For the purposes of this article it has been assumed that the army should not become an autonomous constituent of the state’s structure, since this would pose a threat of taking over a dominant position by this specific formation. The aim of the article is to analyze the modification of the reasons for the outbreak of war, and the means of conducting it. The ongoing changes in the security environment, both in national and worldwide scale, as well as the proceeding national interests of our country imply increasingly advanced tasks for the army and considerably extend their range. The process of transformation in the Polish army is being continued. Further changes are targeted at increasing operational capability in order to enable efficient accomplishment of domestic tasks and performing missions outside its borders. In the contemporary international reality there is a prevailing conviction, that the threat of the outbreak of a global-scale war is rather unlikely. However, other jeopardies and risks have recently come to the fore.

The end of the twentieth century wars initiated a paradigm shift. Conflicts that emerged at the end of the last century and developed in the early 21st century revealed new aspects of the armed struggle. The classic perception of war has been blurred. In place of the bipolar symmetry appeared asymmetric threats. The former state monopoly on the use of force was lost. Some new members of armed conflict appeared, traditional battlefield setting disappeared and progressive imbalance between the parties for the disposition of potential violence leads to inequality and instability in the world. Asymmetry became a main factor in determining the image of modern warfare.