Poland as a periphery in Immanuel Wallerstein’s theory

The article presents the issue of peripheries and its reference to Poland’s position in the world-system concept of Immanuel Wallerstein. The article discusses problems related to international security of Poland. It also presents the perception of Poland as a peripheral country and, on the basis of theoretical considerations, argues for the possibility of viewing Poland as a semi-peripheral country. Publication financed under the project implemented in the Research Grant Program of the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland.

POLISH DEFENCE INDUSTRY – AMBITIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

Transformations of economies occurring in particular countries reduce the number of manufacturers producing the articles for the armed forces basing exclusively on national capacities of industry and scientific-research background. Consolidation and restructure processes have been used as remedies of defence sector for many years. Some of them are launched by the management boards and the other ones by decisions of majority owners, represented in the case of Poland by the State Treasury. A question arises, if the country defence sector could realise the hopes put on it, in present situation of the national defence industry and with its role in the system of national economy, and selection and quality of offered products, and the level of used technological solutions. Presented paper is an attempt to analyse the state of the Polish defence industry committed by authors representing two different subjects and directly connected with condition and building up the defence potential of Poland.

Legislative Provision of Standardisation of Armaments and Military Equipment Development: International Aspect

The aim of the study was to identify objectives and measures for expansion of the system of standards in Ukraine for the development of armaments and military equipment in the context of improving national defence capabilities. The following methods were used to achieve the aim set in the study: the method of direct observation, comparison, monitoring and analysis of the content of documents that provide standardisation of armaments and military equipment at the state and interstate levels. The key results of the study were: observation and comparison of the scope of regulations that ensure the standardisation of armaments and military equipment at the national level, as well as among NATO countries; comparison and distribution of powers of the competence of executive and supervisory bodies for the development and implementation of standards. Besides, the study provides a chart of the legal background for standardisation, and directly determines the sequential logical place of the stage of development of armaments and military equipment in the life cycle. Proposals are made at the end of the study on how to increase the effectiveness of legislative provision for the standardisation of armaments and military equipment.

HONOUR OF THE SOLDIER

In the Republic of Latvia, a soldier performs public service in the field of national defence and his/her legal status is a right guaranteed by the state, statutory duties, restrictions, and disciplinary liability, which are currently regulated by military law, administrative law and administrative procedure law. In addition to the regulation of special and general legal norms, a soldier also has important and binding moral values, because in Latvia "honour" is a characteristic of a soldier, which is inextricably linked to the soldier's profession both historically and of military service. Within the framework of the paper, the author has studied the concepts, essence, genesis and development of such values of a soldier as "honour" and "dignity", from the historical and modern point of view, both in civil life and military science. The author has also clarified their role in the legal status of a soldier and concluded that the existing legal status of a soldier should be elaborated and can be defined as a right guaranteed nowadays. Although not explicitly defined, it should be included in the legal status of a soldier as a military ethical requirement for his dignity and trust, integrity and duty in the performance by the state, statutory duties and restrictions, disciplinary liability and honor as a military ethical requirement.

The US Defense Economy

The United States defence economy is remarkable for a number of reasons - including sheer size. It receives a significant (albeit decreasing) share of GDP and has a significant international footprint. Its purpose is to provide the resources for national defence - against a set of complex and capable adversaries. The main players in the defence economy are households, and the Federal Government. The associated interactions determine the resources provided for national defence and their allocation among various defence needs. This Element focuses primarily on interactions between government and industrial suppliers within the institutional peculiarities of the defence marketplace. This includes the developments that have determined the course of defence industry consolidation post-Cold War. The authors also highlight the persistent gap between resources available for defence and the means to execute the National Security Strategy. Finally, they offer some tentative thoughts regarding developments likely to shape the defence economy's future.

Framing Civil Defence Critique: Swiss Physicians’ Resistance to the Coordinated Medical Services in the 1980s

The Coordinated Medical Services, an emblematic organisation of Switzerland’s total national defence system, were operational at the beginning of the 1980s. Through the Coordinated Medical Services, Swiss authorities propagated a sociotechnical imaginary the core of which was that Switzerland was able to survive a nuclear war through a huge collective effort. This vision faced severe criticism, in particular, from members of the Physicians for Social Responsibility and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (PSR/IPPNW Switzerland). The chapter sheds light on their resistive actions, including conscientious objection, as well as on their effective discursive strategy of subjectivisation centring around the figure of the conscientious physician. This resistance contributed to a growing civil defence criticism that challenged the Swiss total national defence imaginary.