Author: Ran Yi

Received: November 23, 2023

Accepted: December, 19, 2023

Traditionally, intelligence studies have been divided into history and political science. It has been reported that historians have studied diplomatic histories, biographies of famous individuals, the development of notable institutions, as well as turning points in modern history.

Akrap, Gordan; Matošić, Vedran Transnational linkages between violent right-wing extremism, terrorism and organized crime - case of Croatia // CEP: Transnational linkages between violent right- wing extremism, terrorism and organized crime Bratislava : Trnava, 2023. str. 36-44 (predavanje, međunarodna recenzija, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni)

Akrap, Gordan Hibridne prijetnje i izazovi - Operacije utjecaja i moderno-sigurnosno okružje. Zagreb: Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada ; Sveučilište u Mostaru, 2023 (monografija)

Balkan Babel speaks to the important issues associated with the eroding legitimacy of the former Yugoslavia and chronicles the disintegration of an increasingly fragmented federation after the death of Marshal Tito. Balkan Babel also speaks volumes about the credibility of the author and her unique ability to synthesise a huge array of information and bring it together into a singular conceptual overview. The fact that this book is in its fourth edition demonstrates the lasting contribution of one of the leading scholars in the field to the debate over why.

The book is based on authentic entries from the diary of Stjepan Šiber, M.A. in military science, who in 1992 placed himself at the disposal of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the defense against the aggression being perpetrated on Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served as Chief of Staff of the B&H Territorial Defense, Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defense, and later Deputy Commander of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In a number of books which have appeared in recent years about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, its causes, goals, resolutions, and perpetrators, the Bosniaks, including Dr. Muhamed Borogovac, have created facts, distorted reality, and "invented myths and legends", according to Mladen Ancic (author of Who is to blame for Bosnia), in order to legalize their political desires for their own state. In the event that this goal should prove unattainable, they attempt to accuse others of treason and of dividing the state.

According to the author, "the conception of defense provides a solution to the issues of organization and engagement of internal potentials in the realization of particular political and defense-oriented goals". He views the security strategy as falling "between the conception of security and the political goals to be achieved on the basis of appropriate conditions and directions," while the defense strategy forms "an integral part of the security strategy."

History of the Bosnian Army, by Dr. Enver Imamović, was published in 1999 by Svjetlost, Fojnica, as part of the series "Bosnian Roots", with a printing run of 1000 copies.

In 1991 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars in Washington DC, a major international network of scholars and experts was established, engaged in the study of the Cold War History. It was christened the Cold War International History Project - CWIHP. During the next decade, in collaboration with the National Security Archive - an independent organization situated at the George Washington University and other university and research centers - the Cold War Project organized more than 20 conferences and round table discussions in various cities - from Washington to Warsaw and from Reykjavik to Hong Kong.

In his book The Bulgarian Special Services Looking Towards A Unified Europe Colonel (Ret.) Yuliy Georgiev, ex-Director of the National Security Service, addresses issues which, in his opinion, have an impact on the work of the Bulgarian counterintelligence and the other special services within the Ministry of the Interior. The author's analysis covers the period following the democratic changes in Bulgaria. In a dozen thematically oriented sections, the author treats many of the problems of the special services in Bulgaria during the period of the "Iron Curtain". In the author's opinion, these questions have inflamed society for years and were periodically exploited and manipulated by the ruling circles.

The Counterintelligence was the first of its genre of open scientific publications in Bulgaria that examined in theory the issues of classic counterintelligence. On the grounds of their personal knowledge and experience as former operative officers and lecturers in counterintelligence matters, the authors have summarized the abundant information they possess on the nature and content of counterintelligence, on its basic principles, forces, methods, types, means and forms of activity. Publishing this book became possible only when counterintelligence was no longer considered a secret, strictly regulated activity in Bulgaria.

"The Intelligence" is a unique book - and not just for the Bulgarian book publishing industry - which can be divided into two complementary parts. In the first part, covering 382 pages, the autobiographies and ideas of renowned professionals and former heads of intelligence services, who had actively worked against each other during the Cold War, have been collected for the first time.

This dictionary contains professional terms, jargon and lexical items related to intelligence, counterintelligence and administrative activity which are used in colloquial speech and works of fiction, and intended more for a broad reading public than for a limited circle of specialists and professionals. The dictionary will also be useful for Bulgarian and foreign specialists who remain in contact with each other due to their official duties in the area of security, intelligence and counterintelligence activity, organized crime, etc.

