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Analytical Support to Norwegian Long-Term Defence PlanningReviewed - ReviewSigurd Glærum, Alf Christian HennumVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. MC/2016, Vol. XXV. (LVII.): 82-91 A major challenge in defence planning is to establish a clear audit trail between security challenges, political ambitions and the recommended force structure. This paper describes a capability- and scenario-based methodology combined with a software toolset called JDARTS that gives long term defence planners a systematic approach to create links from high level security challenges to force structure recommendations. The security challenges are represented by mission types exemplified by scenarios which give concrete requirements. These requirements are represented by capabilities which are matched against the capabilities of force structure elements. The matching is a selection process where the outcome is the cheapest set of the force structure elements that fulfil the requirements. The JDARTS-software supports this method. Even though the future is uncertain, the defence planner's job is to help decision makers prioritize between economic constraints, national preparedness and international commitment. |
Hybrid Warfare - Cases of Croatia and UkraineReviewed - Reviewgen. plk. Dr. Slavko Barić, plk. Dr. Jugoslav Jozić, pplk. Dr. Robert Barić, MSc.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. MC/2016, Vol. XXV. (LVII.): 104-123 Despite the attempts of labeling hybrid warfare as a new form of warfare or even as a factor that is changing the nature of war, hybrid warfare is part of a war from the Antiquity to the present day. The essence of hybrid warfare is in parallel use of regular and irregular military forcesand different means of pressure by a power unwilling to openly attack a weaker opponent. Information dimension is analyzed in the cases of hybrid warfare against Croatia (1990-91) and Ukraine (2014). In both cases the key target of hybrid warfare was social cohesion of the attacked countries. In the Croatian case, despite a strong propaganda campaign followed by the direct and indirect use of military force, the attacking side was unable to break social cohesion of the majority of Croatia's population. In the Ukrainian case, the lack of social cohesion has prevented organization of the efficient response to hybrid warfare waged by the Russian Federation. Both cases also indicate the significance of national identity in preserving a society's social cohesion. |
Psychology of Terrorism and the Staircase MataphorReviewed - ReviewPhDr. Josef Smolík, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2015, Vol. XXIV. (LVI.): 82-101 The article deals with the contemporary form of terrorism, introduces selected issues and discusses the psychology of terrorism. Various forms and typologies of contemporary terrorism which occurs in different geographical and cultural areas and uses large scale of methods and tactical and strategic approaches are introduced as well.The main goal of this article is to describe psychological aspects of terrorism with the emphasis on the motivation and group dynamics of terrorist organizations. The staircase metaphor which allows thinking about the process of recruitment of terrorists is introduced as well. The article derives especially from theoretical socio-psychological and political findings. |
Leadership and Professionalization from the View of Officers in the Research Retrospection of the Years 2004-2008Reviewed - ResearchMgr. Jitka Laštovková, Ph.D., PhDr. Miroslav Barták, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2015, Vol. XXIV. (LVI.): 190-201 Presented analysis of interviews with officers at various level of command from 2004 - 2008 is aimed on their view of the process of command. On the basis of qualitative research we consider the recent way of command of the Czech officers intuitive and individual. It characterizes most common way to command, based just on experience. We consider differentiation in the way of leading and motivation of subordinates among types of forces and military specializations. The reflection of the professionalization, the training system, the perception of learned/natural ability to command and their career is offered to discussion in the context of changes in direction of education of Czech officers and commanders. |
Islamists OnlineInformational pagesJiří Hodný, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 2/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 70-78 Like hundreds of millions of other people, Islamic terrorists and their supporters use the Internet. In many ways, the Internet is a tool tailor-made for these Islamic extremists, who use it covertly and overtly to plan attacks, raise money, and spread anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda written in English, Arabic, and other languages. There is sufficient information to believe that in the future, terrorists may even turn the Internet itself into a weapon, using it to wreak havoc on America's critical infrastructure. Because these militants are global, rather than being located in a single geographical area (Pakistan, Indonesia, Somalia, Iraq), the Internet provides them with a new and effective way to attain their goals. It may be difficult to catch extremists planning or coordinating an attack if they are using encryption, steganography, or some other method of hiding their online activities. |
