Współczesne zagrożenia pozamilitarne państwa : terroryzm i przestępczość zorganizowana a bezpieczeństwo Polski

After the communist block collapse, other than military threats for the functioning of the state were noticed. The security understood at that time only in war and peace categories lost its meaning in the new reality. New unfavourable phenomena were discovered, the escalation of which may lead to destabilisation of the state structures or even, in consequence, to an open military conflict. Terrorism and organised crime are included in these threats category. Terrorism is not a phenomenon that in Poland poses a great threat towards security, however, organised crime is included in these categories. The article deals with terrorism, its evolution in the last thirty years and also with organised crime that in some cases may appear as a mafia organisation. The author describes the mentioned above threats, relating to their most crucial elements and also a real possibility of their existence in Poland. He also shows how the Polish authorities are prepared to counteract and fight them.