Specific Nature of Military Threats to Security

The end of the Cold War and the East-West confrontation had a very large im­pact on limiting the importance of the military plane, which directly translated into a decrease in the importance of military threats in international relations. The aim of this article is to analyze the specificity of military threats to security. The first part analyzes the definition of military threats after the end of the Cold War, taking into account the perception of this term by researchers in Poland. In this part an attempt to indicate the directions of changes is also made. The sec­ond part covers the specificity of the scope of military threats. The most impor­tant element of the scope of the concept of ‘military threat’ is the use of armed violence by states or various non-state entities, including private ones, against another entity. The sources of military threats go beyond the military sphere and cover all areas of social life. Compared to other types of threats, they are often in­tentional and targeted. They concern the vital interests of the state, but also non-state entities. In a situation where disputes are not resolved by peaceful means, it is necessary to use military potential in various forms to reach a compromise or achieve one’s own goals. As a result of escalation in an extreme situation, military threats can lead to the collapse of the state or threaten the biological survival of the nation.