Research of Al-Qa'ida Has Never been Easier: an Overview of the Sources of Primary DataNonreviewed - OtherMgr. Petr ZelinkaVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2015, Vol. XXIV. (LVI.): 46-60 There has never been so much primary data on al-Qa'ida publicly available. Nevertheless primary data are still not used enough, despite the fact that their omission had a clearly detrimental effect on the quality of research on al-Qa'ida. The article's goal is twofold: to lay out an overview of the publicly available sources of primary data on al-Qa'ida and by highlighting interesting aspects of their content to demonstrate their usefulness for the research in general. The article deals particularly with outputs of public institutions, al-Qa'ida's members' publications, al-Qa'ida's members' communication that has been made public and leaked classified information. The topic how to use the sources of primary data will be discussed briefly. The article aims at encouraging the academic and expert community to use primary data more broadly when researching al-Qa'ida. |
Targeting Process on the Example of the Libya CaseReviewed - Reviewmjr. Mgr. Terezie Němcová, MPAVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2015, Vol. XXIV. (LVI.): 61-71 Protection of the civilian population against the Gaddafi regime, it was a clear UN mandate for military intervention in Libya in 2011. Not only a new approach to leading the fight against terrorism after 11 September 2001, but also requires a change in approaches to conducting combat operations coalition forces, as shown by the recent armed conflict in Libya, inevitably required a new perspective on the concept and approach to the process of targeting as the process of selecting and prioritizing targets and responding to them in accordance with operational requirements and capabilities of units, synchronization of NATO forces, particularly with regard to collateral damage with an impact on the protection of civilians. And Unified Protector operation is a clear example. |
Islamist Territorially Anchored Violent Non-State Actor in the International SystemReviewed - ReviewMgr. Zdeněk LudvíkVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2015, Vol. XXIV. (LVI.): 62-80 Islamist territorially anchored violent non-state actors (ITAVNSAs) seeking to change the status quo of the current international system constitute one of the greatest challenges the international order based on mutual respect of equal sovereign states. These actors in areas without the presence of power states use explicit cross-border violence to achieve their objective in accordance with universal Islamist ideology - the construction of a caliphate. The paper presents in the theoretical and modern historical perspectives methods of reduction of anarchy in the international system - power, economic, legalistic and normative - and highlights the reasons why face to face of these actors, these heretofore functional ways, be it on a regional or system level of analysis, fail. |
The Operational Preparation of State Territory and a New System of Railroad Structure ReconstructionMilitary professionalIng. Jan Englich, doc. Ing. Radovan Soušek, Ph.D., Ing. Jan Strbačka, CSc., Ing. Pavel ViskupVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2011, Vol. XX. (LII.): 145-159 The paper offers new looks at the system of railroad reconstruction in crisis and emergency situations. It originates from The Operational Plan of State Territory Preparation that is implemented in harmony with The Plan of Technology Protection of Railroad. This article is a free sequel to information published in this Military Revue No. 4/2005 dealing with drafting the plan of railroad technology protection. The authors´ main purpose is to give readers basic knowledge on key changes in railroad security system and main security measurements till 2013. The protection system is intended to be more flexible and economic. |
Operational Art: Theory for PracticeMilitary artIng. Ján SpišákVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2012, Vol. XXI. (LIII.): 45-54 The aim of the article is to provide the readers information related to the theory of fundamental elements and tools of operational art, which are for the preparation and conduct of military operations, particularly at the operational level of war, critical. The operational level of war depends on methods that will create appropriate conditions to achieve the closing state, set by a superior commander, in accordance with the complex strategy of military and non-military instruments of state power. Although the methods of application of specific operational art components rest mainly in the mind of the English Annotations and with several acts tied with civil emergency preparation. |
