Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

The article presents the problem of selected aspects of social security in Poland. A source of motivation to address the issue of social security for the author was the geopolitical situation related to the increase in the number of Muslim immigrants in Europe in recent years and the current COVID-19 epidemic. Counteracting the threats of a social nature has become one of the main activities of the state in the 21st century. Social security relates to a wide range of activities carried out by the public administration, NGOs and the local communities to guarantee decent living conditions. All of this constitutes a special kind of security, the lack of which directly interferes with the foundations of a nation’s existence. The aim of the study was to present issues related to the depopulation process affecting Poland and the demographically unfavourable changes taking place in modern families. The article presents the situation prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic. Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 epidemic will significantly affect social security, also in the demographic dimension. However, the overall impact of the epidemic can only be estimated after it has completely ceased. Conclusions included in the article were formulated on the basis of the analysis of statistical data of the Central Statistical Office. In addition, the author points out the consequences resulting from a long-term demographic collapse in the country.

International migration is a functional component of modern societies, both wealthy and poor. In a way, one can see that migration solves the unequal distribution of people and opportunities. Despite the political pressure to control immigration, almost all changes in politics have broadened the scope of legal immigration to allow for settlement by refugees, farm workers (in case of urbanrural migrations), “illegal” immigrants with long-term residence in the country, and workers in great demand to move around freely. Our main research objective is to demonstrate, using the available data as well as the analysis of the metadata and the research literature, that migration, especially labour migration, has a narrow connection with the issues of national security. Large outflows and inflows of people might bring about security threats linked to organized crime, terrorism and the spread of radical ideas. Moreover, migration is responsible for the brain drain of young and well-educated people who are searching for higher wages and better opportunities abroad depriving their own home country of valuable human capital. Our paper analyses the phenomenon of international migration perceived from the angle of migration culture that goes hand in hand with recent globalization trends all around the world. We come to a solid conclusion that migration policy should be treated as an important element in establishing well-ballanced national security policy in the globalized world. It might be of a particular interest for the migration scholars, labour market economists and stakeholders and policy-makers dealing with the issues of national security, public and migration policies, as well as sustainable economic development.

Barry Buzan’s thought has shaped constructivism and International Security Studies since the 1990s. In this paper, it is argued that ISS does insufficient justice to the case of the Iraqi Kurdish military counterattacks and wider societal mobilization against ISIS. The paper introduces the concepts of spontaneous and semi-spontaneous securitization, where the referent object of securitization is not the nation state or even the Kurdistan Region but the more traditionally defined community and its individual members, plus religiously or ethnically defined groups that are under the protection of the regionally dominant identity community. Worryingly, in Sunni Arab areas such as Mosul, insurrection and semi-spontaneous securitization has been an aspect to how ISIS captured that city. Further theoretical problems such as the securitization of immigration in Buzan’s theoretical framework, are exposed and applied to the case of ISIS and Iraqi Kurdistan. Research for this article took place during on the field visits to Erbil and the KRI in 2016 by the author and his team of HDF General Staff Scientific Research Centre.

In this article, the problem of terrorism is discussed in view of the peculiarities of legal nature. The phenomenon of terrorism is being analyzed by scientists in the political, economic, socio-psychological point of view and more attention is paid to the legal theoretical characteristics of this phenomenon. A more detailed analysis of terrorism in the article shows that use of concept of terrorism, regardless of reasons for this, makes the fight against terrorism an ideological tool, posed together as a growing threat to human rights. Furthermore, this article analyzes the reasons of terrorism and provides tendencies for further development of global terrorism. When there is no clear definition of terrorism and its causal relations are acceptable to all, questions concerning the scope of the fight against terrorism arise. In this case, we cannot be sure that modern democratic countries use the correct definition of terrorism in all cases and do not violate the human rights when fighting against terrorists. Even more doubts about the actions of democratic countries participating actively in fight against terrorism arise. The uncertainty of terrorism concept is being used to conceal violations of the human rights.

This paper is mapping the migratory routes to Europe, details their characteristics and briefs the ongoing changes in the political, economic and social sphere. Though many people think that migration towards Europe is a recent phenomenon, it have been lasting – with diverse intensity – for centuries now, even its main tracks remained almost the same. There are routes that are crowded with migrants at one year and – due to European border authorities’ counter-measurements – are empty a few months later. Considering the adaptability of these migratory routes, detecting, tracking and detailing them are a significant challenge, although, in order to manage the recent crisis, analysis and the appropriate use of the information on migratory routes are essential. This motivated me to briefly delineate the main paths used by the illegal migrants on their ways to Europe. This paper however, does not elaborate on the movements within the EU and the ways connecting the member countries.