Security and Defence Quarterly

13-38

Authors: Dariusz Miszewski, Franciszek Dąbrowski, Marek Deszczyński, Grzegorz Wnętrzak

This paper analyses changes in the region’s states, and the evolution of Central Europe’s (CE) position in the international environment. Since forming in 1918, the new CE independent states have remained a focus for neighbouring powers and Western powers. The paper looks at the background for the historical, political, economic, demographic, cultural and geopolitical importance of Central Europe. Th ree essential periods can be distinguished, the first being the post-WW1 period, when after the downfall of Austria-Hungary and the weakening of Germany, Russia and Turkey, a number of independent states emerged. The lack of Western assistance and insufficient mutual cooperation meant that CE countries became subject to aggression from Berlin and Moscow. After WW2, the region was forcefully reintegrated into the Soviet Union – and its states were subjected to political, social, economic and cultural degradation. The downfall of the Soviet Union and democratic transition in the states of Central Europe contributed to the regional economic and security integration. EU membership and close ties to the USA forged significant possibilities for development and becoming a subject of European policy. Historical experiences show that Central Europe has had a significant impact on international security in Europe. The region’s states of increasing signifi cance have the capability potential to forge their own concepts of close regional political and economic cooperation.

54-64

Authors: Marcin Pasek, Remigiusz Dróżdż, Tomasz Kochańczyk

Safeguarding the functioning of local and international tourism is one of the most important social challenges. Mastering its principles is a prerequisite for success in the fulfi lment of such human needs as relaxation, wellbeing and exploration of the world. The effectiveness of any steps to limit the risk and its consequences in tourism stems from multiannual observation of social phenomena, but it is also dependent on the level of theoretical preparation to take practical action for increased security at every stage of the journey. The aim of this article is to explore the idea of developing skills in securing safety in travel as an additional educational need of school children and young people. The article recommends supplementing the school curriculum at the primary and secondary school level in order to help create a profi le of a student able to secure broadly understood safety for himself and for others.

78-93

Authors: Bartosz Płotka

The subject of this article is the efficiency of popular justice as the informal mechanism of public safety production on the example of Polish users of facebook.com. The investigation was based on the empirical data collected from Polish public discussion groups on the facebook website. The qualitative analysis of digital data allowed a presentation of what forms popular justice takes today and what kind of reconceptualisation it undergoes in comparison to its previous forms. The theory that backed up the study was the concept of informal institutions which allowed the most important characteristics and their changes to be demonstrated. The results show that popular justice is an ineffective mechanism of public safety production because of its selectivity and the high level of emotions related to judging people, which makes a just judgment impossible.