Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

This article presents a view and opinion on the methods of applying risk analysis in the Czech Republic, gained through practical experience. Risk analysis is a fundamental building block in the creation of key documents in the field of emergency planning and crisis management, which are an integral part of the security system of the Czech Republic. In risk analysis, an important role is played by determining the threats that most threaten the Czech Republic, and then adopting measures that will reduce the level of risk to an acceptable level. The increasing number of natural and anthropogenic emergencies naturally brings with it an increase in the severity of their consequences. Within the framework of the systematic application of the policy of preventing emergencies and crisis situations, the analysis of threats and the risks arising from them is of key importance. The publication describes the risk analysis methodology, which culminated in the adoption of the document "Threat Analysis for the Czech Republic" approved by Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic No. 369 in April 2016. The document analysis method was used as the basic research method. This qualitative research method was focused on the analysis of threats in the Czech Republic. At the same time, it responded to the past extraordinary events that are commented on in the publication. The developing trend of research in the field of protection against the effects of CBRN substances was also emphasized. The analysis of documents is limited to the period from 2016 to the present, because the Threat Analysis for the Czech Republic was approved in 2016. The basic question is therefore whether this threat analysis corresponds to the current security situation in the Czech Republic and in Europe. Some challenges and potential shortcomings in this area are pointed out, especially at the level of territorial self-governing units and in the area of legal regulation and legislation. The perspective on new challenges in connection with protection against the effects of CBRN substances, increased risk of terrorism and other extraordinary events causing large-scale violations of the law is also emphasized. In this context, the issue of soft targets is also partially analysed, since the vast majority of similar incidents occur in these facilities. The conclusions from the article and the aforementioned ambiguities should be the subject of expert discussion in the future, and possible legislative revisions should be made in order to ensure systemic efficiency and clear definition of responsibilities both in the area of risk analysis and in the area of subsequent processing of crisis plans and other security documents.

Crises are often viewed negatively as disruptions that hinder individuals and social groups. However, crises can also present opportunities for growth and development. This article explores psychological concepts that perceive crises as catalysts for change, motivating individuals to seek help and find constructive solutions in difficult situations. The article examines various psychological theories on crises. It discusses the different ways individuals respond to crises, ranging from effectively managing them to experiencing mental breakdowns. Crises have complex symptoms and causes, influenced by personal and environmental factors such as family, workplace, material status, and social groups. Anxiety is a common characteristic of crises, often reaching a high level before individuals acknowledge the need for concrete actions. Quick fixes like medication provide temporary relief but do not resolve the underlying crisis. Crises often involve conflicts and decision-making, where passivity becomes a negative and destructive choice. The article also explores crises in developmental terms, drawing upon Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory and Kazimierz Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration. Erikson identifies specific crises in each stage of development, while Dąbrowski emphasizes the role of tension and disruption in achieving higher levels of personal growth. Not all crises lead to development, and not all changes constitute developmental changes. Developmental changes are irreversible, sequential, autonomous, unidirectional, and goal-oriented. The article categorizes development into continuous, leap, and crisis development, highlighting the transformative nature of crisis-induced changes. The article argues that crises, despite their hardships, should be viewed as opportunities for personal and collective development. By confronting crises and actively seeking constructive solutions, individuals and communities can achieve higher levels of growth and improve their quality of life.

The author of the article focuses on the issue of psychological and physiological consequences of crisis situations experienced by an individual. Stress experienced by an individual is the first consequence of a crisis. Therefore, psychological and physiological effects resulting from stress are what is directly detrimental. These effects can lead to a physical or mental disease or even death.

9/11 made terrorism a part of everyday life on a global basis, attacking civilisation as a whole. As a result, the activity of terrorist organisations reduces people’s sense of security even in their everyday lives, by randomly attacking high public density targets with a huge emotional and publicity impact. The states cannot guarantee security through their law enforcement agencies alone, as the sources of danger have multiplied and become more unpredictable. Therefore, it is more important than ever to involve communities, social organisations, economic and market actors in maintaining common security. Private security thus plays by now an extremely important role in completing public order and security. The radicalisation trend within the terrorist organisations results in a growing number of internal terrorism threats. Given that terrorists aim to choose targets with a likely “success” of their acts, it is important to highlight those whose partial, temporary or total downtime entails consequences which would also make other infrastructures inoperative. Those who from these aspects turn to be the most important, and their continuous and well-functioning operation are essential to the operation of other infrastructures, are called critical infrastructures. If we put the above phenomena together, a clear conflict emerges: critical infrastructure protection, although in most cases not state owned, is also a common security issue, protected mostly by private security services, employing people mainly trained for private security tasks. Our article highlights this problem introducing the scientific background, also suggesting a possible solution for evaluation.

With the changing global security situation, increase in external threats or emergence of new ones (cyberattacks, onconventional warfare models, etc.), countries must feel concern regarding consolidation of their security (e.g. Novikovas et al. 2017; Šišulák 2017). The fight against terrorism and the mitigation of climate change are key challenges facing global social changing. The issue of climate change is in synergy with the concepts of ecological, economic and energy security. Global development increasing demand of energy, triggered by increasing population and respective increase of economic activities, and consequent environmental degradation (Tvaronavičienė, 2016). Climate change and increasing human activities posing a serious threat to the ecological security in different fields (Li et al. 2017). Terrorist attacks in the USA, floods in 2002, shaped new attention EU Institution to Critical Infrastructure (CI) concept, as an element of security. Critical infrastructure, as a phenomenon (for example energy), has become an argument in making political decisions (Tvaronavičienė, 2012). One of the ecological security elements is municipal waste management, which, as a business sector, is characterized as a complex phenomenon, which includes: infrastructure-engineering, administrative-functional, political and technological aspects. The aim of the topic is to analyze the municipal waste management sector as a phenomenon of national security. The topic reveals theoretical insights of the municipal waste management sector, identified it as a critical infrastructure object, in the context of Lithuanian national security. The object - peculiarities of legal regulation of critical infrastructure in EU and Lithuanian legal acts. The authors applied scientific methods such as document analysis, teleological, critical-analysis, comparative and generalization.