NATIONAL SECURITY AND STATE SECURITY (REMINISCENCES)

Анотація

State security and homeland security are concepts that frequently appear in academic studies and are permanently enshrined in law. They are sometimes even treated as synonyms, despite sharing only a single element, that of security. Are they really identical concepts? Do they have relations indicating interpretative differences? Is there something common to these expressions that link them in their content? These are the questions that determined the formulation of the statements presented in this article, which reviews the standpoints of recognised Polish scholars, being supplemented by the author's comments. The considerations presented in this paper are aimed at identifying similarities and differences in the interpretation of the concepts in question. The results of the presented investigations point to significant interpretational differences and similarities proving the possibility of interchangeable application on the grounds of law, not so much science. The presented deliberations indicate that the provisions of the law imposing on the state as a political organisation emphasise the necessity of taking utmost care of counteracting and eliminating the effects of symptoms, threats, and extraordinary events, detrimental to common goods. This is related to the activity of obtaining those assets only when it is certain that it is not under threat. This activity is related to the use of the forces and means at the disposal of the state only on the basis and within the limits of universally applicable law, both with the whole and in conditions threatening the security of individual citizens and local communities when the circumstances are beyond their capabilities. The considerations presented further indicate that the interpretative doubts are rooted in the lack of an unambiguous definition of security commonly accepted by specialists in various fields and scientific disciplines. After all, how can concepts that have their tight links with such a condition be explained without it? And such, for all those dealing with theory and practice related to a particular form of security, are the terms 'national security' and the closely related 'homeland security