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1.1.Contemporarydefnitionsandunderstandingofsafety:contextsandcontroversies
Incomparison,theideasofmodernthinkerscanbeseenasconstituting
aremarkable—evenrevolutionary—changeastheydenotethefirsttime
wheninterestsofindividualsareprioritizedovertheinterestsofastate,
theemergenceofwhichshouldbesubordinatedtoasinglegoalofre-
spectingtherightsandinterestsofitscitizens.
Currentscientificapproachestowardsdefiningtheconceptgobe-
yondthepreviouslydominant,negativetypeofdefinitionofsafetythat
describesitastheabsenceofathreat.Nowadays,safetyismorethanjust
that—itisalsothepossibilityofsurvivalcoupledwiththefreedomto
pursueone)sinterestsbytakingadvantageofopportunitiesandfacing
challenges(seee.g.Koziej,2011).Tecurrentperceptionsofthisissue
arenolongeramatterofcommon,orsituationalknowledgenorarethey
reducedtomilitaryissuesbutcoveranever-widerrangeofscientificdis-
ciplines.Temodernconceptofsafetyinthegeneralsystemofrelated
conceptsandcriteriaoccupiesaleadingpositionnotonlyinthefateof
nationsandstates,butalsointhefateofindividuals,groups,andlocal
communities.Inaddition,theconceptoccursinvariouscontexts,such
asthesafetyofcitizens,thestate,consumers,users,andtenants,aswell
asinternalsecurity,externalenvironment,andworkingconditions.Te
multifacetednatureofthenotionofsafetysuggeststhatthesearenotall
aspectsofthisconceptualcategory(state,process),whichisthesubject
ofnumerousstudies,scientificdebates,intellectualconfrontations,and
politicaldisputes.AsstatedinArt.5.oftheBasicLaw,ensuringsecurity
shouldbeunderstoodasoneoffundamentalelementsessentialtothe
functioningofthestate.Itisanindispensablefactorshapingeveryday
life,anditsessenceliesintheprotectionofwhatisvaluable,guarantee-
ingbothsurvivalanddevelopment.Scientificstudiesattributeamuch
broadersemanticscopetosafety,emphasizingthatitincludesmeeting
theneedsofexistence,survival,security,stability,wholeness,identity,in-
dependence,protectionofthestandard,andqualityoflife(Kittler,2018;
Wiśniewski,2020;Glen,2021).
Safety,beingtheprimaryneedofmanandsocialgroups,isatthesame
timeabasicneedofstatesandinternationalsystems,andlackthereof
causesanxietyandasenseofthreat(Zięba,2005).Itisworthnotingthat
whendefiningsafety,notonlysuchattributesassurvivalbutalsothein-
dependenceandaguaranteeofqualityoflifeareincreasinglyemphasized
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