scholarly journals REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA IN NATO – SLOVENIAN ARMED FORCES TEN YEARS LATER

2014 ◽  
pp. 45-61
Author(s):  
ANDREJ OSTERMAN
Keyword(s):  
International Security ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
Military Exercises ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Smart Defence ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Budget Reductions ◽  
Transformation Processes

The Republic of Slovenia has now been a member of NATO for ten years, and the membership has significantly contributed to the development of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) which has gained international recognition. By participating in international operations and missions, the SAF also contributes to international security. Since the time of its formation, it has been transforming and adapting to new realities and contemporary security challenges, effectively utilizing the available human and material resources in order to provide the necessary military capabilities. It participates in international military exercises and operates in NATO and EU bodies and commands. Both in NATO and the Slovenian Armed Forces, interconnected transformation processes are currently under way. Some solutions that aim to deliver and develop the necessary military capabilities are being provided through participation in Smart Defence projects, the Connected Forces Initiative and the Framework Nations Concept. In recent years, the SAF has been faced with the continuous reduction of financial resources, which hinders the development of military capabilities. In the future, due to the defence budget reductions, it will be necessary to think about the scope and structure of the SAF and provide stable funding.

scholarly journals THE SLOVENIAN ARMED FORCES 15 YEARS AFTER THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA JOINED NATO

2019 ◽  
pp. 123-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREJ OSTERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Rational Solution ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
Military Exercises ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Smart Defence ◽  
The Republic

Abstract The Republic of Slovenia has been a NATO member for 15 years. Its NATO membership has significantly contributed to the quality development of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF), which has made a contribution to international security by taking part in international operations and missions. Before and after joining NATO, the SAF has adapted and transformed in view of the newly created settings and security challenges in a way to respond to them effectively. It has participated in and organized multinational military exercises, and has been operating within NATO representations, commands and units. NATO's deterrence posture strengthens the Alliance and requires an effective response to new sources of threat. The security environment is changing rapidly with hybrid and cyber threats becoming increasingly dangerous. NATO's long-term adaptation process requires members to respond to all potential sources of threat with a 360-degree approach. The Republic of Slovenia is also actively involved in the Smart Defence project, the Connected Forces Initiative and the Framework Nations Concept. The years-long decline in the defence budget has been reversed, which can, in the upcoming years, have a positive impact on the development of military capabilities for national needs and for the needs of the Alliance. For the Republic of Slovenia, NATO membership is still the most effective and rational solution to ensure its national security; however, the nation should lend solidarity by taking its share of the burden. Key words NATO, Slovenian Armed Forces, military capabilities, deterrence posture, adaptation.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL

2012 ◽  
pp. 9-10
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Security System ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
Imple Mentation ◽  
The Future ◽  
Defence Strategy ◽  
The Republic

You are looking at this year’s second issue which is dedicated to the Slovenian national security system, the role of the armed forces within it, and their future. The authors of this issue primarily come from the areas of the military and defence. It may be a coincidence, but the Slovenian national security system, the Slovenian Armed Forces and their future seem to play a less important role in times of solving other more challenging issues and situations. The need for rationality, economy, innovativeness and the achievement of maximum possible impact with minimum resources used is understandable, yet the national security system, as an integral part of international security, may thus become very fragile and vulnerable. The French economist and statesman of the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, believed that trade was the source of finance, while finance was the vital nerve of war. Is it possible to assume that the lack of trade, and thus finance, may lead to social unrest and, consequently, the destabilisation of the national security system? Constant cuts in the defence budget should not hinder thinking and writing about the future of the Slovenian national security system and its individual elements which include the defence system and the Slovenian Armed Forces. What are the challen- ges and opportunities? In the introduction, Lieutenant-General Ştefan Dănilă, Chief of the General Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces expresses his views on the Role and use of the armed forces in the future. His thoughts are published at the beginning of this issue to give readers the impression of how the future of the armed forces is viewed in the country about ten times larger than Slovenia. Pavel Vuk, Sašo Nacevski and Renata Vrtovšek address the Defence strategy in the hierarchy of strategic documents on national security of the Republic of Slovenia by carrying out a comparative analysis of defence strategies of six countries and pre- senting guidelines for the preparation of a new defence strategy of the Republic of Slovenia. Gregor Garb devotes his attention to the Role of financial resources in the imple- mentation of a modern security paradigm regarding defence in selected countries. He describes and compares guidelines for the funding of defence systems in five countries – the Republic of Slovenia and its neighbours. Ivan Žnidar acquaints readers with Transformation challenges to safety and security at Slovenian sea. He states that comprehensive approach, cooperation, coordination and integration of various services for safety at sea present some of the answers to the question of the rationalisation of the modern security environment. Boris Rutar presents the Human Terrain System in the case of Afghanistan. He informs readers of achievements and applicability as well as new opportunities for NATO members. Blažka Erznožnik writes about the Importance of security forces training for the stabilisation of Afghanistan: NATO literacy project and the role of the Slovenian Armed Forces. She believes that the elimination of illiteracy presents a perfectly obvious means of support that significantly contributes to the long-term stability of Afghanistan and exposes the social usefulness of the armed forces. To conclude, a country’s stability depends on its financial situation, which in turn affects its defence capability.

