Defence and strategy

Dear readers,

I would like to introduce you the second issue of the Obrana a strategie journal of 2018, which is dealing with recent security, defense and strategic challenges with a dominance of English-language articles.

The introductory part consists of two articles touching the topic of an insurgency. An article Strategic Culture of Global Insurgency by Jan Beneš argues that the global insurgency operates on various levels of strategy with a high level of coherence and with distinct strategic culture. Dominik Plávka in his Private Military Companies in Counterinsurgency focuses on activities of private military companies as counterinsurgency actors in Afghanistan with the usage of theoretical concepts by Eric Princ.

Tomáš Karásek asks how to assess strategic adjustment of international organizations in his article Modes of Strategic Adaptation: NATO and the EU under Revisionist Pressure. The author aims to analyse the innovativeness, scope and cohesiveness of these measures in the context of broader strategic readjustments.

The following paper deals with a discussion on strategy issues as well. Pavel Hlaváček in his New Security Strategy and Contemporary Paradigm of US Foreign Policy operates wih cyclical theory and thesis that the foreign policy of the USA is undergoing a significant change.

Following contribution by Rafał Kopeć Can Poland Build Conventional Deterrence Capability Against Russia? is a discussion about the Polish detternce potential in a context of possibility of the Russian agression after Ukraine crisis.

The reviewed part of 2/2018 closes with an analysis of the contemporary debate on hybrid warfare. Paradox of Hybrid War: On Causes and Implications of Pragmatism in the Debate by Vojtěch Bahenský examines current pragmatism in use of the concept by institutions and authors as an explanation of the current situation.

The last contribution in this issue is a book review by Antonín Novotný and Richard Stojar. Authors present the book Bezpečnostní, zahraniční a evropská politika Visegrádské skupiny (Security, Foreign and European Policies of the Visegrad Group), written by Ladislav Cabada, Šárka Waisová and collective of authors.

Finally, let me thank you for your ongoing interest and wish you all the best for the forthcoming year 2019 on behalf of myself, the Editorial Board and all colleagues who contributed to this issue of the Obrana a strategie journal.

Předseda redakční rady

Download this editorial in PDF format