From Memory to Freedom Research on Polish Thinking About National Security and Political Community
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Cezary Smuniewski From Memory to Freedom Research on Polish Thinking about National Security and Political Community Publication Series: Monographs of the Institute of Political Science Scientific Reviewers: Waldemar Kitler, War Studies Academy, Poland Agostino Massa, University of Genoa, Italy The study was performed under the 2017 Research and Financial Plan of War Studies Academy. Title of the project: “Bilateral implications of security sciences and reflection resulting from religious presumptions” (project no. II.1.1.0 grant no. 800). Translation: Małgorzata Mazurek Aidan Hoyle Editor: Tadeusz Borucki, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland Typeseting: Manuscript Konrad Jajecznik © Copyright by Cezary Smuniewski, Warszawa 2018 © Copyright by Instytut Nauki o Polityce, Warszawa 2018 All rights reserved. Any reproduction or adaptation of this publication, in whole or any part thereof, in whatever form and by whatever media (typographic, photographic, electronic, etc.), is prohibited without the prior written consent of the Author and the Publisher. Size: 12,1 publisher’s sheets Publisher: Institute of Political Science Publishers www.inop.edu.pl ISBN: 978-83-950685-7-7 Printing and binding: Fabryka Druku Contents Introduction 9 1. Memory - the “beginning” of thinking about national security of Poland 15 1.1. Memory builds our political community 15 1.2. We learn about memory from the ancient Greeks and we experience it in a Christian way 21 1.3. Thanks to memory, we know who a human being is 25 1.4. From memory to wisdom 33 1.5. Conclusions 37 2. Identity – the “condition” for thinking about national security of Poland 39 2.1. Contemporary need for identity 40 2.2. The complexity of thinking about identities 44 2.3. The specificity of Polish identity 47 2.4. Cultural identity 55 2.5. National identity 59 2.6. Conclusions 65 6 Contents 3. Christianity – the “soul” of Poland’s national security 69 3.1. Christianity’s involvement in creating Poland’s national security 70 3.2. Genesis of wars 77 3.3. First generations of Christians versus wars 80 3.4. A just war? 84 3.5. Conclusions 87 4. Culture - the “pillar of strength” in thinking about national security of Poland 89 4.1. Why culture? 90 4.2. Towards personalism, or between individualism and collectivism 99 4.3. A human being and ideologies 104 4.4. The idea of a new human being 110 4.5. Is happiness possible without a culture of living in a community? 113 4.6. Conclusions 117 5. Patriotism – the “way” of thinking about national security of Poland 121 5.1. Around the definition of patriotism 123 5.2. Love of the homeland or the nation? 128 5.3. Contexts of the Polish thinking about patriotism 131 5.4. The future of patriotism 135 5.5. Patriotism in the Bible and the teaching of the Church 140 5.6. Conclusions 160 6. Freedom – the “zone” for thinking about national security of Poland 165 6.1. Freedom – the issue from the scope of thinking about creating security 166 6.2. Slave mentality in Antiquity 167 Contents 7 6.3. Freedom versus realistic and integral anthropology 177 6.4. Freedom challenged and defended 180 6.5. Freedom and the threat of utopias 184 6.6. Freedom versus national and European identity 189 6.7. Conclusions 191 Bibliography 195 Index of names 215 Introduction The topic of this study is the contribution of memory, identity, Christian- ity, culture, patriotism and freedom to national security in Poland. Whilst there is no doubt that research into the creation of Poland’s national secu- rity is an important ingredient in contemporary academic thinking and social debate, it provokes a number of contrasting views. It is not enough to rely on statements that the future of Poland depends only on (i) econom- ics, (ii) unspecified integration with Europe or (iii) the size and armament of the army. We know that national security is not just a cold practical concept: social values are a component, especially those passed down in the family and at school. The strength of national security is defined by the people who grow in the spirit of the nation, its traditions and beauti- ful but sometimes difficult history. These are people united with culture, constituting both the foundations of an individual’s life as well as that of society. They are creating national security founded on the discovery and shaping of one’s own as well as a common identity. Reflecting on the creation of national security (including that of military and defence) the history of Poland allows us to fully appreciate this intangible dimension – the spirit of the nation. National security (the key concept and the subject of research in this document) is understood as the value and purpose of the state’s activities 