Table of Content:
Plamen Atanasov
COGNITION IN THE CONTEXT OF SECURITY. GOVERNANCE OF SYSTEMS AND INFORMATIONAL WARS
Summary: Explored is the problem of cognition in the context of the world and the connection with the activity, with which systems (states and societies within them) develop in the context of security. Outlined is the mechanism of communication within the system and between the systems, while as governing tools are defined: censorship, propaganda, and informational warfare. Introduced is the construct of the supra-state subject of governance and an emphasis is placed on the problems associated with its manifestations in the 21st century.
Key words: security, censorship, propaganda, informational wars, supra-state subject of governance.
Daniel Berchev
Summary: The article is devoted to the evolution of European Union strategic documents, considered in the light of the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the European Security and Defense Policy/Common Security and Defense Policy integrated in it. Through the comparative analysis, conclusions are drawn that contribute to the understanding of the dynamics shaping strategic thinking and culture in the European Union in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy/ Common Security and Defense Policy.
Key words: strategic culture, European Union, security and defense, security strategies.
Svetoslav Slavov, Petrana Kokudeva
DETERMINING AIR SOVEREIGNTY SYSTEM SUFFICIENCY
Summary: In order to understand the necessary potential of the air sovereignty system to cope with modern challenges, it is necessary to understand it as a complex system, including different but functionally related systems and the operational environment, whose role is reduced to the formation of requirements for these systems. For this objective, the components of the air sovereignty system and their associated criteria and benchmarks are considered. Analyzing the main components of the air sovereignty system, an attempt has been made to assess its sufficiency through the use of appropriate criteria and indicators.
Key words: sufficiency, criterion, indicators, benchmarks. air sovereignty, system.
Stefaniya Mircheska
THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE DEFENSE SECTOR
Summary: A general-purpose technology called artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to transform every aspect of defence, from back-office enterprise services to delivering military effect. In the integrated review, at a time when the geostrategic landscape is increasingly complex and challenging, AI technologies are evolving rapidly and becoming more widely available to allies and potential adversaries alike. We cannot avoid the reality that conflicts - both in the physical and virtual realms - will be enabled by AI. Each country should introduce and make the best use of these. At this time, we are required to use these technologies safely and responsibly, in accordance with our legal commitments and the values and standards of the society we serve. All uses of AI to improve defense processes; systems or military capabilities are guided by our AI Ethical Principles.
Key words: AI definition, benefits, challenges, AI ethical principles, defense.
Kostadin Bakov
THE NEW REALITIES IN SYNCHRONIZING PHYSICAL SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY IN DIGITAL SOCIETIES
Summary: The interweaving of digital technologies and the physical world ushers in an era in which security is no longer limited to the cyber domain or the physical domain, but encompasses both. This calls for a reassessment of security paradigms, underscoring the importance of synchronized strategies to protect our increasingly digital societies. The importance of this topic lies in its relevance for national security, economic stability and the protection of individual rights and freedoms. Blurring the boundaries between physical and digital processes, understanding and applying integrated security measures is of primary importance.
Key words: synergic approach, physical security, cybersecurity, digital societies.
Michael Dimitrov
TRANSMUTATION-BASED APPROACH FOR WEB DATA EXTRACTION
Summary: The research article presents an in-depth examination of a C# codebase specifically designed for the intricate handling and transformation of textual data. Central to this exploration is the innovative transmutation methodology, which is operationalized through the construction of a “legend”. This patterned sequence acts as a blueprint, offering a systematic depiction of the content that has been distilled from the data. The coding framework integrates the use of regular expressions to pinpoint patterns, string operations to alter text, and sophisticated data structures to systematically arrange and purify the information that has been gleaned. In an effort to quantify the efficacy of this transmutation-centric technique, the study outlines the findings from a confidential survey administered to experts within the field. These insights are instrumental in formulating weighted indices that measure key performance indicators such as execution time and accuracy. The ultimate objective is to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the transmutation strategy and to benchmark it against an alternative solution that relies exclusively on REGEX for implementation. This comparative analysis is expected to yield valuable insights into the optimization of code for text processing tasks, especially in the field of security-related topics.
Key words: significant part extraction, transmutation, Big Data processing.
Dimitar Panchev
SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF RADICALIZATION AND TERRORISM
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to examine the sociological aspects of the radicalization process, their underlying causes and the processes associated with them. The various aspects of the problem of radicalization and its social roots will be presented through sociological theories and concepts such as socialization, convergent settings, social capital and resource networking, overlapping ecosystems, and their denser description will be supported by empirical research data and publicly available sources of information.
Key words: convergent settings, radicalization, terrorism, sociology.
