The changes in international security environment

• Author: Bardhyl Hoxha?
• Pages: 28-35

Vo

l. 4 N

o

. 2

J

u

ly

, 2018

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cademic Journal o

f

Business,

A

dministration, Law and Social Science

s

II

PCCL Publishin

g

, Graz-

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ustri

a

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SSN 2410-391

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cces online at www.ii

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ccl.or

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The changes in international securit

y

environmen

t

Retire

d

Briga

d

ier Ing. MSc Bar

dhyl

Hox

h

a

1

Ab

str

a

c

t

W

ith the end of the Cold War, the threat of confl ict between

E

ast and West disappeared.

A

t this moment, there was a

g

rowin

g

awareness for the increased interconnections and

interdependence of peoples, states, regions and continents. Peace, security and development

a

re now more interconnected than ever. The initial consequences of these changes provoked

a

reconfi

g

uration of the national strate

g

ies towards the creation of unions of multinational

entities sharing common interests.

O

ne of the most explicit examples of such unifi cation is

the process of

E

uropean

U

nion enlargement to other

E

uropean countries including those o

f

Wes

t

e

rn B

a

lk

a

n

.

Security is a precondition of development, the

E

uropean Security Strategy confi rms.

I

f we

measure the prospects for development and successful reforms according to the level o

f

s

ecurity which has been reached and according to the degree to which civilians perceive

threats to their safety, the Western Balkans countries still face a myriad of both “hard” and

“so ” security challenges, most notably in the areas of defense and security sector reform,

justice and home a airs, in combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and

establishing e ective border management, not to mention such tasks as preventing potential

thr

ea

ts

o

f t

e

rr

o

r

i

sm.

Predicting the future is impossible, however it would also be irresponsible not to try to identify

the current trends and co-relate them with their drivers where possible. Today’s security

environment is characterized by uncertainty, complexity, rapid change, and persistent confl ict.

This environment is fl uid, with continually changing alliances, partnerships, and new national

a

nd transnational threats constantly appearing and disappearing.

I

dentifying, analyzing and

a

ssessing today’s threats, risks and challenges are the bases for constructing a real and e ective

s

ecur

i

ty strategy.

Ke

y

words:

S

ecurity, threats, opportunities, uncertainty, complexity, terrorism, fi ghting,

s

trategic environment, cooperative security and the Western Balkans

.

I

ntr

oduc

t

io

n

A

new world war began on the 1

1

th

o

f

Se

p

tember 2001, with the terrorist a ack on

b

oth buildings o

f

the World Trade Center in New

Y

ork with a wa

y

and

f

orm o

f

a ack

t

h

at was ver

y

h

ar

d

to imagine an

d

even

h

ar

d

er to

b

e

p

re

d

icte

d

. Since t

h

en ever

y

t

h

ing

i

n the strateg

y

o

f

fi

ghting wars have changed, including the international securit

y

environment.

A

f

amous

p

ro

f

essor at the National De

f

ense

U

niversit

y

in Washington



1

A

 er contributing in leadershi

p

, management, heading and commanding of several militar

y

structures in

A

lbanian

A

rmed Forces (

AA

F) and having three assignments abroad res

p

ectivel

y

De

p

ut

y

Chief of Sta for Su

pp

ort of South

E

astern

E

uro

p

e Brigade in Plovdiv, Bulgaria;

A

ssistant

Chief of Sta for Communication

I

nformation S

y

stems, KF

O

R, Kosovo and

A

ssistant Chief of Sta



for Civil-Militar

y

Coo

p

eration (

A

C

O

S J9) at SH

A

P

E

in Mons, Belgium, Mr. Bardh

y

l Hoxha retired

as Brigadier General in 2015. Now he is a researcher for securit

y

and defense studies. He is the au-

thor and co-author of several textbooks, studies and articles

p

ublished in scientifi c journals, as well

as some doctrines and manuals that are in use b

y

the

A

lbania

A

rmed Forces.