DETERRENT STRATEGIES AND TOTAL DEFENSE

Nations have a range of strategies at their disposal to shape their relations with other nations and non-state actors in international relations, including cooperation, deterrence, coercion, and control. Deterrence, or in other words, discouraging states from taking unwanted actions, especially military aggression, has once again become an important theme in the defense and security policies of many countries in the second decade of the 21st century. On the other hand, changes in the international security environment have changed the context of deterrence. The idea of a total defense concept is based on a combination of armed forces capabilities with developed civil defense and an attempt to link economic and political infrastructure into defense planning. The aim of the paper is to examine the compatibility of the concept of total defense with modern concepts of deterrence, especially its contribution to strengthening the resilience of the state and society, which should contribute to the effectiveness of deterrence based on the principles of denial and aimed at raising the costs of possible aggression by a potential adversary.