European Naval Strategy: Analysis of Selected Issues in EU Member StatesReviewed - ReviewMgr. Tereza ŠafářováVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2014, Vol. XXIII. (LV.): 25-39 Europe is a maritime continent whose economic concerns and security could be backed only by the power of navy forces. The Czech Republic is not a maritime state, but it is a member country of both NATO and the EU, it participates in the formation of common security policy. Czech soldiers could take part in combined joint military operations, where one of forces is also a Navy. Dozens of Czech citizens are employed in common international institutes and staffs; they all need a broader view, including the knowledge of Integrated European Naval Strategy. Their activities promote the status of the Czech Republic at international level. |
Critical Looks at Hybrid Wars ConceptMilitary artIng. Pavel Zůna, MSSVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 33-45 The term "hybrid war" is frequently used today within the military community, but the term does not bring something new in the view of the terminology of the stability operations, comprehensive approach or compound wars. This concept is based on the destructive threats to the military components of international community. It does not help in delimiting reasons of violent confl ict and from that point it is harmful, as it does not explain soldiers why they are fi ghting the "just war", why they should sacrifi ce their lives in confl icts far away from their homeland. We should not use terms of hybrid wars, hybrid confl icts, hybrid enemies or forces. Only "hybrid warfare" could find some legitimacy, but only when used with the correct definition of the conflict typology, backed by the political objectives of the war. Confl icts typology, as used, forms the framework for the mission analysis orientation at all command & control levels and it guides the informational support to the military decision making processes. |
Armed Conflict and Relations of its Economic AnalysisReviewed - ReviewIng. Aleš Olejníček, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 2/2014, Vol. XXIII. (LV.): 22-40 The topic of this essay is an insight into the interrelations of the economic analysis of armed conflict. The author tries to explain its substance and importance and at the same time he warns against the difficulties with its implementation. Backed by several studies, we must conclude that there is a lot of confusion in terminology we use. It is therefore proposed to apply cost-benefit analysis, so that we could create a unified terminology and simultaneously to use this analysis to present armed conflict economy in terms of overall expenses vs. likely benefits aroused by respective armed warfare. |
The Strategic Control of Czech Republic Defence: a Part of National SecurityReviewedIng. Vladimír KrulíkVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2011, Vol. XX. (LII.): 3-22 One of most discussed themes in this field is also a critique of unfinished, non-stable structure of master documents, e.g. Security Strategy of the Czech Republic. They are often told to be obsolete. The latest document, the White Paper on Defence, Critical responses are not quite justified. There are a lot of good ideas, innovations. Many things have been done, many set tasks have been met at the level of Defence Ministry. Positive effects of results reached are obvious. They are summarized in the White Paper mentioned above. The only danger lies in arbitrary decisions by political management, including employing variable means of their implementation, wanton interpretation of leading defence principles, low respect to approved strategical decisions. We must name mentioned handicaps as a first step towards the real and true remedy. |
The Current Reality of Nuclear ThreatReviewedMgr. Jan LudvíkVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 16-23 This article addresses vital issues of possible threat of nuclear weapons in contemporary world. First, the general nuclear order-particularly the NPT regime-is briefly examined. Analysis proceeds to a critical exploration of the prospective use of nuclear weapons by small nuclear states and the so-called rogue states. Some attention is also paid to the conflict between India and Pakistan, since these two states are often considered as the most dangerous from perspective of possible use of nuclear weapons. The author considers the threat of nuclear war between great powers and then the threat of nuclear terrorism. His analysis suggests that deterrence between great powers is reliably working. The threat from rogue states is limited by technological difficulties in process of development and production of nuclear weapons and limits of small nuclear arsenals. Even though threat of nuclear terrorism should not be underestimated, this paper argues that technical obstacles and availability of other comparatively cheap methods effectively reduce the terrorists' desire to acquire nuclear weapons. |