Vesselin Madanski
“STOCKHOLM+50” AND THE NEED FOR MODERN CULTURE
Summary: In the article, through a scientific analysis of the complex of risks and threats to humanity, identified in the documents of the United Nations Conferences on the Human Environment and the Earth (1972-2022) their transformation into Goals and tasks for sustainable development during these 50 years is traced. With the force of an imperative, the research has brought out the need to form a modern culture in the aspects of sustainable development, which will serve to transform people's worldview, as a necessary prerequisite for achieving a sustainable existence.
Key words: complex of risks and threats, goals for sustainable development, modern culture.
Andrey Mihaylov
THE (IM)POSSIBLE EUROPEAN ARMY
Summary: The change in security protection systems is imminent, but collective defense is a necessity, as Eurobarometer surveys show. What is the way forward to achieve European defense ambitions - probably not starting from a "white sheet" to build an entirely new system, but increasing efforts towards greater capabilities, i.e. focusing them rather than displacing them. It is not justified, in a war on the continent, to create an additional risk of duplication and competition of collective defense systems, i.e. to distort the sought synergy effect and instead of strengthening the security architecture in Europe to achieve a weakening of defense. Europe's security should not be built on duplication of capabilities, but on growth of capabilities.
Key words: European army; risk; duplication of capabilities.
Maria Hadzhipetrova-Lachova
THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS – A SECURITY AND STABILITY FACTOR
Summary: This article traces the dynamic processes and progress related to the accession negotiations of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union and the new changes which accompany them in the light of the security context.
Key words: integration, Western Balkans, accession negotiations, security.
Mladen Mladenov
TRADITIONAL RELIGION AS AN ELEMENT OF NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY
Summary: The concept of traditional religion is a complex phenomenon containing within itself legal, customary, moral and other positions. For historical reasons, it has settled in each individual society in a unique and authentic way, in the different nation-states, exchanging active and passive influence with other deontic and axiological systems. The special and essential role of the traditional religion in the Republic of Bulgaria - the Eastern Orthodox faith - is an explicitly enshrined constitutional postulate with the meaning of an element of national identity, on the basis of which doctrinal, administrative, judicial and other positions are developed, in the complex and dynamic environment of the phenomenon of rule of law.
Key words: constitutional law, traditional religion, national constitutional identity, national security, rule of law.
Milko Stefanov, Ilian Iliev
POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES IN MILITARY OPERATIONS
Summary: The main objective of the present work is to analyze the possibilities and limitations that modern private military companies (PMCs) provide within the framework of military operations. In the first part of the study, the essence, the reasons for their emergence and development are examined, and some classifications by leading specialists in the field are also presented. A review of the legal and ethical issues related to the activity of PMCs and the services they offer, supported by examples from international legislation and the experience of some of the largest users of private services in the form of the USA, Russia and China, is made. In conclusion, through historical references to past and present armed conflicts, generalized models for the use of PMCs in support of military operations are presented.
Key words: private military companies, military operations, international humanitarian law.
Vasya Vasilev
CRITICAL THINKING – A BASIS FOR QUALITATIVE INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS
Summary: The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of the concept of critical thinking and, on this basis, to reinforce the need for the application of its tools in the intelligence community. The topicality and importance of the issue is growing more and more given the strengthening regional and global conflict of ideas, views and views on the development of world and national processes. Particularly indicative in this regard is the use of hybrid effects and, first of all, the accelerated technological development of information and cognitive operations, with the ambition to distort attitudes, change the perception of reality and skillfully conceal the truth.
Key words: limitations of the mind, prejudices, biases, attitudes, intelligence analysis.
Elena Kolcheva
Summary: The dynamics of the socio-political and socio-economic situation in the Republic of Bulgaria gradually caused public interest in the use of physical force and facilities by police officers. There is an increase in the number of incidents related to the application of the authority, which necessitates analyzing the organization of training to establish the reasons leading to the illegal use of physical force and facilities. An analysis and specific proposals were made to improve the activity of the Ministry of Interior, related to the professional training of police authorities.
Key words: police officers, use of physical force, facilities, education.
Ivan Stanchev
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF TACTICAL SHOOT IN HIGH RISK SITUATIONS
Summary: Training in the "National Security" professional field includes disciplines that prepare for the performance of tasks in a complex environment. The risk to the life and health of officers of the National security protection system is part of the characteristics of the professions in this system. Training for high-risk operations, outside the National Military University and the Academy of the Ministry of Interior is poorly represented and is mostly theoretical in nature. Scientific studies of high-risk operations are based on the use of primarily theoretical methods. The use of empirical methods to provide new knowledge is limited. The article presents an experimental study that determines basic characteristics of the use of firearms in typical confrontations with armed offenders. On the basis of the analysis of the results, conclusions are synthesized for the development of Tactical shooting as an educational discipline, the methodology of which is based on the principles and rules of Special police tactics.
