Military Instruments of State’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

Importance of military power has been limited after the cold-war. Range of military instrument underwent gradual broadening. Significant influence on this situation has been exerted by both new technology and new armament systems but also by the growth of non-state actors.

The latest actors are more threat to the societies than to states. This problem has affected a form of utilization of military instrument in foreign policy of states.

The article includes analysis of notion „military instrument”. Forms of implementation of military instruments in foreign policy of states has been characterized also. Two hypotheses are subject of verification. The first, forms of implementation of military instruments of foreign policies of states are dynamic process and they undergo gradual widening. The second, although indirect forms of implementation of military instruments predominate, however, it appear new possibilities of direct use of military instruments in low intensity conflicts, i.e. below threshold of war.