10 Introduction and the way to build its power, now and in the future.1 It is therefore about a state which is developing and heading into the future. A strong and ef- ficient state is a way to evaluate the effectiveness of national security, the highest form of national structure, condensing energy and resources not only to ensure survival, but also to create conditions for development. It is also about a state which is effective in protecting and resisting the pres- sure of hostile forces and able to cooperate with other states in creating international security2 through: • Its leadership • Its own army and legal system • Diplomacy and economy • Religion • Population potential. This monograph is the result of research which makes an assumption that security studies combine elements of humanities, as well as social, legal and technical sciences. It also assumes, like Waldemar Kitler, that “the aim of research in security studies is to identify cultural, material, political and social conditions affecting the existence and development of an individual within a state, of a social group (nation) or the international environment and to define rules and forms of organization and protection against negative factors of the natural, social and cultural environment for these entities, as well as to determine the principles and regularities of this field.”3 It should be noted that, according to Waldemar Kitler, the key criterion for determining the essence of security studies is to define the purpose of research and the reason for studying it.4 It would be a mistake to narrow down the definition of security studies because it is not about limiting consideration of the processes and components of creating and analysing security, but about emphasizing the teleological element that 1 Cf. W. Kitler, Bezpieczeństwo narodowe RP. Podstawowe kategorie. Uwa- -runkowania. System, Akademia Obrony Narodowej, Warsaw 2011. 2 Cf. J. Marczak, R. Jakubczak, A. Skrabacz, K. Gąsiorek, K. Przeworski, Doświadczenia organizacji bezpieczeństwa narodowego Polski od X do XX wieku. Wnioski dla Polski w XXI wieku, Akademia Obrony Narodowej, Warsaw 2013, p. 15. 3 W. Kitler, Organizacja bezpieczeństwa narodowego Rzeczypospolitej Pol- skiej. Aspekty ustrojowe, prawno-administracyjne i systemowe, Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2018, pp. 21-22. [own translation] 4 Cf. ibid, pp. 20-21. Introduction 11 justifies research. Waldemar Kitler’s intention is not to narrow down the scope of research. On the contrary, in his opinion, the field of security studies includes: • General security studies (security theory; security philosophy; security theology); • Detailed security studies (defence studies; public safety studies; common security studies; political security studies; economic se- curity studies; ecological security studies, social security studies; information security studies; security engineering, etc.); • Auxiliary studies (security history; security sociology; security anthropology; security administration; defence administration; military administration; security law; defence law; military law; crisis management; education for security; defence education; se- curity/defence didactics; security, defence and military economics; security, defence and military logistics, etc.).5 This monograph is specifically concerned with security studies. Not only does it deal with the problem of national security, but it also aims to reflect on the Polish cultural and social determinants affecting the functioning of: an individual within the state and the entire nation in order to influence the organization of the political community in Poland and protect it on an individual and social level against the influence of various negative factors. Referring to the goal of security studies speci- fied by Waldemar Kitler, the main social and cultural conditions identi- fied in Poland are: memory, identity, Christianity, culture, patriotism and freedom. The analyses have been made using experience and methods aligned to research in security studies, such as philosophy, history and political science. Security studies, like other disciplines in the scope of social sciences and humanities, must face the challenges of modern times, such as the clash of globalist tendencies with movements emphasizing the impor- tance of localism; the diversity of individual nations; and the richness of solutions to the current problems of specific political communities. Such a perspective calls for urgent participation in a long-standing discussion on the involvement of non-military means in creating national security and building international cooperation. However, it refers only to those 5 Cf. ibid, pp. 21-25. 12 Introduction fundamental measures which include what should be defended and solu- tions based on confrontation with the use of military force. Recognizing new