You are looking at the third issue of Contemporary Military Challenges. Initially, the topic that was planned to be discussed within the Editorial Board's programme of work drafted last year was the role of the Republic of Slovenia in international structures and its opportunities in the region of south-eastern Europe, with special emphasis on the Balkans.
Since then, the contemporary security environment has changed again. New cir- cumstances, situations, crises and opportunities have arisen. These changes manifest themselves in various forms, in various parts of the world and in various areas.
The selection of articles in this issue aims at responding to some of them. The findings and insights of international authors thus offer interesting reading on different topics and at the same time inspire the search for new ideas and solutions.
So where to start when it comes to security? With the state. The state possesses various levers of power. Some of them it can and some of them it has to use in the or- ganisation and provision of national security, which can neither now nor in the future be perceived as a constituent of international security.
State’s levers of power and their handling are discussed in the article ‘Orchestrating the instruments of national power’ by Igor Kotnik. The author presents the varying strength of their power, the possibilities of their interrelation, final goals, the state’s interests, etc. He claims that the state’s instruments of power are an important factor of prevention and thus have to be devoted adequate attention. Their basic mission is to preserve peace, security and stability. The possibility to act comes second.
'Kurdish awakening and the Syrian crisis' is the article by Georgios Protopapas. The author acquaints us with the Syrian crisis and potential Kurdish awakening in Syria. Such scenario could change the borders of Syria and its neighbouring countries. The author analyses some of the possibilities for the formation of Greater Kurdistan.
Jerzy Stańczyk in his article ‘Poland towards the contemporary challenges’ presents and reflects upon various security trends and their impact on the security en- vironment in Poland and beyond, as well as discusses the integrated national security system in Poland as a possible reaction to them.
Gregor Garb writes about 'The role of financial resources in establishing contem- porary security paradigm in defence area for the selected countries'. He presents and compares the guidelines for financing defence systems of five countries – the Republic of Slovenia and its neighbours.
Peter Álmos Kiss in his article ‘Intelligence and the new paradigm of warfare’ studies new intelligence trends. Are these really new trends or are they perhaps the already tested methods and approaches that have been gradually suspended as tech- nology developed?
‘The troubled position of a Sergeant: mediating between esprit de corps and social cohesion in a peace operation’ is the subject presented by Claus Kold. The author writes about the differences in communication with officers and non-commissioned officers, relying on the case of a Danish Sergeant.
This is what this issue has to offer. As usually, we invite all the interested authors to write and share their scientific and professional experiences with us and our readers. The instructions to authors can be found at the end of the publication. We are well aware that a lot of interesting developments revolve around security. Those of you, who have the opportunity and the privilege to follow them personally, are kindly invited to share them, particularly, if they can be informative for the rest of us.
The National Security Council (Rada Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego) – an advisory organ to the President of Poland?
