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.

16-25

Authors: Mladen Janić

Operational fires are one of most important functions in a synergy effect with other operational functions that contribute to the achievement of targeted operational goals. The main operational goal of the American takeover of the Philippines was cutting Japan’s supply lines. This goal had been achieved primarily by effective planning of operational fires. The Japanese forces were neutralised by air strikes, primarily on air bases and aviation, sea ports and ships and those places where they could provide support to forces in the Philippines. This created conditions for landing in the Philippines. By the successful isolation of the Philippines, the US forces gained an advantage that resulted in landing their troops in the Philippines, and the victory in the largest naval and air battle at that time – the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Th e Japanese desperate attempts to use the kamikazes could not prevent the inevitable, and that was the military defeat of Japan.

45-56

Authors: Jarosław Kozuba, Jacek Krawczyk

Polish airspace is available on equal terms to all its users. Due to the increasing air traffic airspace structure and the system of airspace, management should constantly improve, taking into account the provisions of international and national conditions. The article looks at issues in the management of airspace in order to increase the efficiency of the use of Polish airspace while maintaining an appropriate level of air traffic safety during flight operations by military and civilian aircraft.

75-93

Authors: Robert Rezner

This article looks at some historical aspects of sanitary aviation in Poland in the context of global aviation and its influence on the development of Polish aviation. The research was limited to the period from the rise of sanitary aviation until the outbreak of the Second World War. The first part of the article examines the development of sanitary aviation in the world. It includes mainly technical aspects starting from free balloons, flying ambulances and the first sanitary airplanes. The article also examines the legal aspects pertaining to the International Conference of the Red Cross in 1925. The main part of the article is concerned with the development of sanitary aviation in Poland. The history is divided into two parts, 1924-1927 and 1927-1939. The division was based on the legal act regulating the principles of operation of sanitary aviation, which changed its further development.

21-47

Authors: Ilona Urych

This article examines the opinions of students of military classes concerning aspects of Poland’s national security. The main problem of the study is contained in the following question: How do students of military classes describe selected conditions of Poland’s national security? Thus, the objective of the article was to diagnose the opinions of students of military classes about national security in Poland. The study involved an analysis of the following aspects of Poland’s national security in the opinion of participating students of military classes: social attitudes that are conducive to the strengthening of national security, factors affecting national identity, and threats to national security. An analysis of the results of the study also made it possible to determine the source of the respondents’ knowledge about national security. The article briefly looks at the origins of military classes and describes the research methodology, and then presents a diagnosis of the opinions of students of military classes about selected aspects of Poland’s national security: social attitudes conducive to the strengthening of national security, factors shaping national identity, and threats to national security. The sources of the respondents’ knowledge about national security are indicated too. In the conclusion, answers to the research problems were provided and the need for further studies of the matter in question was identified.

74-99

Authors: Marzena Żakowska

Mediation is one of the most commonly used methods for solving armed conflicts due to its flexibility allowing parties to freely decide about their participation in the mediation, the choice of a mediator, and accepting or rejecting the conditions of conflict resolution established during the mediation process. The article looks at various approaches to mediation, leading to an indication of the nature and attributes of this method of solving armed conflicts. It also analyses the motives of the main actors of mediation - the parties’ of the conflict and the mediator, which are taken into consideration when they decide to start mediation. The research allows a better understanding of the complexity of mediation in an armed conflict. It enables the motives of the conflicting parties and mediator which have an impact on the mediation process and result to be identified.

119-140

Authors: Edyta Żyła

The article includes issues related to counteracting and combating terrorist financing in Poland in the context of existing threats. The regulations in force on the international level, and provisions governing these issues in the Polish legal system are both discussed. Based on data from the General Inspector of Financial Information (Generalny Inspektor Informacji Finansowej), the Ministry of Justice and National Prosecutors’ current efforts to combat the practice of the terrorist financing in Poland are summarised. The article shows the potential hazards for terrorist organisations, who use gaps in the Polish system to make attempts to transfer money for criminal practices. One aim of the publication is to attempt to answer the question whether Poland, to a sufficient degree, is prepared for combatting terrorist financing and whether it is able to do it effectively, taking into consideration the scale and character of existing threats.

