The role of the military in the management of crises caused by terrorist and insurgent actions

Abstract

Terrorism and armed insurgency are specific types of complex and politically motivated violence, and may be used individually or combined to achieve various political objectives. The fact that they are in the middle of the spectrum of conflict (between classical crime, on one hand, and armed/war conflicts, on the other hand), is the key reason for frequent overlapping of competences and responsibilities of the military and the police in managing the crises caused by these phenomena. In addition that, as regards after-effects they cause, both terrorism and armed insurgency are crisis situations per se, these types of political violence often cause the crises of crisis management too. The paper explains the nature and characteristics of the mentioned crises, as well as the impact of erasing the boundaries between security and defense on the distribution of competences and responsibilities in countering terrorist and insurgent crises. The role of the military in managing these crises is described through a system of command and control, with consideration of specific features and tasks at different levels of the crises management. Finally, the paper provides an analysis of functional needs and capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces in the execution of anti-terrorist and counterinsurgency tasks in accordance with the strategic, doctrinal and other normative starting points, as well as the EU and NATO standards.

Terorizam i oružana pobuna predstavljaju specifične vrste složenog i politički motivisanog nasilja i mogu se koristiti pojedinačno ili kombinovano u ostvarivanju različitih političkih ciljeva. Činjenica da se nalaze u sredini spektra sukoba (između klasičnog kriminala, s jedne strane, i oružanih - ratnih sukoba, s druge strane), ključni je razlog čestog preklapanja nadležnosti i odgovornosti vojske i policije u upravljanju krizama izazvanim tim fenomenima. Pored toga što, po posledicama koje izazivaju, i terorizam i oružana pobuna predstavljaju krizne situacije pert se, te vrste političkog nasilja često uzrokuju i krize upravljanja kriznim situacijama. U radu su objašnjeni priroda i karakteristike navedenih kriza, kao i uticaj brisanja granice između bezbednosti i odbrane na raspodelu nadležnosti i odgovornosti u suprotstavljanju terorističkim i pobunjeničkim krizama. Uloga vojske u upravljanju ovim krizama biće opisana kroz sistem komandovanja i rukovođenja, uvažavanjem specifičnosti i zadataka na različitim nivoima upravljanja ovim krizama. Na kraju, analiziraju se funkcionalne potrebe i mogućnosti Vojske Srbije u izvršavanju protivterorističkih i protivpobunjeničkih zadataka u skladu sa strateškim, doktrinarnim i drugim normativnim polazištima, kao i standardima EU i NATO.