The challenges for Central Europe posed by the rivalry of the Russian Federation below the threshold of war Cover Image

The challenges for Central Europe posed by the rivalry of the Russian Federation below the threshold of war
The challenges for Central Europe posed by the rivalry of the Russian Federation below the threshold of war

Author(s): Mirosław Banasik
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Political behavior, Comparative politics, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Instytut Europy Środkowej
Keywords: international rivalry; threshold of war; aggression; Russia; politics, strategy;

Summary/Abstract: This article identifies the political challenges for Central Europe resulting from the Russian Federation conducting competition below the threshold of war. The main research methods, both inductive and deductive, were analysis and a survey of the existing literature. There is still aggression in international rivalry, and its level is deliberately regulated so as not to cross the threshold of open armed conflict as defined by international law. The contemporary rivalry of the Russian Federation takes on an unlimited scope and goes beyond the physical sphere: the main emphasis in its application is on non-military and non-lethal forms of influence that can be easily combined with kinetic ones. The exploitation of the space between the binary borders of war and peace was practically verified both under the Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. It has been confirmed that a great deal of importance in Russia is now attached to unconventional activities and that their application offers great opportunities to achieve strategic objectives without the need to resort to direct military confrontation.

  • Issue Year: 18/2020
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 9-26
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English