Security and Defence Quarterly

30-44

Authors: Zrinko Petener

The study of warfare, throughout its history, as well as efforts to legally regulate the resort to war and the conduct of war, were concentrated exclusively on one form of warfare - interstate conflict. Only since the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York in 2001 and the following ‘Global War on Terrorism’ has a discussion on a potentially new kind of warfare - asymmetric warfare - moved into the spotlight. Despite all the scientific attention, the concept of asymmetric warfare remains undefined or ill-defined until today, resulting in a proliferation of its use and limiting its value. Hence, restraint in the use of the term is necessary, in order to reinforce its analytical value and applicability. Defining asymmetric warfare as a conflict among opponents who are so different in their basic features that comparison of their military power is rendered impossible, is such an attempt to limit the term to a substantially new form of warfare, witnessed in a conflict that is often commonly called the Global War on Terrorism.

70-92

Authors: Stanisław Zarychta

The analysis of the political-military situation in South-east Asia shows that it is a hot spot area which, in the future, might be a place of nuclear conflict. Disputes over natural resources, the petroleum and natural gas of the South China Sea, may make it a global hot spot. The main contenders who want to play the dominant role in the Asia and the Pacific Ocean area are the United States and China. Territorial disputes can also start a future war. Kashmir, which remains the source of ceaseless tensions between India and Pakistan, can provide an example. Conflicts have already consumed thousands of victims and repeatedly put the feuding sides on the edge of the nuclear war.

110-132

Authors: Ilona Urych

Military classes in Poland can be defined as classes of lower secondary and upper secondary schools, which carry out broadly defined education for safety and participate with the Ministry referred to by their name. Also, the programmes of these classes are enriched with issues related to the defencee of the country, the history of the Polish army and the evolution of patriotic attitudes among children and young people. Military classes in Poland are very popular among both teachers and students. The purpose of this article is to examine military classes in Poland, with particular focus on experience in this field, as well as an indication of capabilities, and, thus, the developmental prospects of these classes. The analysis was carried out starting with a presentation of the origins of functioning military classes, after which the current possibilities of building programmes of these classes were presented. In the next part of the work the author has carried out a preliminary diagnosis of the functioning of military classes. Subsequently, the proposal of a programme of military classes, which was developed at the National Defence Academy in Warsaw in 2014, is revealed. The whole article ends with a summary and conclusions.