Review article
TRANSFORMATION OF NATIONAL DEFENCE EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES
Dražen Smiljanić
orcid.org/0000-0002-5759-7683
; Dr. Franjo Tuđman Defense and Security University, Zagreb, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The response to the challenges and threats arising in the 21st-century security environment, marked by dynamic changes and the complexity of actor relationships, requires continuous adaptation of defence capabilities, including education for national defence and security needs. The article analyses the key drivers of transformational changes in the field of education, including new technologies, multidimensional security threats, and the expansion of the spectrum of military commanders' competencies. The paper's content develops a concept of education based on integrating academic knowledge, practical skills, and lifelong learning, with a special emphasis on the model of the National Defence University. The paper identifies institutional and organisational prerequisites for implementing a transformed education system, including interdisciplinarity, international cooperation, and university autonomy. The transformation of education for the needs of national defence serves to ensure the adaptability and resilience of the defence system of the Republic of Croatia to contemporary and future security challenges.
Keywords
national defence education; national security; defence transformation; defence university; lifelong learning
Hrčak ID:
333702
URI
Publication date:
15.7.2025.
Visits: 615 *