20-39

Authors: Andrzej Czop

Th e author presents the results of research carried out in property and personal security companies. Th e research was carried out both on the basis of a theoretical method based on qualitative analysis of legal acts, critical analysis of scientifi c literature as well as the empirical method consisting of using research tools such as questionnaires and expert interviews. Th e research came up with a positive answer to the question: Is it possible to increase the participation of property and personal security companies in ensuring public safety in Poland? Th e author believes that it is necessary to create a symbiotic formal and legal system that determines the use of human resources in broadly considered state security and in the process of implementing the objectives of national security policy by all levels of government either, state, local or private. Th e author notes that enhancing the effi ciency of security entities is possible, inter alia, through continuous technological development and the exchange of knowledge between national security entities and the authorities responsible for managing security through regulation. According to him, the exchange of knowledge, experience and information between the public and private sectors, and the implementation of best practices in the fi eld of security for day-to-day practice, improves the eff ectiveness of security policy. One such preventive measure is the creation of a formal and legal basis for conducting a security policy based on an integrated system of exploitation of experience, in which all entities responsible for the security of the Republic of Poland participate. Th is publication indicates the direction of action that the author believes should be taken to make better use of the private security sector in the state security system.

52-74

Authors: Alexander Niedermeier

In the article, National Cyber Security Strategies (NCSS) of the Central and Eastern European states are compared and assessed. After it had become evident that a variety of crucial new threats to national security had emerged over recent years, virtually all states reacted with national strategies. These strategies are aimed at securing national cyberspace from cyber threats through legal, operational, technical and policy-related measures. They exist in addition to general national security strategies and are meant to support these. Even if most countries have National Cyber Security Strategies, the author demonstrates that these strategies show, at least in part, remarkable differences. The role national particularities play is explained, whether they are really this specific and whether they might be generalised and transferred to other national contexts and what approaches turned out best under what circumstances. Based on these results, existing strengths, weaknesses and best practices are explained to open avenues for improving existing strategies and generate a higher degree of strategy interoperability in an environment that maybe like no other requires international cooperation. It is evident that precise defi nitions of terms and concepts are essential. However, not all strategies provide those definitions, which might lead to misunderstandings and complicate cooperation both on domestic and international level. While some strategies offer clear cut responsibilities for the actors involved, others remain unclear. Even if laws are there to specify concrete procedures, the NCSS should not be too superficial. The NCSS itself should already make clear statements, particularly when it comes to the crucial aspect of coordinating the various cyber actors and stake holders. The author demonstrates that National Cyber Security Strategies ought to be detailed enough to clearly determine actors and responsibilities, but open and flexible enough for adaptability to fast developments.

89-101

Authors: Aurelian Rațiu, Ghiță Bârsan, Marioara Patesan, Dorin Ioniță

Th e actions of the military structures to protect the civilian population have evolved from air defence operations to complex missions of “human security”, based on prevention and intervention in any civil emergency situation facing a community. Our prospective undertakings have highlighted the necessity to integrate traditional civil defence actions with modern actions taken to manage emergencies against all kinds of hazards. Th e profound transformations of contemporary society and of the military body, in the context of the new risks and threats to the international security environment, required the remodelling of the role of the military instrument. Th e consequences of the combined military and non-military risks and threats can seriously aff ect the capacity to respond to evolutionary forms of their manifestation by diminishing the human, technical, material and fi nancial resources, the sudden decrease of the standard of living and the citizens’ trust in the state institutions with a decisional role in the fi eld of national security. Th us, in order to accomplish the specifi c missions of these circumstances, the main question is: under what conditions can the armed forces cooperate with the civil protection structures, as well as with the other elements of national public security and safety system, focused on fi ghting against risk and threats specifi c to emergency situations? In this respect, this paper intends to present a number of particular aspects regarding the role and relevance of military intervention in humanitarian crisis management for the protection of the civilian population along with other specialist structures.

21-37

Authors: Bogdan Ćwik

The article presents the results of research and literature studies in terms of the perception of threats. The author presents the main factors affecting the quality and efficiency of the perception of threats. The paper firstly looks at an integrated model of the perception of the warning signal and, secondly, the complexity and multidiscipline of the approach required by this model, arguing and advocating broadening the field of interest in security sciences to other fields and disciplines.

54-84

Authors: Artur Plokšto, Andriej Demeško

The development of events in Ukraine at the end of 2014 led to the outbreak of armed fighting in Donbas, where virtually all kinds of land forces’ arms were used, not only of Soviet or Russian production but also the latest ones and armaments that had been previously withdrawn from operation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the armaments used during the fighting in the Donbas region, innovations in weaponry and tactics in the period from April 2014 to the middle of February 2015. The study is based on the qualitative analysis of primary source materials from photographs and video clips available in free circulation as well as information shared in online forums (particularly Russian ones) and unstructured interviews with the participants of those events. The findings of the study pertain to the kinds of Soviet and Russian land forces’ armaments in a real combat situation as well as the tactics involved in using them.

108-115

Authors: Kamila Rezmer

Book review