CIVIL SELF-DEFENCE IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING THE SECURITY OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE VISEGRAD COUNTRIES. FOCUS STUDIES

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the issue of community self-defence and its role in the process of building personal and structural security in the Visegrad Countries. self-organisation within a local community constitutes an integral part of the national security system. The organisation and functioning of the common self-defence (as it is defined nowadays) consists in the exploitation of civic activity directed at remedial and relief measures in the circumstances of both military and non-military threats. The level of self-organisation within a society has a profound impact on the security of territorial communities. It also significantly affects the effectiveness of governmental security organisations (e.g. Police, Armed Forces, Civil Defence, etc.) by cooperating with and supporting them. Self-defence is the natural and oldest form of security organisation of social groups. As a result of the measures undertaken in the search for new and complementary solutions in the field of structural and personal security, it bears noting that social potential has certain resources that can be activated. When faced with contemporary threats, one must aspire to make use of all the resources that can contribute to increasing not only the sense of security within a society but also to building public and state resilience to emerging challenges in practical and actual terms.