The Political Economy of Conflict: A New Direction of Research on Internal Conflicts?Informational pagesMgr. Vladimír Vaďura, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 138-154 The key term in this article is "war economy" It is used to describe the contingencies undertaken by the state to mobilise its economy for war production. Often confused term "resource conflicts" needs explaining. First, there are raw materials, mineral resources (diamonds, precious metals). Another group of resources are critical items, water supplies, and fertile lands. This article concentrates on conflicts provoked by the abundance of natural sources, not by their insufficiency. Their driving motive is "greed-based" model (the effort to take over the control over lands, crude oils). Another model is "grievance-based" model, based upon the feeling of hate, having its roots in e.g. underprivileged position of certain part of population) tied with worsening economy). "War economy" got a new meaning. It moved far away from Clauzewitz's paradigm, the sense of such war is in itself, the war is protracted, it is war for war's sake. |
Long-Term Monitoring of Actual Health Status Parameters of Czech Population with Emphasis on ACR ServicemenMilitary sociologyMgr. Libor Soumar, Ph.D., PhDr. Čestmír ObermanVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 174-189 This article presents trends in actual physical status of Czech population with emphasis to the military population. The battery of standard tests was used to monitor the basic health related parameters. This test battery was applied to large sample demographic groups. The results verify expected trends. Anthropometrical data show that the population reaches critical level of overweight at age of 40. Blood pressure tends to increase more rapidly after age of 45. Strength and cardiovascular fitness peaks at age of 25, followed by steady decline. Although it was predicted that military personnel should reach higher physical fitness level and lower risk factors, there were no significant difference between military and civilian population. Effect of three-month basic training on actual health status is quite positive, it improves body composition, but no special effect on overall strength. Higher levels of physical readiness were found only in small special units. |
NATO Common Funding as a Tool for Cohesion Enhancement and Ability to ActMilitary artIng. Josef Procházka, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2012, Vol. XXI. (LIII.): 25-34 In the past, the Common Funding played only marginal role in the NATO strategic decision-making. However, this situation changed significantly when the global economic crisis challenged the national public expenditures and NATO defence policy became a matter of serious reflections. NATO should balance its requirements with limited resources and adjust its future activities within shrinking budgets. NATO must make hard decisions and implement reforms in order to ensure its ability to fulfil its mission and priority tasks in the long run. The reconfiguration of Common Funding is an inherent part of this process. The aim of this article is to introduce Common Funding as a management-supporting tool of the international organisation under currently mounting resource constrains. |
Operational PlanningMilitary artIng. Jaroslav KulíšekVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2012, Vol. XXI. (LIII.): 56-78 | DOI: 10.3849/2336-2995.21.2012.01.056-078 The article shows that Czech armed forces are supposed to develop planning mechanism according to the Alliance Comprehensive Operations Planning Directive (COPD) to be fully interoperable in operation planning process (OPP), namely in field operations planning in the framework of the multinational missions abroad. However, some problems persist at the operational level of crisis management, such as institutional arrangements for planning and commanding crisis operations, procedures pertaining to force generation, synchronization and activities coordination. The Czech Army Operational Planning Doctrine is still being developed. The purpose of this article is to inform on current state of affairs in operational planning with subsequent consequences to the results and reform recommendations by the White Paper on Defence. |
War GameMilitary artIng. Jaroslav KulíšekVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 60-82 War game is a simulation of military operations intended to train military commanders or to test a proposed strategy. It is a game in which model soldiers are used to create battles, in order to study tactics. This article illustrates the importance of War Game COAs (course of action). It was tested against opposing force COAs. Such exercise will help to identify advantages and disadvantages and the key elements of execution planning for each COA. The lesson learned during OHQ CZE/SVK BG EU Staff Exercises that took place in Olomouc from January 19th, to January 23rd, and from February 16th, to February 20th, 2009 is that war-gaming (although time consuming) is something closer to "reality" than the "theory" in doctrines. The war-gaming practices teamwork, facilitates team-building and enables to share mental model COA. Commanders and their staff ought to be engaged in simulations and war games more frequently. All information and sources for this paper were drawn from unclassified materials. |