The "History of Espionage" was designed and realized by Dr. Stoyanov as a reference book; this approach determined to a great extent both its chronological scope and the manner in which the material was presented and delivered.

The documentary interactive bilingual CD collection "Bulgaria in the Warsaw Pact" is a result of a two-year research of the Cold War Research Group - Bulgaria, an NGO affiliated with the Bulgarian Association of Military History. More than 160,000 documents relating to NATO and the Warsaw Pact have been examined in various archives.

The changes initiated on November 10, 1989, in the recent history of Bulgaria embraced all the aspects of the country's social, political and economic life. In the moral and ethical realms, society has begun a painful transformation which continues to this day, with variable success, ten years after the beginning of the transition from a totalitarian to a democratic system. One of the fields where changes are implemented with the most difficulty is within the sphere of security matters - international, regional, national, corporate, business, and personal, which is understandable since the security complex contains political, economic, military, legislative, public, social, demographic, ethnic, religious, ecological, informational, and a number of other components.

"Unfinished Peace" is the title of a study, or rather a Report, published by the International Commission for the Balkans, which comprises of a group of eminent authors. The Report was issued in the Croatian language in 1997 in Zagreb by the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights FOD B-H. The original Report was published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1996, Washington.

During the last couple of years, several books on the war in former Yugoslavia were published in the United States. However, all those books offered only one-sided descriptions of the war. Blaskovich's book is the first one to present the other side of the story. "Anatomy of Deceit" is divided in fourteen chapters, and the Croatian edition has a special preface written by Prof. Andrija Hebrang, MD, PhD, Minister of Health during the war. It is written for an American reader - short, straightforward, "CNN-look-a-like". However, the Croatian reader will find it interesting, too. It shows how facts about the war in Croatia can be stated in a simple and well-documented way, and discloses some, previously unpublished, facts about the work of international community.

"Geopolitical Reality of the Serb Nation" is a compilation of essays and studies presented at the Round Table discussions entitled "The Serb Nation in the New Geopolitical Environment" held in Petrovaradin in January 1997, organized by the Institute for Geopolitical Studies. It contains 66 contributions written and/or presented by Serb philosophers, economists, sociologists, experts in political sciences, geography, demography, law, theology, ethics, and professional military personnel from FRY and Republika Srpska, and other academic institutions. Even though three years have passed since this symposium was held, the views expressed by Serb political and academics draw not only on the spirit of that time but also show the habitual thinking of the Serb political elite.

In his book Secrecy, US Senator D.P. Moynihan sharply criticises the American government's secrecy. Drawing on the history of this institution's development, Moynihan attacks its legal framework and its function within the American political system, viewing it as one of the key characteristics of the governing methods of the executive. His work is a plea for abandoning the current situation, which he calls the "Culture of Secrecy", and for the establishment and acceptance of the alternative, "Culture of Openness".

Robert M. Hayden's Blueprints for a House Divided: The Constitutional Logic of the Yugoslav Conflicts sets out to analyse the logic of the collapse of the former Yugoslav federation and the causes of the ensuing war(s). Hayden identifies two sources of disintegration. Firstly, he suggests that the federation collapsed because of the triumph of central European nationalism and concepts such as the nation-state, pursued primarily by the Slovenes and Croats. Secondly, Hayden maintains that the disintegration of Yugoslavia followed a firm logic of constitutional proposals based on exclusionist, nationalist claims that undermined the authority of the federation and produced structures of instability. According to Hayden, the collapse of the former Yugoslavia and the structures of the resulting conflicts can all be explained as the logical consequence of the adoption of certain constitutional concepts.

The United States of America is founding its national security and military strategies on three groups of activities, called preparing, shaping and responding. Responding capability refers to current readiness of the armed forces to engage and successfully annihilate open threats to national security. That readiness was assessed during the nineties according to the military capability in successfully waging and winning two almost simultaneous major theater wars, like the one in Korea and in The Gulf. The preparing aspect of the strategy refers to modernization, restructuring and continuous adaptations of the national security system, in order to maintain its high readiness and effectiveness against possible future challenges. The development, acquisition and exploitation cycle for major weapon systems lasts for twenty to thirty or more years. That is only one of the many reasons why today's decisions have far-reaching consequences for the capabilities of the armed forces in the next decades. Environment shaping, sometimes called luck management, is also a way to prepare for the future. It consists of active engagement in world affairs to prevent the development of new major threats to American and international security.