A Look at Our Army Ten Years Ago

Abstract:

At that time, the base for plural societies in Eastern Europe was founded. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO defence alliance. Serious global threats of economic, military, ecology, social, ethnic, religious, criminal characters were lasting. The important question of proliferation of mass destruction weapons was raised. The analyses of security situations in Europe and the World respectively proved that armed conflicts were mostly internal, in a form of civic wars, but demographically endangering bordering countries. Those threats were only discussed, namely nobody fully realized the threat of terrorism. Defence budgets were reduced, all people wanted to profit from the so-called peace dividends. Czech army was loyal to the state; it was not misused in inner political conflicts, which was regarded as something normal by the majority of Czech public. But there were many problems left, especially the role and engagement of the ACR in the following century.

PhDr. Antonín Rašek, Major General, (Ret.), born in 1935; he graduated from the Military School of Jan Žižka (VŠJŽ) and the Infantry School (PU). He served with the Air Force, studied the Faculty of Arts, Charles University (FF UK) Prague, philosophy, history (concluded in 1961). After that he became a military journalist and worked in various army institutions. In postgraduate studies he specialized in sociology. After the September 21, 1968, he was separated from the army and started a new career as research worker, lecturer and advisor in the field of industrial sociology. After the Velvet Revolution, from 1990 till 1992, he was a civilian deputy defence minister for humanitarian affairs, in 1993 director of the Institute for Strategic Studies. He cooperates with the Centre for Social and Economic Strategies, Charles University Prague. Joint member of authors´ team that compiled the following publications: Vision of Development of the Czech Republic till 2015 (CESES 2001), Guide to the Landscape of Priorities for the Czech Republic" (CESES 2002),Wandering through the Czech future (CESES 2003). Author of nineteen novels. For his successful literary activities he was praised by many awards.

Country: Czech Republic

07/09/2015

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