Articles
BOSNIAK FACTOR IN CONTEMPORARY JIHADISM
The article analyzes activities and role of Bosniaks in contemporary Jihadist movement. Those activities are analyzed in three dimensions – domestic activities (local radical groups, recruitment, motivation or role of diaspora), activities on foreign battlefields (combat activities, propaganda or support activities) and return to homeland (violent activities, deradicalization or activities of state authorities). Analysis is focused on fighters from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and countries with significant Bosniak diaspora.
ISLAMIC STATE IN LIBYA
The paper addresses the issue of the rise of the Islamic State in Libya. IS officially operates on Libyan territory since November 2014. Their presence there is a major pillar of their transnational “Caliphate” doctrine, the existence and legitimacy of which cannot possibly be dependent only on its acceptance in the Levant. Collapsed Libyan state represents the gateway to Europe for all African migrants, refugees and also terrorists and radical islamists. From this point of view IS is definitely a huge security risk not only for Libya but for the North African and European region too.
PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ARMED CONFLICTS
Typical motivations causing the destruction
Even though the issue of protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict has been stressing during last years in the matter of frequency and significancy, the substantive debate related to values of cultural property and motivations of actors causing that kind of destruction is absent. The article is based on literature review and on the international law codifications focused on answering the question what motivations of actors cause that kind of destruction? Revealed motivations are understood as theoretical explanations for this destruction verificated by five case studies.
BETWEEN NATO AND UN
EU strategic culture and its approach to civil-military cooperation
The European Union’s approach to civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) in crisis response incorporates two different perspectives. The EU’s official concept is shaped after NATO’s military-centred vision and is subordinated to the achievement of military goals. However, the application of CIMIC in EU-led crisis response resembles the UN civilian-centred approach, aiming at supporting civilian environment and protection of humanitarian space. This article discusses this complex nature of the EU’s approach to CIMIC in the context of the Union’s strategic culture.
THE ATTRIBUTION PROBLEM AS A TOOL OF LAWFARE
International law prescribes conditions for attribution of private persons’ conduct to a state. If those conditions are not met, the state shall not be responsible for actions of individuals. This attribution problem may be misused by states for denial of their responsibility. The following article approaches this phenomenon by using the concept of lawfare. Lawfare describes misuses of international law as a weapon to achieve military advantage. The article assesses legal and factual, short-term and long-term responses to counter this practice.
THE INFLUENCE OF U. S. AND OTHER ALLIES ON GERMAN POLITICS
The Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan in 2001 - 2014
The article explores the extent to which Germany´s policy and the nature of the Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan were influenced by Germany´s ties with its allies, namely the USA and other NATO members, as well as by its effort to maintain its reputation of a reliable and dependable ally. The author addresses this issue using three practical examples. For the evaluation of the research project, the author uses the logic of appropriateness as a theoretical concept.
INFORMATION OPERATIONS FROM THE POLISH POINT OF VIEW
Information operations are still not understood very well. For many people, Info Ops are simply computer warfare or psychological operations. The main purpose of the article is to describe the fundamental aspects of information operations in the Polish doctrinal document. The content of the paper includes presentation of key definitions and explanation of how the information environment should be perceived. The author made also an attempt to describe key capabilities and techniques integrated and coordinated through information operations.
HOW (NOT) TO PREDICT THE FUTURE?
Analysis of several pioneering studies in the field of Czech political and security scenario-building
Predictive analysis is rare in the field of Czech security studies. For this reason, scenarios of world politics by Institute of International Relations (IIR) (2012–2017) as well as predictions by the think-tank European values (2016) constitute pioneering works worthy of attention. The article analyses these scenarios, focusing on their methodological aspects. The articles concludes by noting that IIR’s scenarios are a welcome contribution to the field but the same cannot be said about scenarios of European values.