What’s New
Energy Security and NATO
25. 02. 2011 | WSNDue to Europe’s growing dependency on oil and gas, the growing energy needs of rising powers such as China and India, the depletion of fossil fuels expected to set in after the middle of this century, an intensifying debate on climate chase, and a renewed interest of many nations in civilian nuclear energy, energy security has become one of the most important topics in debate over international security. What role should NATO play in ensuring energy security of its members? That is the question Michael Ruehle attempts to answer in his article entitled NATO’s new Strategic Concept on Energy.
Cyber Security
04. 02. 2011 | DCAFThe Internet has been a boon for humanity. It has fundamentally sped up the transmission of information and enabled interconnection among organisations, individuals, and nations. Since most of national infrastructures as well as intelligence, communication, and commercial services depend on IT systems, their ubiquitous connectivity also puts them at risk. An adversary need only attack the weakest link of a network and the following disruptions – seemingly localized – can quickly spread across the entire system. In their work entitled Cyber security: The road ahead Fred Schreier, Barbara Weeks a Theodor H. Winkler draw attention to possible threats resulting from connectivity of information networks. They also propose some measures the key actors should take to ensure the cyber security.
GCHQ Chief about Cyber Security
11. 01. 2011 | GCHQGCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) is a British inteligence agency whose primary mission is Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Information Assurance (IA). In October 2010, the GCHQ’s director Ian Lobban spoke to the International Institute for Strategic Studies about cyber security. In his speech he outlined how cyber is not just a national security or defence issue but is something which goes to the heart of our economic well-being and national interest.
The Implementation of the New NATO Strategic Concept
04. 01. 2011 | ISNMeeting in Lisbon , the leaders of NATO member countries adopted a new Strategic Concept . It is the third strategic concept that had been adopted since the end of the Cold War. Over the past 20 years no NATO summit demonstrated a comparable degree of internal unity, outward determination and ambitions. In his work entitled “NATO summit: Forward-looking decisions, difficult implementation” Victor Mauer focuses on great moments in history of the Alliance since the end of the East-West conflict. Mauer thinks that the new NATO programme is an exceptionally ambitious one and its viability will soon be tested in several areas such as the NATO missile defence, the relation with Russia, and the future of the engagement in Afghanistan.
EEAS: Towards a Common Diplomacy?
26. 11. 2010 | Fondation Robert SchumanCreated by the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service (EEAS) should bring together, within an autonomous diplomatic institution, the services of the Commission and the Council responsible for external affairs. From an administrative point of view this means the creation of the post of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and formation of the common diplomacy. Will the creation of the EEAS lead to a common European diplomacy with greater coordination with national diplomacies? Will the new Service be able to assert itself in the areas where it is not qualified by the Lisbon Treaty? These are the questions Christophe Hillion and Maxime Lefebvre would like to answer in their work entitled „EEAS: Towards a common diplomacy?“
The European Union and NATO
18. 11. 2010 | ISSIn these days, 28 NATO member states are in the process of adopting a new strategic concept which will determine the Alliance’s future. The interests of both NATO and the European Union are linked to one another to a great extent. NATO‘s future development is therefore of great significance for the EU‘s foreign policy. The issue of relationship NATO-EU is discussed in a report entitled What do Europeans want from NATO? , recently published by the Institute for Security Policy (ISS). The authors attempt to find answers to the question “In what ways should the foreign and security policy of the EU reflect the new NATO strategic concept?”
MI6 Chief about the Role of Intelligence Services
15. 11. 2010 | SISSir John Sawers is the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a British organization known also as MI6. On October 28, 2010, he made an exceptional speech in which he talked both about principles and values of the intelligence work, and the role of a secret service in today‘s world. The exceptionality of the event lies in the fact that Sawers is the first serving MI6 chief to have made a public speech in its 100 years.
We Need More Powers and Stronger Control
22. 12. 2005 | ČT • Události, komentářeAn interview about the role of legislation in the fight against terrorism, given by the UZSI spokesman Bohumil Srajer to Jan Nemec (CT).
Spy Files Shed Light on Past
12. 10. 2005 | The Prague PostCzech intelligence services have opened a new public archive that throws fresh light on the world of communist-era secret operations and provides insights into the mindset and paranoias of the former totalitarian regime.
It Is Almost Impossible to Prevent Attacks from Happening
08. 07. 2005 | Hospodářské novinyIf politicians rely on someone to provide them with timely warning of imminent danger, then it is only the secret services that can do that. According to the head of the Czech intelligence service Karel Randak, however, the blasts in London proved again that similar, carefully planned, terrorist actions cannot in fact be prevented.