Where Are You Going, Defence Department?Opinions, controversyPplk. Ing. Karel VávraVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 68-75 The autor responds to several articles published in our Military Review, namely by Prof. František Ochrana, Prof. František Božek, Brigadier Rudolf Urban, Prof. Miroslav Krč, in No. 4/2008, with special appreciation to critical articles by Ing. Jiří Dušek and Lt.Col. Ing František Růžička in the same issue. He tries to find out common denominators of those essays. There are three of them: economization tied with rationalization, risk management, and information compatibility. As necessary he regards to unite those denominators both at the level of decision making officials and at the level of their subordinated elements, by means of e.g. working teams as a guarantee of coordination, so that the adopted Long-term Vision of Defence Department could be actually realized. |
Social Engineering in Czech Armed Forces behind the Risk Edge: Results of 15 Years of Experiments with the Creation and Implementation of Career RulesOpinions, controversyPplk. Ing. Bohuslav Pernica, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 76-80 This highly critical article, the author opens with a statement that 15 years of changes, implementation of rules, professional career advances do not fulfil expectations. The problem is more serious as the armed forces do not compete effectively in labour marked, with the implication of wasting public money (from defence budget). The whole situation is demonstrated on pay and career stratification of career officers and soldiers. Among others, in comparison with civil sector, military pays have low level of competitiveness. The article is supported by several graphs and tables. |
Ten Years Since We Joined NATONonreviewedPhDr. Zdeněk BorkovecVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 23-28 This year we marked the 10th anniversary of our full membership in NATO. We've verified that the nation can become a "full fledged member" in eight or ten years at earliest. Signing the treaty, you became "only" a freshman. You must learn everything, from "consensus building" to forming informal coalition. The author of this article, Deputy of the Czech Permanent Representative to NATO, summarizes the history of fulfilling the membership's prerequisites and following difficult process of implementation of fundamentals and requirements, e.g. the so-called NATO legal acquis (Status of Forces Agreement), Planning and Review Process, setting Force Goals, fixing Identification Friend or Foe on Mi-21 aircraft assigned for Air Policing, problems with developing home infrastructure for Host Nation Support. We joined common security planning, took part in NATO Security Investment Programme and Conference of National Armaments Directors. But today's organization is quite different that used to be, the role and missions have changed. We must be prepared to meet them too. |
Up to Law Family Tree of Public ContractsInformational pagesJUDr. Ing. Dalibor NovýVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 100-109 Evaluating offers of contestants for public contracts belong to key and critical moments of public tenders and the whole acquisition process at all. Variety and comprehensibility of numerical and rating methods shouldn't prevent applicants from understanding conditions and terms of contract/agreement. The transparency principle of evaluating is only slowly pushing forward in our legal system. We move from mere subjectivistic and unverifiable impressions to the unbiased comparing of best offers, together with the requirement of transparency, as a part of the process of comparing, ranking, and assessing offers, by the use of specific qualitative or quantitative factors, such as prices, feasibility, collateral risks, time plan or other conditions. The final step is called amalgamation, when we merge individual classifications in one complex appraisal. |
The Phenomenon Ivan Gabal (Talking to a Brick Wall, Karolinum, 2008)Book reviewPplk. Ing. Bohuslav Pernica, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 2/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 156-157 We have no many characters that unlike Ivan Gabal could move on the edge of practice, academic world and politics, dealing with incomparable themes: foreign policy, security, terrorism, Europe vs. the Czech Republic and vice versa. Referred chapters are entitled NATO, EU, Radar, the Army of the Czech Republic. Among others, Mr. Gabal compares Czech army with its English and American counterparts, evidently better than ours, because those armies have not undergone such troublesome history in the last hundred years as the ACR. Ivan Gabal's editorials, sociological analyses, critical and professional articles from 1997-2007, when focusing on safety and the Army of the Czech Republic, uncover a striking lack of conceptual planning and incompetence of the post-November political elites. |
