Defence and strategy

Jakub RAFAY

The article deals with topic of Islamic State and chemical weapons. The issue is analysed in three dimensions: origin of used chemical weapons and possibility of independent production; known chemical attacks and tactical regularities in their execution; and traits of future chemical terrorist attacks. By providing a thorough examination of the problem, the article aims at predicting the future development of the group’s chemical program as well as describing any prospective chemical terrorist attacks in Europe.

Lukáš TICHÝ

The main aim of this article is both to analyze the importance of the terrorist attacks on energy infrastructure and industry for strategy of militant terrorist organization Islamic State against the background of the influence of Islam and to describe a specific example and manifestations of the terrorist activities focused on energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa. In the theoretical level, the article is based on the concept of terrorist attack on energy sector and relation between energy and Sunni Islam. In methodological level, the article is based on the case study method framing terrorist attacks of Islamic State on energy industry and infrastructure in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Richard STOJAR

The text deals with the development and display of radical Islamic streams in the context of Balkan region. It focuses on the historical development of the Balkan or European Islam which was completely different from the development in the rest of the Islam world and which is determining for the current position of contemporary Muslim population towards the European secularism or co-existence of different religious groups. The text summarizes the most important violent events which were tied with the Islamic radicals in the last decades and assess the risk potential for the future.

Miroslava PAVLÍKOVÁ

When the Ukraine crisis started in 2013, discussions about possible cyber warfare appeared. Debates about the usage of cyber tools in war conflicts have already been considered for the last few years and conflicts where actors possess these capacities emphasize the importance to analyze this phenomenon. This article examines cyber warfare between Russia and Ukraine during the Ukraine crisis and aims to analyze incidents in the cyber domain with considerations cyber war on a theoretical background.

The Impact of External Factors on Security of the Country

Jan ZÁHOŘÍK, David ŠANC

In last decade, Ethiopia witnesses so far unseen economic growth while the transformation to democracy more or less failed. Due to the fact that the Horn of Africa belongs to the most unstable regions in Africa, external factors play a significant role in shaping and reshaping of internal politics of each state. In this study, we will focus on an analysis of external factors and their impact on security and politics in Ethiopia. As we argue, it is these factors that have a substantial impact on Ethiopian politics and security.

Analyzing Counterinsurgency as a Rise of a Strategic Subculture

Tomáš KARÁSEK

The research of strategic culture typically follows its permanent features, largely ignoring the possibility of abrupt shifts thereof. The article overcomes this deficiency by proposing a framework for analysing change in strategic culture, presuming a crucial role played by pre-existing strategic subcultures. The utility and limits of the new approach are then tested on the U.S. strategic culture after 2001, focusing specifically on the rise of counterinsurgency in connection to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.