No. 4 (2019)
From the Editor
Dear Readers,
We pass into your hands another - the fourth issue of the journal "The study of Security". The developed chapters included in the monograph are theoretical, empirical and practical in nature. They are an important contribution to the discussion of issues in the field of international security in the broadest sense, as well as information or personnel security.
The issue opens with a chapter entitled "Threats to critical infrastructure systems from terrorist attacks." The article presents the used forms of terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure systems. On the basis of conducted inspections, the errors encountered in the protection of CI systems are described. It is reiterated, following NPOIK, that the CI protection systems used should be applicable to all types of threats, and should be prepared to restore the functions performed by a CI as quickly as possible. Author Jozef Sadowski confirms that measures taken to ensure security are aimed at minimizing the risk of disruption by reducing the probability of occurrence.
Agnieszka Salek-Iminska in the article titled. "Measuring the economic security of the Visegrad Group countries" draws attention to the problem of the level of economic security in terms of the level of economic growth, measured by the GDP indicator, as well as the rating and the ratio of public debt to GDP. The author of the article is aware that these measures do not provide a basis for expressing value judgments in the context of the broadly understood level of economic security, but they are their necessary components and the basis for further analysis and evaluation. Economic security is an important element in the functioning of national economies, striving through the economic plane for political stability in the region, which contributes to reducing the risk of armed conflict. According to the author, in the context of economic security it is also necessary to point to the problems of economic inequality of states. It is their centralized access to capital, markets or other economic categories, as well as being at a certain stage of systemic development that can exacerbate this phenomenon, as well as affect the level of economic sovereignty of states.
"An attempt to study the reaction of citizens to increased military transports" by Hanna Sommer and Gregory Zakrzewski, describes the reaction of citizens to increased military transports. The result of the authors' analysis is a description of the probable behavior of the studied population, which participates in the process of observing the movement of people and cargo with military purposes. The content presented, which is the result of empirical research, allows to a large extent to predict the predicted behavior.
In the current issue you will also find issues of contemporary aspects of national security. In the article: "National Security of the Republic of Poland at the End of the Second Decade of the 21st Century" by Piotr Krzykowski, attention is paid to the importance of military affairs. Poland, as a member state of the EU and NATO, is a beneficiary of positive political and economic changes in Europe. Therefore, our security is determined by a number of phenomena that occurred in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The author points out the contemporary aspects of international security that affect national (state) security, as well as what threats to state security may be caused by factors affecting changes in the perception of security in the world. The analysis of the threats to international security, as well as the national security of the Republic of Poland, indicates the need to ensure the ability to repel the challenges that have reached a new dimension in recent years.
The military theme is also addressed by Stanislaw Zarobny in the article: "Changes in Polish strategic culture in the context of the challenges and threats of the 21st century." The article is an analysis of Poland's strategic culture, its sources and characteristics, in which the author attempts to provide answers to the following questions: What determines the Polish strategic culture and what are its characteristics, as well as in what actions and inactions they are externalized? The basic conclusion of the above analysis is to confirm that Poland has its own strategic culture shaped by historical experience.
In the article titled: "The Border Protection Forces' Naval Units and their Use for the Security of the Maritime Border of the People's Republic of Poland in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century," by Ireneusz Bieniecki, such issues as the development of the formation's naval service, the deployment and characteristics of the vessels it possesses, their use in the border service, as well as plans for further expansion are discussed. Also presented is the establishment, organizational development and characteristics of the Border Protection Forces' vessels used in the protection of the Polish maritime border in 1945-1991.
In the conducted conundrums, attention was drawn to the existence and determination of man in the search for security. The purpose of Andrew Pieczywook's article titled: "Human security in conditions of risk and uncertainty" is to draw attention to human security in the context of existing threats and challenges, including showing the effects of threats and indicating the possibility of counteracting these events, using the instrumentarium of security education. Current times bring with them a wide variety of events and threats affecting the sense of security of many people. Very often a person makes important decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Therefore, the author draws attention to the appropriate education of a person, which can significantly help to counteract threats.
In the fourth issue of "The Study od Security", the subject of ethics, as a philosophical sub-discipline, is also taken up. The article titled: "Functions of ethics in defense resource management" by Krzysztof Drabik, draws attention to ethics not only as a tool for describing moral culture, but performs a practical function, formulating criteria of rightness and duty in a specific social (professional) space. Defense resource management is also based on certain ethical principals, which determine the moral status and attributes of actors' activities in the context of achieving the set goals.
In the current issue you will also find a study on international security. Andrzej Zebrowski, in an article titled: "Allied Relationships as a Threat to the Security of Member States at the Beginning of the 21st Century (Selected Aspects)," points out that the complex international security environment requires cooperation aimed at maintaining peace and security. The struggle for dominance, supported by information operations, is the subjugation and exploitation of weaker states, including through illusory political, economic or military support. Such states do not realize that there comes a moment of payment for the support given. The alliances entered into are intended to ensure secure development for all member states. However, many of them have other strategic goals, which, among other things, violate the cohesion and interests of the alliance (including those of individual member states). Such an example is the failure to comply with existing laws governing, among other things, the protection of classified information. Any disclosure of such information strikes at the foundations of the alliance's unity, at the same time undermining the security of its member states. It is difficult not to ask the question of what guided the decision to disclose.
In the article titled. "Facebook as a determinant of behavioral addiction" (Authors: D. Zbroszczyk, K. Zaremba) address the issue of behavioral addiction. According to the Authors, this issue is complex, because there is no clear definition of what it is and what it is not. Nowadays, it is not only violence or crime that classify as abnormal behavior - this range has greatly expanded to include behaviors defined as behavioral. The aim of the study was to determine the level of activity and addiction to the social networking site Facebook, classified into the indicated addiction.
Sabina Brakoniecka in an article titled. "The Tradition of Armed Jihad in Northern Nigeria" addresses the issue of traditional armed jihad in northern Nigeria. The article outlines the origins of Muslim reformist thought in the region, and also presents the 19th century jihad of Usman dan Fodio and the 1980 riots by the self-proclaimed prophet Maitatsine in Kano. Against the backdrop of the jihadist tradition in northern Nigeria thus outlined, Boko Haram's recent military activity was then presented.
It is worth noting that this extremely valuable study, is a source of information for readers interested in the broad subject of security.
We cordially invite you, to reach for the fourth issue of our journal. The texts contained in the next issue of "Security Studies" inspire reflection, discussion, design and implementation of interdisciplinary research in the field of social sciences.
Editorial Board