Sovereignty, Integrity, Political Independence (Forming Strategical and Security Documents)ReviewedPhDr. Antonín RašekVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2009, Vol. XVIII. (L.): 3-22 This leading article deals with the sphere of strategy and defence policy. The essay is an output of scholarly work and therefore it is summarizing and evaluating problems in question with professional recommendations. First, the author draws our attention to various concepts of security and underlines national differences backed by national histories. Security concepts have their sources in deep analyses of potential threats and corresponding scenarios, with specific bias to Czech environment. He openly expresses his critical opinions on contemporary security documents, for lack of political security directions, as politicians in general have little knowledge of security and defence problems. In his opinion, the possible outcome lies in a partnership and cooperation with academics outside military and government structures, experts and members of security community, whose expert opinions could help namely to form long-term security concepts. |
Reflective Principles and Teaching Foreign LanguagesLanguage preparationKpt. Ing. Petra Vráblíková, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 3/2008, Vol. XVII. (XLIX.): 121-130 This article deals with the problem of theoretical base of reflective teaching methods and illustrates practical examples and recommendations of experienced language teachers. In detail it explains the structure and principles of this educational concept, and defines differences from regular teaching methods. The authoress explains both teaching and learning through critical reflection practice, how to develop critically engaged learners. She explains how to gather information on students in class in charge, and enumerates questions to be answered. Reflective thinking by means of feedback enriches both students and teachers. "Reflective" teachers are able to monitor, criticize and defend their own activities, planning, implementation and assessment language programmes and instructions. fl |
Food Terrorism and AgroterrorismMilitary professionalIng. Hana Vlachová, Ph.D.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 4/2011, Vol. XX. (LII.): 160-168 People commonly imagine terrorist attack as hijacking or improvised explosive device hidden in crowded place. However terrorists can also attack against food, cattle, farm crops or water resources. These kinds of attacks can be ranked among agroterrorism or food terrorism, whereas agroterrorists attack against cattle, farm crops or water resources; food terrorists attack against foodstuffs. This paper is intended to provide information about agroterrorism and food terrorism as possible forms of wilful violence. Food security became discussed issue especially after anthrax incidents in 2001. There are many authorities that deal with these issues, for example EU, NATO or World Health Organization. |
Predictive Methodology in Intelligence ServicesReviewedBc. Petr ZelinkaVojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. 1/2010, Vol. XIX. (LI.): 29-39 This article aims at building a bridge upon a gap, which separates academic sphere and intelligence community in the issue of predictive methodology. The author tries to accomplish this objective by presenting intelligence predictive methods based on open-source literature research. First, the question of uncertainty and probability in prediction is introduced (Cynefin template). Then follows basic introduction to predictive methods in civil and military intelligences, so that the reader might grasp the fundamentals of early warning systems. The academics and above all journalists should know the risks and perils in forming intelligence forecasts, estimates, foresight and warning scenarios, e.g. the so-called Black Swan scenario, the author explains potentials failures of the Delphi method. This study ought to be regarded as an introductory to predictive intelligence concurrently done by governmental agencies for purposes of national security and defence. |
Critical Evaluation of State Defence EconomyNonreviewed - OtherPlk. prof. Ing. Aleš Komár, CSc.Vojenské rozhledy / Czech Military Review Nr. ZC/2007, Vol. XVI. (XLVIII.): 103-106 The defence of country is demanded, but as far as monetary resources are concerned (the effectiveness of which is mostly not transparent), the civilian public takes them as a mistake, as superfluous expenditures. The military economy is an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge, it is a broad subject that can?t be reduced for mere controlling expenses. Still, it is very difficult to assess its recoverability, in comparison with its importance for state defence. |

