In these autumn days, we celebrate 15 years since the first issue of the Slovenian Armed Forces Bulletin, which has over the years gradually grown, gaining the quality of the discussed defence and military issues as a rare and selected type of wine. The increase in the quality has also brought a new name – Contemporary Military Challenges – name that denotes the essence and contents of the publication, not only the publisher, as it was planned in the beginning of our publishing.
In recent years, our introductions to various topics often included a few almost mandatory sentences about how the world was constantly changing, how globali- zation had brought about changes in all areas, including the field of security, how change was the only regular feature, and the like. At the same time, however, we feel relatively safe, as those classic, for some generations even historical, forms of danger no longer exist.
Nevertheless, there are other forms of threats, and, in the 15-year history of our pub- lication, many authors have written about them. They were given a variety of names,
e.g. hybrid threats that arise from a variety of situations, imbalances in the world, inequal opportunities for survival and many other factors. Topical issues in the field of security and defence thus never end. Some of the potential threats to security can be predicted, some not. Exactly the same applies to the locations where these threats arise.
From a geographical point of view, some countries, such as Mali and Sudan, are very remote, but still close. In Mali, the Slovenian Armed Forces participate with troops, which work hand in hand with the international community to contribute to the security and prosperity of the country. The much less remote Italian island of Lampedusa is the location where North African immigrants are struck by tragedy. A complex situation, calling on the assistance of the international community, repre- sents a challenge for, both, regional and international security.
In this issue, international security issues are in the focus of our interest.
Authors Eric Ouellet, Jérôme Lacroix-Leclair and Pierre Pahlavi in their article The institutionalization of irregular warfare: the case of Darfur claim that legitima- cy as a social-political notion is oftentimes invoked to study intra-state conflicts, but it is rarely analyzed directly. They use and analyse the case of Darfur as an example of conflict that is similar to a number of other conflicts in the developing world, but highlights the critical importance of legitimacy in the use of force by a state.
In the article The European Union training mission in Mali – Hungary’s involvement János Besenyő discusses the current security situation in the country, the course of events and decisions within the EU regarding its resolution and the involvement of Hungarian Armed Forces.
In his article Security challenges in South Eastern Europe, Anton Bebler presents a comprehensive overview of the security situation in the region of South Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on the importance of its participation and integration in international security structures.
Good governance of defence systems in globalization era is the title of the article by Damir Črnčec, who examines the impact of globalization on the defence and security systems. He includes the emergence of crisis, its analysis and his queries on how global the global crisis really is. He proposes a platform in Slovenia for discus- sions on this topic.
The Western Balkans is a geographical base for Dragana Trivan who reflects on the Influence of corporate security on national security. He says that security is a pre- requisite and of vital importance for a stable economic development and successful implementation of public services. They both promote legitimacy and strengthening of social cohesion in the country.
In his article Strategic military news management policy – personal experiences from different wars Valentin Areh as a war correspondent presents the errors and examples of good practice from different armed forces. According to his personal experience, the most elaborate and developed public relations concept is the U.S. “embedded media program”, which proved successful from the perspective of the military as well as the media.
EDITORIAL
