The current political-military situation enforces verification of existing structural and procedural arrangements relating to the functioning of Polish defense system. According to a number of conceptual documents (including National Security Strategy of 2014) the system consists of two kinds of subsystems: the controlling and the executive. The latter kind of subsystems includes operational and supporting sorts. The Polish Armed Forces (PAF) are the key element of the national defence system and are subject to civilian supervision of the democratic authorities. With regard to this kind of supervision there are two primary (fundamental) notions that deserve particular attention: headship and control. Both forms of supervision are reserved for civilian authorities during peacetime, respectively for the President of Poland and the Minister of National Defence. During the war time, the Council of Ministers gains greater importance in controlling the state defence. In this context, the category that invariably remains in the PAF domain is command understood as a specific form of control. Noteworthy, however, is the fact that the war-time PAF command structure, considering existing legal regulations, does not seem fully optimized. Therefore the reform of PAF control and command system, initiated in 2014, requires continuation and completion.

Polish Armed Forces Lessons Learned from participation in NATO missions and operations

Participation in operations abroad is an important instrument of the State’s security policy as well as foreign policy, which can impact on the international security. In addition to the implementation of the political, national and strategic objectives, engagement of Polish Armed Forces (PAF) in operations also results in gathering new experiences, enabling the improvement of existing and acquisition of new operational capabilities. This is particularly true of emergency response capabilities and conducting combat operations with unequal military strengths, which include factors such as: training, quality of human resources, weapons and military equipment. In light of the potential challenges associated with the continued growth of operational capabilities in terms of changes in the security environment, an analysis of the conclusions and experiences has been conducted. They will probably have the greatest impact on the development of the PAF as well as the whole NATO.

The Polish Armed Forces occupy an important position in the state’s defence system, and their status is determined by the legislator itself. In connection with recognising cyberspace as an operational domain, the military dimension of cybersecurity has gained significance and it has become necessary to establish a military formation with competencies in this field. Responding to the need to counter cyber-attacks threatening the military security of Poland, the legislator established a specialised component in the Polish Armed Forces, referred to as the Cyberspace Defence Forces. The establishment of this military structure has triggered the need to build capabilities in the domain of cybersecurity so that the Cyberspace Defence Forces can effectively perform their tasks in countering cyber threats that adversely impact (or may impact) the state’s defence sphere.

The aim of this article is the characterization of the demographic trends taking place in Poland and the attempt to answer the question: how do they influence the security of the country? The conducted analyses of Statistics Poland and Eurostat data show that over the last few decades in Poland, the intensification and the accumulation of the following negative demographic trends can be observed: 1) a population decline, 2) an increasing number of older people (including so-called double ageing), and 3) changes in the structure of the population age. The above demographic processes determine the new demographic order which will influence almost all areas of the country operation and will permanently change the social context of individuals’ functioning and, in the future, will have an increasing impact on the defence capabilities of the country and the functioning of the armed forces.