ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the main elements of deterrence as a theoretical concept. It examines those aspects of deterrence that may have experienced changes from the intensive period of research on this concept during the Cold War, quite simply, not have been important in the circumstances of the US—Soviet Union confrontation. The chapter emphasizes the applicability of the deterrence concept in the discussions about the shifting European security environment, rather than providing an exhaustive explanation of the concept of hybrid war. The greatest achievements in the concept of deterrence and research on its practical application were achieved in the period after the Second World War. This does not mean though that deterrence is a new concept that emerged in the Cold War context. After the Second World War, deterrence gained a truly existential character. The chapter concludes that the essence of the concept of deterrence has not fundamentally changed, however, the practice of deterrence is different from the Cold War era.