Key words: high-risk operations, tactical shooting, special tactics, weapon, national security, defence.
Elena Stoyanova
APPROACHES TO THE SCREENING OF LIQUIDS, AEROSOLS AND GELS TO PREVENT ATTACKS IN CIVIL AVIATION
Summary: The foiled 2006 liquid explosives plot in Great Britain had a major impact on civil aviation security measures. Eighteen years later, the risk of carrying out such attacks continues to be assessed as high. The article traces the development of international legislative risk mitigation measures and compares the established approaches to prevent liquid explosives on board an aircraft.
Key words: civil aviation security, security screening, liquids, aerosols and gels, liquid explosive detection equipment.
Vasya Vasilev
THE LIMITATIONS OF THE MIND – FACTORS DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS
Summary: The article reviews the most important factors identified by cognitive psychology, such as the limitations of the mind, on how people, even experts in intelligence analysis, process incomplete and ambiguous information about military-political issues, processes, and phenomena to make judgments and conclusions in their reports to the state and military leadership, partner services and headquarters of NATO and the EU. The specific features distorting the perception and interpretation of information are examined, and practical examples and evidence are given for some of the factors.
Key words: limitations of the mind, prejudices, biases, attitudes, intelligence analysis.
Valery Stoyanov, Siyana Lutzkanova, Anna Karadencheva
ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS TOWARDS THE WAR IN A SOCIAL-POLITICAL CONTEXT
Summary: By using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches, students' attitudes, emotions and experiences of war as a socio-political phenomenon, as well as their motivations for participating in war, are revealed. Google Forms were used to collect the empirical information. 57 students responded to the questionnaire, 81% of the students to whom the form was sent. The students are from Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, from "Transport, Aviation and Shipping" and "National Security" professional specialties. The results show that students have a decidedly negative attitude towards war and reject war as a means of solving problems. For them, war is nonsense, meaningless and unnecessary in the practice of humanity. The main problems caused by the war in social and personal terms are connected, on the one hand, to the loss of human, spiritual, economic and natural resources, and on the other hand, to the suffering of the people from the victims, the destruction, to the experienced fear and horror of what is happening. Students would only go to war when they are forced to defend home, family and self, but rather not in case our country is under attack. The emotions caused by the war in the students are entirely in the field of depressive symptoms, which is a signal that the war makes life meaningless, "takes away" its essence, meaning - to live in prosperity, makes life miserable, full of suffering. After all, "war" is perceived exclusively in its classical dimensions and the immediate image of it and its experience is related to the physical use of weapons, fighting, sacrifice, genocide, destruction, death and suffering.
Key words: war, attitudes, motivation, emotions, experiences, cognitive wars.
Desislava Mitkova
Summary: 654 social services aimed at children and families will be provided within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria by the end of 2022. Of these 303 are aimed at providing residential care for children. According to data from the Social Assistance Agency during this period, the number of residential users was 2,992. Involvement in criminal activities among some of the children in residential care can be seen not only as a personal life challenge, but also as a problem that affects the whole society. Children, regardless of whether they are raised and educated in a family or alternative environment, are the future of the nation. In this context, and given the serious number of child users of residential social services in our country, it is necessary to consider the possibilities for social innovations and good practices for the prevention of criminal and antisocial behavior among this vulnerable group.
Key words: residential care, social innovation, child crime, prevention, national security.
Borislav Ivanov
DEVELOPMENT OF UNMANNED SURFACE AND UNDERWATER VEHICLES IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Summary: The article examines the development and utilization of unmanned surface and underwater vehicles (USVs/UUVs) within the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. It discusses the various generations of USVs/UUVs, their technical characteristics, strategic role, and their impact on naval operations and strategies. The importance of technological innovation to Ukrainian naval strategy and the ability to counter the Russian Black Sea Fleet through asymmetric means is explored.
Key words: UUSVs, UUVs, Russia, Ukraine, naval conflict.
Boyan Mednikarov, Kalin Kalinov
THE EVOLUTION OF OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS IN NAVAL WARFARE
Summary: Review of the book On Contested Shores: The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare, Vol. 2, by Heck, T., Friedman, B. A., & Mills, W. D. (Eds.).
Key words: naval operations, amphibious operations, Soviet Naval School, interoperability, military tactics.
Dobrinka Chankova
AN AVANT-GARDE VIEW OF THE TRUST AND SECURITY PROFESSIONS
Summary: Review of the monograph "Professions of Trust and Security" by Associate Professor Dr. Mladen Mladenov.
Key words: trust professions, security, interdisciplinary approach, legal science, social science.