Emerging Threats in the Use of Improvised Weapons in Africa

Absztrakt

Nowadays, we experience a devastating interstate conventional war on the European continent, right beyond our borders: Hungary and Europe share the same concerns about their security, seeing the long-continued armed conflict in Ukraine with doubtful outcomes. After the genocide-laced civil war in Yugoslavia and NATO’s intervention in Kosovo – having the continental security architecture1 –, there was a realistic hope to keep up peace and stability in Europe itself and its direct neighbourhood. Via United Nations, NATO, and EU missions there was a chance to stop the spillover of tensions even from distant regions and foster positive changes in the war-torn, failed, and fragile countries. However, these days we have to rethink threats, challenges, and risks, and adjust possible reactions – while not forgetting about but rather taking into account the effects of asymmetric conflicts of the recent past. Al-Qaeda and Islamic State-inspired terrorist networks show continuous and fatigueless efforts to improve their effectiveness in the use of improvised weapons –which could influence conventional warfare, as we see it now, in Ukraine.