopolska”, one of the basic objectives of his activity was to ensure a high level of functioning of the private security sector as an important component of public security. Optimisation of the use of private security companies to ensure public security and order is one of the basic directions of his practical operation and research conducted by him. In the article, the author discusses the role of the private security sector and the tasks set for this sector. The genesis of security companies, their evolution and development in various countries of Europe and the world is covered. Much attention is devoted to the de-monopolisation of security in Poland, in which the security companies played a special role. The author outlines the most important objectives of private sector development in Poland as a specific type of economic activity. The basic concepts related to the functioning of security companies are explained, exposing their priority task, which is the protection of facilities, areas and equipment important for the functioning of the state. The author shows that the current level of terrorist threats implies the need for greater involvement of security companies in providing security to facilities constituting the critical infrastructure of the state. The role of specialist armed security formations in this area is highlighted. In the conducted research process, a positive answer to the main question is given, demonstrating that security companies are currently an important element of the public security system in Poland, and their use in this area should be constantly strengthened.