scholarly journals Political discourse, military and securitization of health nexus: contemporary security challenges and the military role in public health security

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4/2019) ◽  
pp. 45-75
Author(s):  
Vanja Rokvić ◽  
Vladimir Ajzenhamer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Important Health ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this paper is to provide answers to the questions why health is viewed through the lens of national and international security, and what might be the potential role of the armed forces in strategic response to health security challenges. Relying on theoretical settings of Foucault’s discourse studies and securitization concept developed by the Copenhagen School of security studies, authors will try to illuminate the nexus between political discourse, military and securitization of health. The analysis of the political and academic discourse has found that with regard to security the most important health challenges are considered the occurrence and spread of infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, and the ability to make use of biological agents as weapons. As the most important reasons why health is viewed through the lens of security are considered to be major economic losses incurred due to health crises, high mortality rates, migration, the impact of health crises on the armed forces and peacekeeping operations. The paper concluded that the armed forces play a role in the public health security through monitoring and early warning, through epidemiological and laboratory opportunities for early detection of new epidemics or pathogens, as well as through providing assistance after major natural disasters. The paper analyzes the public health and security in the Republic of Serbia, and it was concluded that it is necessary to undertake more efforts in recognizing health as a field of national security, and health risks as the risks of security.

scholarly journals Defence of the Republic of Slovenia 1991–2004: from Individual to Collective Defence

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-100
Author(s):  
Damijan Guštin
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Single Type ◽  
National Service ◽  
Territorial Defence ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
Arms Embargo ◽  
The Republic ◽  
National Defence

Following the successful defence of the country in June and July 1991, the Republic of Slovenia developed its partly unestablished defence system in the light of the instability of the country’s southern neighbourhood that continued to be ravaged by war for the next five years. As an independent country, Slovenia developed its system of national defence in the context of armed neutrality, but with a desire to join Nato and thus transition to a system of collective defence. The Territorial Defence was developed into a regular army and renamed as the Slovenian Armed Forces in 1994. In the circumstances dictated both by restrictions imposed by the UN (arms embargo) as well as the country’s own capacities and available material resources, Slovenia developed a single-type army based on national service and initial large numbers that were gradually reduced. In 1993, the country decided to pursue collective defence as a strategic goal and initiated efforts to join Nato. As Slovenia moved closer to Nato and as the security of its immediate environment changed, numerous reforms of the Army and of the defence sector loomed. During Slovenia's preparations to join Nato from 2000 to 2004, the country abandoned its national service system in 2003 and reformed the Slovenian Armed Forces into a professional army numbering about 7600 professional soldiers, NCOs and officers, as well as an additional limited voluntary reserve force.   

DIRECTIONS AND CAUSES OF CHANGES IN THE COMMAND SYSTEM AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (31) ◽  
pp. 93-104
Author(s):  
Wiesław Kamiński
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
International Security ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
North Atlantic Treaty Organization ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Republic

The article presents the directions and causes of changes in the command system and organization of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. It presents issues related to the changes that took place in the Polish Armed Forces after 1989 resulting from changes in the international security environment and resulting from Polish accession to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

scholarly journals KEEPING ABREAST OF TIME FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES

2013 ◽  
pp. 9-10
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Member States ◽  
Personal Attitude ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
Smart Defence ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Given

This year, the transformation of the Slovenian Armed Forces continues. Last year, the guidance on reduction of defence budget continued from the previous years. This required a thorough reflection, preparation of measures and constant upgrades in the defence system functioning. In the overall effort to apply cuts to defence budgets, NATO member states searched for various solutions and each of them tackled this challenge in a slightly different way. The term transformation is thus a very topical term. We have heard and read a lot about it. However, in the last year, Smart Defence was certainly the one most related to the reduction in defence budgets. And what is the essence of Smart Defence? It is no longer about how to achieve more with less, but how to use the given resources to maximise the efficiency. This also requires changes in thinking, approaches, and mainly solutions. NATO member states considered different options to achieve best results in the current situation. The synergy of effects is supposed to be the right option for everything, whereby all of the engaged entities should contribute to the best of their abilities and in a way to best build an effective whole. In the Slovenian Armed Forces, we have considered the given circumstances, studied our possibilities and with a new year we started a journey down the path of optimal functioning and changes. This process was called transformation of the Slovenian Armed Forces. It is just that topical issues from the domestic and inter- national security environment are also discussed in our contributions. Some of the authors thus present their works and findings developed recently during the transfor- mation process. In this issue, Vinko Vegič is publishing his article »NATO crisis interventions – lessons learned and challenges of the operation in Libya”. He describes what such a vast NATO operation means and what it brings in practice, i.e. in a situation where different doctrines and theoretic debates should provide appropriate solutions. Branimir Furlan wrote the article »Professional armed forces without professional autonomy – is this possible?” where he shares a view on the developmental phases of the professionalization of the armed forces and military profession as the final goal bringing to foreground the question of competence and responsibility of the military for its own professional development. Valter Bosotina and Branko Lavtar discuss “The renovation of uniform-supply system in the Slovenian Armed Forces”. In their article, they present the solutions for the improvement of the process used so far, which is necessary for the functioning of the Slovenian Armed Forces. The process is, at the same time, affected by various circumstances and influences, which require changes. In his article “New approach to prediction and decision-making in the targeting process” Jurij Jurtela presents a subject which deals with fire support systems. He acquaints readers with the dilemmas that occur during individual military operations and require decisions about a great variety of matters. He provides suggestions on how to tackle those dilemmas and what tools to use for the best effect and superiority. Erik Kopač and Janja Vuga from the Faculty of Social Sciences write about Individual’s choice to seek employment in the Slovenian Armed Forces contract reserve. They used socio-psychological approach to study, which factors are the most decisive for this type of employment, and established that economic stimula- tion plays an important role in this, while the essence lies in the personal attitude of each individual. More details are available in the article. Canadian anthropologist Donna Winslow studied modern defence forces. She authored a number of articles and reached many interesting findings. Two of the most famous include the findings about a scandal in Somalia and about the war in Chechnya. Maja Garb, Jelena Juvan and Uroš Svete honoured her memory with their article “From the questions of military culture to the analysis of anthropologi- sts’ role in the armed forces – the work of Donna Winslow”.

