Territorial Defence Facing the Challenge of Hybrid Warfare

Abstract

The course of present armed conflicts indicates the use of different instruments of power, whose major purpose is to gain control over the society and then exploit its resources. The nomenclature mentions hybrid warfare more and more frequently while seeking effective countermeasures against it. This topic is related to the creation of a new structure in the Polish Army – the Territorial Defence Force. The article presents the determinants conditioning the creation of the discussed formation and its assigned tasks. It analyses the expected objectives of the Territorial Defence Force as regards the adopted organisational structure, capability to perform its tasks and the established recruitment and training system. The article focuses in particular on countering tools of attack used in hybrid actions. The author refers to the course of events during modern asymmetric armed conflicts, for example in eastern Ukraine. Methods used by a potential enemy and the possible countermeasures exercised by the Territorial Defence Force are taken into consideration. The conclusions include an assessment of the importance of the new formation for Polish national security and defence.