The role of the military in the management of crises caused by terrorist and insurgent actions

Terrorism and armed insurgency are specific types of complex and politically motivated violence, and may be used individually or combined to achieve various political objectives. The fact that they are in the middle of the spectrum of conflict (between classical crime, on one hand, and armed/war conflicts, on the other hand), is the key reason for frequent overlapping of competences and responsibilities of the military and the police in managing the crises caused by these phenomena. In addition that, as regards after-effects they cause, both terrorism and armed insurgency are crisis situations per se, these types of political violence often cause the crises of crisis management too. The paper explains the nature and characteristics of the mentioned crises, as well as the impact of erasing the boundaries between security and defense on the distribution of competences and responsibilities in countering terrorist and insurgent crises. The role of the military in managing these crises is described through a system of command and control, with consideration of specific features and tasks at different levels of the crises management. Finally, the paper provides an analysis of functional needs and capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces in the execution of anti-terrorist and counterinsurgency tasks in accordance with the strategic, doctrinal and other normative starting points, as well as the EU and NATO standards