Siły operacji specjalnych (Wojska Specjalne) w konfliktach hybrydowych
Special operation forces (Special Forces) and hybrid warfare

Summary/Abstract: The overtaking of Crimea by Russia in 2014, and the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine, in which Russian special forces played an important role, promoted the use of the term hybrid warfare. Hence, a number of definitions of war, conflict and hybrid threats has appeared, and in the scientific and public debate a question is being asked - why have the developed countries proved to be sensitive to the irregular form of the armed struggle, used by the enemy which is not respecting the rules of the international law or is looking for niches not covered by the international law. However, the search for the definition of a hybrid war is the search for an answer to the question how the international situation after the Cold War, new technologies, the asymmetry of the world, commercialization and globalization affect the way and proportions of use of the methods and means of combat. Special operation forces are prepared to counter such threats. Within the spectrum of their operations not only the unconventional warfare is included, but also the types of actions defined as counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, which to some extent may be a response to the hybrid threats. At the same time the special forces are an important element of the strategy of alliance, as well as a tool in the context of expeditionary operations. An open and separate issue that requires exploration is the role of Special Forces within the framework of national and defense operations, including forms of cooperation with the territorial defense.

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