Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

The study examines the integration of patriotic education and physical preparedness within the Georgian educational system through a combined curricular, comparative, and empirical analysis. Using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, interviews, and classroom observations, the research investigates the extent to which civic-patriotic values are systematically integrated into physical education practices. The findings reveal a significant discrepancy between declarative curricular objectives and their practical implementation. Although stakeholders widely recognize the importance of integrating civic responsibility, patriotism, and physical preparedness, instructional practices remain fragmented and insufficiently institutionalized. Comparative analysis with international models further demonstrates the limited presence of coherent implementation mechanisms within the Georgian context. The study concludes that strengthening national resilience requires clearer curricular frameworks, methodological support, teacher professional development, and stronger institutional coordination to achieve effective integration of civic-patriotic and physical education components.

This paper examines the role of Special Operations Forces (SOF) in countering hybrid threats within democratic states, focusing on the Slovak Republic as a front-line NATO member. Using qualitative historical-comparative analysis and a review of security doctrines, the study demonstrates that SOF enable effective operations below the threshold of open armed conflict. The central hypothesis posits that SOF effectiveness is not independent of democratic governance but fundamentally dependent upon it: public trust, legal accountability, and robust parliamentary oversight are prerequisites for operational legitimacy. The paper identifies the "Democratic Dilemma" – the tension between operational secrecy and democratic transparency – and proposes a "Democratic Hybrid Defence" model in which oversight and effectiveness are mutually reinforcing. The study contributes to the field by explicitly linking SOF capabilities with civilian control mechanisms in a Central European geopolitical context.

This article analyses how the evolving Arctic security environment generates new requirements for the intelligence staffs of non-Arctic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) armies, using the Czech Army as a case study. Drawing on doctrinal analysis, scenario-based assessment, and a review of intelligence education, it identifies a structural mismatch between land-centric intelligence practice and the Arctic’s multi-domain, hybrid, and environmentally extreme operational character. The article concludes that non-Arctic allies require proportionate doctrinal adaptation, differentiated professional education, and a limited but credible Arctic intelligence capability.

This paper explores strategic communication as a key instrument for countering hybrid threats in contemporary democratic states. The author, drawing on conceptual analysis, policy documents and practical case studies, examines the role of strategic communication in strengthening societal resilience, shaping public narratives, and responding to information-based aggression. He defines hybrid threats as multidimensional and adaptive phenomena operating below the threshold of armed conflict, exploiting institutional, psychological and informational vulnerabilities. Simultaneously, he argues that strategic communication, when coordinated, credible and value-based, constitutes an essential component of national security policy. The analysis identifies four core functions – informational, preventive, coordinative and normative – and highlights challenges related to institutional fragmentation, analytical capacity, and ethical dilemmas. Based on the findings, the author formulates normative and practical recommendations for policymakers. He concludes that strategic communication is not only a reactive tool but also a proactive mechanism for narrative resilience and democratic integrity in the age of non-linear conflict.

With the changing global security situation, increase in external threats or emergence of new ones (cyberattacks, non-conventional warfare models, etc.), countries must feel concern regarding consolidation of their security. In this regard, both the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine are taking measures to enhance and expand their military forces. One of the means to fortify military forces is attracting citizens to serve in the civilian national defence service. Authors of the article employ a comparative aspect to analyse the need for statutory servants serving in the civilian national defence service, as well as reveal the number and type of professionals to be required by the national defence system and explore benefits provided by such statutory servants as well as their purpose in the army. Additionally, in the article authors reveal administrational-legal status of civilian national defence services in both the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine, its place in the system of other militarised or civil public administration institutions. Comparative aspect is also used to analyse administrative legal status of statutory servants of civilian national defence service, peculiarities of admission of statutory servants to the national defence system and their service therein, as well as possibilities for motivation and stimulation of citizens to exercise service in the civilian national defence service. Therefore, the article aims to answer the question of what could motivate citizens to carry out service in the civilian national defence service, what incentives (needs, interests, values, stimulus, realisation of importance of certain matters, remuneration, etc.) would result in motivation (attitude and interest in) to serve in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and to participate in international operations.