Contemporary global power competition has turned the world into a hybrid battlefield. In modern battlefield, authoritarian regimes have the strategic advantage of being irresponsible, reckless and ...aggressive. This advantage is combined with the ability of the authoritarian regimes to find cheap and effective - short of war - solutions for achieving geopolitical objectives. In past decades authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China have been actively applying hybrid strategies against the Western dominated rules based international system. Those strategies are being constructed based on identification and utilization of the vulnerabilities of the democratic political systems, institutions and societies. Pandemic crisis caused by unpredictable and unprecedented spread of the mutated new Corona virus, have underlined vulnerabilities and opened up new possibilities for the hybrid warfare. The pandemic influences every power on the global stage, but will COVID-19 be a turning point for the Euro-Atlantic Security environment?
This paper assesses the impact of civilian interventions in counterterrorism in Africa. The existing literature on terrorism has not sufficiently interrogated this aspect of counterterrorism within ...the African context. Utilizing civilian defence forces in counterterrorism appears to be widespread today unlike in the past, but most existing literature glosses over the critical contributions of civilian forces to the management of security environments, intelligence-gathering networks and combat reservoirs. This article uses stabilization theory to examine both civilian contributions and the impact of their partnerships with the military on counterterrorism. Data for this study was drawn from multiple qualitative and quantitative sources. The statistical analysis includes descriptive procedures (frequency tables and summary statistics); correlations using the Pearson coefficient and comparative analysis using the independent samples
t
test. For the purpose of comparative analysis, we categorized the study into two periods: pre-Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian-JTF) intervention and post-Civilian-JTF involvement. We compared the consistency and intensity of Boko Haram attacks and Troop Responses (TRs) at pre-civilian and post-civilian involvements in counterterrorism. We found that the mean number of Boko Haram attacks was significantly higher before (
M
= 11.83, SD = 4.926) than after (
M
= 5.35, SD = 4.248) civilian intervention (
t
= 5.186, df = 59,
p
= 0.000). The effect size for this significant difference was estimated to be large (eta squared (
η
2
) = 0.313). The main contributory factor was the shift in active and passive supports of the civilian population to the military, which increased the strategic and operational intelligence gathering, combat strength, and more proactive military in counterterrorism. We conclude that the civilian and military synergy should extend beyond the use of force to include a political settlement, which will address some of the grievances of Boko Haram.
Nowadays, there is a continuous and significant change of the international security environment. More and more complex and diversified types of threats are present and the regional security and ...safety are in danger. The technological evolution from the last decade produced what security experts call the Revolution in Military Affairs. At the same time, it also allowed opponents to use a wide range and diversified means of action. The use of technology offers advantages and disadvantages on both sides. In this regard, it is everyone’s responsibility to identify possible threats or vulnerabilities. It is also everyone’s responsibility to prevent, limit or eliminate the negative impact. Proper establishment of an appropiate security culture, and, at the same time an effective security education, in accordance with the existing threats, are essential for the state, in its effort of creating and maintaining a stable and secure environment for its citizens. Starting from the research hypothesis that there appear to be new threats in the contemporary security environment, I have developed three directions on which I focused my research effort. I intended to use a deductive approach and I aimed to identify the positive aspects that can be maintained, but also other measures and actions that can be integrated into security education so that the individual as part of the state, to achieve the appropriate level of security. For this I have applied multiple research methods specific to the security field, such as the theoretical analysis, comparative analysis, observation, longitudinal method, and also the case study.
Security is a complex, multi-dimensional approach context. In broad terms, it represents the ability to protect its citizens. The sole holder of the legitimate right to use intra-state and ...inter-state force is obliged through the consequence and expression of its sovereignty to protect and guarantee its citizens’ rights and freedoms and ensure the conditions for the exercise of their rights and freedoms. After the dissolution of the communist political and military bloc, security develops as a global concept that tends to include traditional political and military dimensions, new dimensions, such as economic, energy or security, individual rights, and freedoms. This study addresses Romania’s security policy, its evolution after 1990 and until now. The paper aims to highlight Romania’s position as a territory and its role in the regional context regarding security. Its statute as a NATO and E.U. member, and strategic partner of the United States, determined a permanent update of its security policy and proposed objectives, correlated with those of the entities to which it belongs. From the point of view of security policy, Romania has an important geostrategic role and can stand out as a regional leader due to the threats it could be subjected to. The study will highlight that its security policy provides many benefits for the country’s citizens and its institutions.
The disappearance of bipolarity causes essential mutations in the international security environment, which highlights the need to rethink the defence concept. The analysis of new risks and threats ...to international security has led to a new perception of it and has imposed a new orientation in the field of defence. The formation of new partnerships and alliances greatly reduces the likelihood of a conflict between members, which contributes to supporting the common interest of countries to maintain and strengthen international peace and security. All countries of the world are, in principle, members of at least one regional or intergovernmental organization. Although traditionally regional organizations have been set up on the basis of political, economical or environmental objectives, they have also entered security in recent decades and have started to develop their own capabilities to prevent conflicts and support peacekeeping operations or post-conflict construction of states
There is a large interest in biofuels in India as a substitute to petroleum-based fuels, with a purpose of enhancing energy security and promoting rural development. India has announced an ambitious ...target of substituting 20% of fossil fuel consumption by biodiesel and bioethanol by 2017. India has announced a national biofuel policy and launched a large program to promote biofuel production, particularly on wastelands: its implications need to be studied intensively considering the fact that India is a large developing country with high population density and large rural population depending upon land for their livelihood. Another factor is that Indian economy is experiencing high growth rate, which may lead to enhanced demand for food, livestock products, timber, paper, etc., with implications for land use. Studies have shown that area under agriculture and forest has nearly stabilized over the past 2–3 decades. This paper presents an assessment of the implications of projected large-scale biofuel production on land available for food production, water, biodiversity, rural development and GHG emissions. The assessment will be largely focused on first generation biofuel crops, since the Indian program is currently dominated by these crops. Technological and policy options required for promoting sustainable biofuel production will be discussed.
The article deals with the issue of civil preparedness for the state defence. Authors consider the civil preparedness as an integral part of the comprehensive approach to ensuring the defence of the ...state and the formulation of a defence strategy. The current dynamics and predictions of the development of the security environment in recent years require an approach change. The article has the ambition to contribute to the professional discussion to strengthen preparedness and increase readiness of citizens to take over their legally defined role in ensuring the defence of the state in a case of need.
The Japanese public has been assumed to possess a deeply ingrained aversion toward the acquisition of nuclear weapons. We employ a survey experiment to ascertain whether this aversion is ...unconditional or may erode in the face of hypothetical deterioration in Japan's security situation, and in particular a hypothetical withdrawal of the US security-nuclear umbrella, increased North Korean nuclear weapons testing activities, and movement by South Korea toward the attainment of a nuclear arsenal. We find that the Japanese nuclear aversion may come under stress in the face of such developments. Additionally, we find that the elasticity of Japanese attitudes with respect to the nuclear option in the face of external security deterioration may be associated with an important individual-level demographic characteristic, namely, gender.
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