Współpraca wojskowa NATO z państwami Kaukazu od 1991 roku

NATO declares open door policy towards aspiring countries since 90s. States from South Caucasus region took the effort to adjust its defense and security systems to NAO standards. To become a fully-fledged NATO members the main obstacle remains the lack of political will to extend NATO commitment to collective defense. Additionally self-imposed limitations of some NATO members stemming form 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act plays a vital role. It’s hard to assume that new Strategic Concept will grant an automatic membership to any of NATO partner countries. Georgia, Armenia nor Azerbaijan have been seriously considered as NATO member states. The door are barely open.

The Reconstruction of NATO in the Post Trump Era

The complexities inherent in the process of reconstruction is one that cannot be overemphasized, most importantly, the need to reconstruct NATO in the post Trump era. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established in 1949 with the aim of providing collective security against threats and ideological conflicts posed by the Soviet Union. The United States of America has since then played strategic, pivotal and leadership roles for the sustainability of NATO. The organization's essential purpose is to safeguard the liberty and security of all its members by both political and military endeavors. Collective defense and security heart is the alliance, as well as the need to foster unity, solidarity and cohesion amongst member states. This paper, hinged on historical and analytical approaches, examines the essence of NATO from a historical perspective, and proper solutions as regards the reconstruction of NATO in the post Trump era. Evidently, realities on ground show the need to reconcile alongside member states, the vision and purpose of NATO in the 21st Century.

Hornets and Honey Bees: A Coevolutionary Arms Race between Ancient Adaptations and New Invasive Threats

Hornets and honey bees have a long history of coevolution resulting in a plethora of captivating adaptations and counteradaptations between predator and prey. From simple physiological mechanisms to complex behavioral strategies, some Vespa hornets have specialized in hunting honey bees, while the latter have put in place effective defenses to counteract their attack. Both hornets and honey bees have evolved the ability to detect the odors and the pheromones emitted by the other to locate the prey or to spot foraging predators. Hornets often rely on their bigger size, heavily armored body and destructive attacks, while honey bees differentiated collective defense responses finely coordinated to deter or kill the hornet menace. However, when new species of hornets and honey bees come into contact, the absence of coevolution can have a heavy impact on the defenseless bees. The evolutionary arms race between hornets and honey bees provides not only compelling examples of adaptations and counteradaptations between predator and prey, but could also represent a starting point for the development of effective and sustainable strategies to protect honey bees and beekeeping activities and to control invasive alien species of hornets.

Investigating sharing of Cyber Threat Intelligence and proposing a new data model for enabling automation in knowledge representation and exchange.

For a strong, collective defense in the digital domain we need to produce, consume, analyze and share cyber threat intelligence. With an increasing amount of available information, we need automation in order to be effective. We present the results from a questionnaire investigating the use of standards and standardization and how practitioners share and use cyber threat intelligence. We propose a strict data model for cyber threat intelligence which enables consumption of all relevant data, data validation and analysis of consumed content. The main contribution of this paper is insight into how cyber threat intelligence is shared and used by practitioners, and the strictness of the data model which enforces input of information and enables automation and deduction of new knowledge.

Honey bees (Apis cerana) use animal feces as a tool to defend colonies against group attack by giant hornets (Vespa soror)

Honey bees (genus Apis) are well known for the impressive suite of nest defenses they have evolved to protect their abundant stockpiles of food and the large colonies they sustain. In Asia, honey bees have evolved under tremendous predatory pressure from social wasps in the genus Vespa, the most formidable of which are the giant hornets that attack colonies in groups, kill adult defenders, and prey on brood. We document for the first time an extraordinary collective defense used by Apis cerana against the giant hornet Vespa soror. In response to attack by V. soror, A. cerana workers foraged for and applied spots of animal feces around their nest entrances. Fecal spotting increased after colonies were exposed either to naturally occurring attacks or to chemicals that scout hornets use to target colonies for mass attack. Spotting continued for days after attacks ceased and occurred in response to V. soror, which frequently landed at and chewed on entrances to breach nests, but not Vespa velutina, a smaller hornet that rarely landed at entrances. Moderate to heavy fecal spotting suppressed attempts by V. soror to penetrate nests by lowering the incidence of multiple-hornet attacks and substantially reducing the likelihood of them approaching and chewing on entrances. We argue that A. cerana forages for animal feces because it has properties that repel this deadly predator from nest entrances, providing the first report of tool use by honey bees and the first evidence that they forage for solids that are not derived from plants. Our study describes a remarkable weapon in the already sophisticated portfolio of defenses that honey bees have evolved in response to the predatory threats they face. It also highlights the strong selective pressure honey bees will encounter if giant hornets, recently detected in western North America, become established.

Security and defense challenges – civil preparedness in NATO

The current security and defense challenges, a new type of cold war, requires strengthening civil preparedness in areas that are critical for collective defense, enabling the conduct of operations and military mobility. The article analyses the Alliance’s approach to security and defense threats, including to counter hybrid threats. NATO’s decisions to reinforce the Allies Eastern Flank are presented. Allied forces should be able to move into and across Europe at high speed to reinforce a threatened Ally. Therefore, attention is paid to civil preparedness and civil sector resilience to provide support to military operations. It considers recent summit decisions and measures to improve military mobility. A wide range of civilian capabilities and active cooperation between public and private partners are critical. In conclusion, the research demonstrates that civil support is a critical enabler for the Alliance’s collective defense.

The Value of Guns for Personal and Collective Defense

Why Is Self-Defense Central to the Debate over Gun Control? Personal safety is a vital matter, and self-protection is a more compelling rationale for owning guns than recreation. We can all conjure up the nightmare scenario of being defenseless in a violent confrontation with...

Analysis of the ways of improvement of Ukraine – NATO cooperation on cybersecurity issues

Recent events in Ukraine have shown that, along with the advancement of information technology, methods of conducting modern warfare are being enhanced. Cyberspace is deliberately used by the Russian Federation to commit cyber warfare against Ukraine. Therefore, in order to address their influence effectively, it is important not only successfully deal with its consequences but also to foresee the potential adversaryʼs actions by analyzing their previous operations and incorporating the lessons learned by other countries. Across the globe, including Ukraine, the issue of information security and cyberattacks has become exceedingly urgent. Everybody is aware of the ongoing attacks on information networks of various government agencies and energy firms, cyberattacks on e-mail networks of political parties and organizations around the world. Likewise, despite the steadily growing numbers, cyberattack cases against the individuals and private businesses are not reported as widely as they occur. As a result, The North Atlantic Alliance countries began tackling the issue of cyberthreats much earlier than Ukraine. Consequently, NATO and its allies rely on powerful and robust cyber defenses to ensure the Alliance's core tasks of collective defense. The article discusses methods and strategies for providing cyber defense in NATO member states and recommends ways to increase the level of protection in the state's cyber space, as part of Ukraineʼs national security and defense domain.