ŠTAB | varnost vs. konflikt

The international conference on independence of Slovenia

Objavil Jure Mikelj, 30. julij 2010

The international conference has had formal and informal value – in forefront it was the educational sense of presented contents and beside that, it was an opportunity to establish contacts with foreign students. Our guests had a chance to gain new knowledge about the historical period of society they are living in at the moment; on the other hand, Slovenian students could consolidate and complement their expertise.¹

In my opinion, it is important for every individual that he has knowledge about the history of his nation, or the area where he lives. After all, that thesis should not lead to intellectual self-limitation because understanding foreign subjects, i.e. broader international environment, is no less important, since it constructs a comprehensive picture of domestic and foreign events. That approach is particularly important for defence and security experts. We have learned the majority of history knowledge during educational process; however, there are certain problems (not) dealing with the complex historical topics from recent history which are politically and socially disputable. At last, we can do more of ourselves, to enrich our knowledge. Therefore interest and curiosity are the key to success. I am convinced that the synthesis of domestic and foreign theoretical explanations and practical examples can only bring an advantage. I think we cannot neglect the meaning of history knowledge for shaping the system of values and the identity of each person, society, and the organizations of national security system. It is vital to mention that we must be careful – we should not forget about objectivity in researching and evaluating/assessing past events. History influences both present perception and future planning. Frequently, history teaches us, but nobody listens; to avoid that, we try to take the lessons learned into consideration.

The fact is that the independence is one of the foundations and the turning point in the history of Slovenian nation and its political organization. Defence studies experts pay attention especially to the security dimension of that time – the conflict between the weak and the strong, which ended with defeat of the latter. I would like to emphasize that the result of the process has fulfilled century long dreams and the political program of Slovenian people who won the right and the responsibility to decide about their own future – on all aspects of social functioning. I can imagine that the independence has important implications on the global level, despite of the fact that Slovenia is a small country in comparison with the international podium. I would like to expose three aspects: the right of self-determination of nations; the result of a conflict is also dependent on interests of the international actors; a confrontation of the weak with the strong, to reach defined goals in spite of subordination and limited chances for success.

In other words, common understanding of the global system presumes existence of a great deal of actors on different levels who are in mutual relationship. Each is characterized by its own needs and interests; therefore, their goals are heterogeneous. From this point of view, there is present either cooperation, or a conflict of different degrees. Solving the latter is possible with diverse approaches, methods and means – peaceful way on one and war on the other side.  This process and its outcome may act the most essential role one of actor’s attributes – power. In that respect, actors can be classified as the weak and the strong; the latter must come out of conflicts as victors. Particularly, when armed conflict is the case, there should be no doubt about the winner. In contrast to this, as history has pointed out, it is not an exception that the weak surprises the strong; power itself is not assurance for success. The weak has got the most chances to fulfil its goals with use of the asymmetric approach. One of the forms of the otherwise comprehensive concept is the guerrilla warfare, which is based on clandestine organization and support of a population. About the former, there is a question regarding the legitimacy and the legality. For example, the conflict between Slovenia and Yugoslavia reflects the indicated factors and processes, reaching the utmost intensity in the Slovenian independence war. Many communities still try to reach the independence, the source of conflicts; but in spite of their size, in comparison with Slovenia, they have not succeeded.

This is one of the articles that will be published in the coming conference brochure  published by Slovenian Students Association of Defence Studies (DŠOS) and under sponsorship of Student Organization of the University of Ljubljana (ŠOU Ljubljana).

1. Written by Jure Mikelj, correction by Dunja Elikan. [↩]