Contemporary time, interpreted by the prism of security, is no longer dominated by easy to describe inter-state conflicts or regional threats. Experts every now and then define new types of threats such as cybercrime, cyberterrorism or cyberwar. The intense and multi-level uncertainty affects the understanding of the present and the predicted future, and thus the search for security by all of us. The answer depends in part on whether we are able to understand contemporary security environment. These issues are, to my mind, independent of the place in which we are. Using tools for diagnosing and monitoring security remains an open question. At the moment we are searching for a solution to this problem by means of modern technologies. The paper stresses the importance and application of e.g. Internet technology and global telecommunication. Interpersonal relations are being replaced with technological solutions. Nowadays, a phone or a computer connected to the web is sufficient to make contact with another person or check what information official sources are bringing us today. Actions for security as a result of incorrect reception of a message may be associated with erroneous perception of the content and propaganda. As a result, the recipient is consciously manipulated. New technologies take the form of nonconventional, organized activities for security. Any number of people can cooperate through the web for security management without actual superior authority. Members of such groups, established ad hoc, may use their knowledge to express objections or dissatisfaction. The paper also presents another aspect of using technology. According to the author, there are situations in which technologies acting for reinforcing security often cause objection, motivated by restricting civil freedoms and by the threat of an attack on a free and open society.

The article presents the positions of the UK and Polish governments on the importance of European security management as a factor influencing and shaping the defence doctrine in both states. Building on the systemic nature of European security, security management concepts, as defined in UK and Poland’s strategies for developing defence capabilities, have been examined using a system analysis. The assessment of the issue from the perspective of the UK and Polish governments is based on a decision-making analysis, while differences in the approach to European security are demonstrated through a comparative method. The authors have shown that the actual perception of European security as part of the global order is a factor determining the current involvement of the UK Government in the process of security management. However, the Polish government has shown interest in similar actions only to the extent these are convergent with national security.