The author analyzes the threats to state security and citizens that have arisen in recent years in Poland from the point of view of regulating the prerequisites for a state of emergency, trying to answer the question whether they justify the need to change the existing constitutional solutions. The general conclusion, which arises from these considerations, is that the constitution in this area does not require urgent amendment, while changes to the legislation are desirable.

In the aftermath of the Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outburst of conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine in 2014, thousands of Ukrainian migrants came to Poland. Many of them settled down and found jobs. On the onset of war in 2022, Ukrainian students were the most populous group among foreigners at Polish universities. The war in their home country had an impact on their families and friends. Young Poles, who made friends with Ukrainian students, take the war personally. Due to its unique nature, the perception of the conflict among young people has attracted the authors’ research interest. Additionally, it seems to be an added value when we compare attitudes of Polish students with those of Slovakian ones, as the latter do not share the same experience. The main goal of this article is to analyse opinions about the war in Ukraine among students studying in Poland and Slovakia, and their attitudes and behaviours towards refugees expressed online and offline. Results presented in the article have been taken from a questionnaire survey involving a group of 459 students. The survey took place in Spring 2022. The quantitative analysis of data is designed to provide answers to the following research questions: What sources of information about the war do young people use? What do young people think about the war in Ukraine, its causes and consequences? What forms of refugee-oriented activity do young people resort to? Have students encountered any form of resentment towards particular nationality groups in connection with the outbreak of the war?

The aim of the paper is to analyze and assess the credibility of American military security guarantees for Poland in the context of the war in Ukraine. This applies to the actions taken by the United States to increase Poland’s security after the aggressions in 2014 and 2022, as well as the reality of using the US Armed Forces to defend Poland in the event of a possible attack by Russia. As part of the research, interviews were conducted with scientists and experts from research centers in Washington, D.C. and New York. Although the United States has not met all of Poland’s security expectations, it has so far fulfilled its allied commitments. Besides, the American authorities unequivocally ensure that they will defend every inch of NATO territory, including Poland, which is in line with the strategic interests of the USA and the belief of the vast majority of American researchers.

Research and educational project “Ukrainian Teaching Materials 2022” for Wrocław’s pre- and early school education – a presentation of survey results

Alongside the tragic consequences of the armed conflict, the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022 resulted in an upheaval within the educational system in Poland. This situation posed challenges for Ukrainian children arriving in Poland as well as for teachers and students in educational institutions where refugee children were being admitted without restrictions. The author’s research and educational project “Ukrainian Teaching Materials 2022” for Wrocław’s pre – and early school education in 2022 aimed to support the development of language skills among refugee children in their native language and in Polish, and to support preschool and early school teachers in this endeavour by providing them with appropriately prepared methodological packages. A diagnostic survey identified teachers’ needs regarding methodological materials. At the same time, a follow-up focus group interview conducted 30–40 days later presented teachers’ reflections and experiences in teaching in linguistically and culturally diverse groups during the initial period of the war migration. The project was also aimed to raise awareness among teachers and to cultivate an open attitude towards using bilingual and Ukrainian-language materials in working with children with war migration experience. Due to the collected extensive research material, the research findings were divided into two parts: the first part presents the theoretical and methodological context of the project as well as the results of the survey. In contrast, the second part presents the results of the focus group research and discussion based on the literature review.

The paper deals with the view of contemporary world politics presented by American libertarians. Specifically, it examines the claims of Murray N. Rothbard and his successors with regard to the role of the United States of America in the international arena. The article argues that since the Cold War, the libertarian account of international relations has been staunchly critical of the US, while exhibiting a soft spot for competing powers, particularly the USSR and the Russian Federation. As the article submits, this asymmetry is supported by two flawed theoretical contentions: the liberal imperialism thesis (LIT) and the American hegemony thesis (AHT). Moreover, the article shows how anti-Americanism impinges on libertarian analyses of contemporary Central- Eastern European politics, in particular the war in Ukraine.

The War in Ukraine and Humanitarian Aid on The Example of the Regional Branch of the Polish Red Cross in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship

The Russian aggression in Ukraine commenced in 2014. During this period, Ukrainians began arriving in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and other regions of Poland, being treated as migrants. However, since February 24, 2022, there has been a substantial increase in the influx of people from Ukraine, predominantly women and children, seeking refuge in Poland, including in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. This region, due to its direct proximity to the Russian Federation (Kaliningrad Oblast), with a border of approximately 200 kilometers, did not attract particular interest from refugees. The aim of this article is to present the involvement of the Warmian-Masurian Regional Branch of the Polish Red Cross (hereinafter: OO PCK) in aiding refugees from Ukraine. The hypothesis posits that this Branch of the Red Cross has been engaged in aid activities for two years; however, in the second year of the full-scale war, this involvement diminished. The basic research problems include questions about the scale of aid to Ukrainian refugees in 2022 and 2023 organized by OO PCK, the forms of aid provided, the number of beneficiaries for each form of aid, and the specific groups of refugees to whom OO PCK directed its financial and material assistance. The results of the study provided answers to the research questions and positively verified the research hypothesis.

Is everything war? Dual-use technologies and blurring the lines between war and peace

The classic paradigm of thinking about armed conflict is a thing of the past. Today, wars are not declared outright, they simply begin and continue, and actions of a political and informational nature are an element of war reality as expected as explosions and gunfire. When a war begins an attack is to be expected from any direction. It’s not just a matter of geographic direction, but more importantly of the elements that interconnectedly shape the digitized reality. The goal of war itself remains the same, i.e. to break the will of the opponent, to disorganize the operation of the state, to introduce chaos in the ranks of the army, to break the decision-making loop and to cut off the opponent from allies - to isolate him. The difference from the experience of previous decades is the addition to the list of effectors of such tools, which were not previously identified with war. With the unclear global security situation determining dynamic changes in the technological landscape, the defense sector is increasingly turning to industrially-used solutions to maintain competitiveness and advantage on the battlefield. Driving defense innovation is the use of dual-use technologies.

The system of reception and support of war refugees from Ukraine – a criminological and victimological perspective

The article is an attempt to assess the support system for victims of war in Ukraine from the point of view of the safety of war refugees, mainly women and children. War never affects only the country that is the object of military attack. Barbaric aggression always carries some negative consequences, for neighboring countries (I omit those of the aggressor). The war in Ukraine is one of the most difficult experiences of our society after World War II. First of all, because there is regular fighting across our border, but also because Poland is a frontline country, with all unavoidable consequences (migrations to Poland, creation of a military support zone for the fighting Ukraine, risk of accidental or intentional losses, intensive activities of intelligence services, etc.). War leads to a threat to the livelihood of large masses of people, and this means that individuals become vulnerable to various forms of dependency, enslavement and exploitation. There is historical, theoretical and empirical evidence for this. The article is an account of research conducted in the spring of 2022 among people involved in the functioning of the reception and support system for victims of the war in Ukraine, near the Polish-Ukrainian border. It is clear from the research that this system (built spontaneously, out of a reflex of the heart by the society) was very efficient in meeting the basic needs of women and children, but as a result of the indolence of the state, a somewhat forgotten area became the issue of eliminating the risk of criminal victimization of these people. The research also resulted in a list of gaps and weaknesses in the system of reception and support of war victims, which could have led to such negative consequences. Let’s hope they didn’t (we don’t yet know detailed data on this), but the risk was significant.