scholarly journals Evaluation of selected elements of the potential of the Polish Armed Forces

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-24
Author(s):  
Jarosław Kurek
Keyword(s):  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Gross Motor Skills ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Fitness Assessment ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Military

The article contains a presentation of the Polish Armed Forces and in-depth characteristics of selected areas, which, in the author's opinion, determine the level of its military potential. The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland were characterized, focusing on the main defense tasks that are set for soldiers of the Polish Army in the context of fighting and securing the interests of the Polish state, as well as tasks resulting from international agreements. A definition of the Armed Forces potential was showing the approach to this issue by various authors. The number of soldiers was assessed and compared with the strength of the world's most powerful armies as well as the armies of neighboring countries. An analysis of material resources was made, presenting not only their current state, but also the prospects for development. In this context, the current state of armament of the Land Forces of the Polish Armed Forces as well as the main armament and equipment of the Polish Armed Forces are presented in detail. Additionally, it was emphasized that apart from personal and material resources, an extremely important element influencing the military potential is the psychophysical condition of Polish soldiers. Therefore, the elements of the psychophysical condition were characterized, including mental health, personality traits and physical fitness. It was emphasized that a particularly important feature that should characterize a soldier is high level of physical fitness. In order to understand this problem well, physical fitness has been defined according to the approach of various authors, gross motor skills have been described, broken down into fitness and non-fitness skills, and the method of assessing the physical fitness of soldiers of the Polish Army has been presented. In the last stage, reference was made to the results of the physical fitness assessment presented in the available national literature. In this approach, the basic results of research carried out, among others, are presented. on soldiers of Special Forces and air cavalry.

Parliament as the Foreign Policy Actor: the Resources of the Parliamentary Diplomacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 316-321
Author(s):  
Boris I. Ananyev ◽  
Daniil A. Parenkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Security ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Conservative Approach ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Policy Actor ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Essential Idea ◽  
Per Se

The aim of the article is to show the role of parliament in the foreign policy within the framework of the conservative school of thought. The authors examine both Russian and Western traditions of conservatism and come to the conclusion that the essential idea of “the rule of the best” has turned to be one of the basic elements of the modern legislative body per se. What’s more, parliament, according to the conservative approach, tends to be the institution that represents the real spirit of the nation and national interests. Therefore the interaction of parliaments on the international arena appears to be the form of the organic communication between nations. Parliamentary diplomacy today is the tool that has the potential to address to the number of issues that are difficult to deal with within the framework of the traditional forms of IR: international security, challenges posed by new technologies, international sanctions and other.

Maximum Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1-2020) ◽  
pp. 71-84
Author(s):  
Margo Okazawa-Rey ◽  
Gwyn Kirk
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Air Force ◽  
International Security ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Prison System ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Latina Women ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
Maximum Security ◽  
Class Youth

Okazawa-Rey and Kirk argue that the term maximum security, used in the context of the prison system, is an oxymoron. Jails, prisons, and other ‘correctional’ facilities provide no real security for communities, guards and other prison officials, or inmates. Imprisoning two million people, building more prisons, identifying poor and working-class youth of colour as ‘gang members,’ and criminalizing poor Black and Latina women does not increase security. Rather, the idea of security must be redefined in sharp contrast to everyday notions of personal security that are based on the protection of material possessions by locks and physical force, as well as prevailing definitions of national and international security based on a militarization that includes the police, border patrols, and armed forces such as the Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force. To achieve genuine security, we must address the major sources of insecurity: economic, social, and political inequalities among and within nations and communities. The continual objectification of ‘others’ is a central mechanism underlying systems of oppression—and insecurity—based on class, race, gender, nation, and other significant lines of difference.

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