Strategy&Future

The Russian Armed Forces implemented many reforms after the 2008 Georgian War, consolidating military districts, streamlining command-and-control structure, and switching from a division- to a brigade-centric order of battle. Overall, these reforms acknowledged the futility of retaining a theoretically mass mobilization-capable force in a time when the political conditions for using it are almost impossible to fathom. Instead, the reforms aimed for a military capable of rapidly generating force of flexible size in any of the multitudinous peripheries of the Russian sphere of influence.

It seems that 2022 may not be easy, bringing many challenges to the world and Poland. We at S&F will list a few of them, focusing on the absolute most important issues.

The battlefield for superiority has always been value chains and the resulting global division of labour. They determine new technology and investment cycles that give money and power to those who enter the market first or in a better structural position.

The Russo-Georgian War in 2008 was not a challenge for the Georgian Armed Forces exclusively, but also for Russia. In fact, the consequences of the war triggered the process of the modernisation of the Russian Armed Forces. Moscow found many mistakes and operational malfunctions in the actions of its army against the Georgian Army. However, one Russian military community insider is particularly proud of the operation that was conducted during the war in the Georgian cities of Poti and Senaki. This operation was accomplished by the 45th Guards Spetsnaz (Special Purpose) Brigade.

The costs of designing, developing and producing weapons increase with the need to find a remedy for the enemy’s means of combating these weapons. And so the race between defence and attack is in full swing.

The Conceptual Trap of War as a Ballet

Following Mike Pence’s 2018 Hudson Institute speech, the wider narrative around China began to change — just as it started to become clear how much of China’s wealth had been ploughed back into infrastructure and the military. India hosted the world’s biggest ever elections (and its computer programmers came in for some criticism). The US withdrew its troops from Syrian Kurdistan (and set its sights on space). And in Wuhan, China, rumours emerged of a potential new SARS outbreak. This was 2019…

Let us abstract away from what is happening now in the world and concentrate on the historical importance of the events in Afghanistan. What follows here is my humble attempt to forecast the near future which is already just over the horizon. Afghanistan itself is not so important, but the geopolitical repercussions of what’s currently playing out there can be genuinely global and historical.

Jacek Bartosiak and Ridvan Bari Urcosta talk to Professor Mark Katz (Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University) on abandoning Kabul, changing the world order, the future and the decline of the U.S.

For the first time mankind has reached the frontiers of space, not for glory, but simply to win the war. Now he is also reaching out to space to earn money.

War Vs Peace Unit Update Report #10. May 2021

“For example, the first thing many people often ask is: ‘What weapon should I use in my operation?’ But the answer to this question – and it’s an important question – is not as difficult as it may seem. The Mujahid Brother Nidal Hasan used firearms in his assault on Fort Hood, but the fact is, today’s Mujahid is no longer limited to bullets and bombs when it comes to his choice of a weapon. As the blessed operations of September 11th showed, a little imagination and planning and a minimal budget can turn almost anything into a deadly, effective and convenient weapon which can take the enemy by surprise and deprive him of sleep for years on end.” Adam Yahiye Gadahn, American spokesperson of al-Qaeda, 2010