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Findings of a 2008 survey reveal major support on the part of young people for a friendly development of Polish-German relations, and a strong conviction that the two countries' interpretations of mutual history can be brought closer together. In this context, the proposal to write a joint Polish-German history textbook should be welcomed as an opportunity to deepen mutual relations, at least in some...
The events of 1931 presaged forthcoming reassessments on the international scene, and this was not lost on Warsaw. On 7 March 1932, while opening a conference of Polish envoys to Central European countries, which he himself convened, Undersecretary of State Józef Beck sought to define a new development which he called a 'revisionism in international relations' aiming at the established 'political...
Towards the end of 2009 and in early 2008 we witnessed a crisis in Russo-Ukrainian relations over gas shipments and transit to the EU area. The repetitiveness of the situation each time makes one reflect and ask questions, not so much about the causes and course of a successive crisis as about the next pretext than has just been employed. Responsibility for the disruption of gas shipments to Europe...
The clash between classic and new threats and the operation of actors (including non-state ones) with differing identities and motivations have rendered it much more difficulty for modern doctrines to name conclusively the contemporary developments in the sphere of international security. With doctrines' secrecy veil lifted, there has been pressure to have their contents and messages simplified and...
The article presents opinions on the Eastern Partnership project and related activities in the Czech Republic's European and foreign policy. While previously the country did not place much emphasis on Eastern Europe, the factors which now made of the region an important goal for Czech foreign policy include: taking over the EU Council presidency; announcement of the Union for the Mediterranean, initiated...
After coming to power in Turkey towards the end of 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) began to phase in a new foreign policy model, initiated at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. It complies with the 'strategic depth' doctrine - devised by Ahmet Davutoglu, an aid to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan - which draws on the country's geostrategic importance and its historical experiences...
The year 1986 saw a change in the line taken towards the Church by the authorities of the Polish Peoples' Republic. Gaining ground among General Jaruzelski's associates was the idea of seeking a resumption of diplomatic relations with the Apostolic See. Pope John Paul II's authority offered a chance that meetings with him would impart to Jaruzelski an international credibility, and there were also...
Towards the end of his term in office, the former US president had no supporters left, as so had his policy. But it must not be forgotten that eight years previously G.W. Bush, just as Barack Obama now, was an election winner who could attribute his success to a call for change. Many observers around the world then pinned much hope on the circumstance that Mr Bush's administration comprised politicians...
The author of the article, who was Polish ambassador to the USA in 1994-2000, presents Poland's efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the events behind the scenes that led to the symbolic liquidation of the Yalta order. He also conducts an analysis of the important factors that influenced this process. The author's observation point - Washington - lets him emphasize the American...
The authors address the nature of the notion of 'strategic partnership' and of its abuse in today's international relations. They analyze the state of Polish-French relations as well as sense of continued cooperation as part of the Weimar Triangle. They agree that the present situation does not require the creation of new structures for bilateral cooperation. Despite clear differences in the Polish...
This article describes circumstances in which the Polish accession to NATO was prepared in the Federal Republic of Germany 1996-1999. It presents the attitude to NATO enlargement of German politicians and governing elites during the H. Kohl and G. Schröder governments and the connection between this attitude and Germany's political relations with Poland, France, Great Britain, the United States and...
The author of the article writes about efforts undertaken by Polish diplomacy in order to bring about Poland's membership in NATO. At a key moment of this process, the author was Poland's ambassador in London. The reader can discover how the favorable attitude of the British milieus to the idea of Poland's membership in the Alliance was obtained. At the same time, the author points out that a comprehensive...
The archival research conducted in connection with the preparation of the volume entitled Polish Diplomatic Documents 1976 provides an opportunity to assess the Polish foreign policy of the day. In the first half of that year, Polish diplomats devoted most of their attention to relations with the Federal Republic of Germany: After lengthy negotiations, an agreement on pensions was signed; Edward Gierek's...
The article presents the programme and actions of the mainstream Solidarity movement which is understood as including the groups linked to the '60' and the subsequent Civic Committee of the Solidarity Chairman, the Solidarity National Executive Committee, and the Freedom and Peace (WiP) movement. The starting point is provided by discussions to work out a foreign policy concept held in the opposition...
Although a small country, Slovenia is among those states which exert considerable influence in the Western Balkans, an area attracting the European Union's most intense activity outside its boundaries (enlargement process, missions, financial assistance). The country's strong position in the region rests on a very extensive economic involvement. The main factor determining the effectiveness of Slovenian...
The Barack Obama administration, similarly as some Polish commentators, argue that the new US initiative on the missile defence system is at least as attractive to Poland as the 'Bush shield' was. US Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit to Poland on 20 November 2009 to bring the Polish government around to the Obama concept. The US assurances about taking Polish interests into account sound encouraging,...
Starting from October 2008, multilateral negotiations on South Caucasus security have been held in Geneva, led by the UN, the OSCE and the EU, and attempting to stabilise the conflict between Georgia and the Russian-backed splinter republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that has been going on since the 1990s. No binding agreements have been reached so far, except for an Incident Prevention and Reaction...
Who is the top player in a multilateral distribution of real geopolitical power? Where will the world be headed over the next ten or twenty years? How will the global economic crisis proceed? Only those can weather the storm who have a compass showing the direction they follow and who watch the course ahead. Such a compass is provided by medium-term goals regarding the new international order that...
Ukraine is among the few countries which have voluntarily surrendered their nuclear weapons. But many in the country are dissatisfied with the decision, citing the ingratitude of the international community which, they believe, has not appreciated the lofty Ukraine gesture and offered neither security guarantees nor any technical or financial compensation. At the same time, Ukraine is a country with...
The Slovenian opposition to Croatia's accession ambitions is warranted by fears that Zagreb's demands, as presented in individual negotiating chapters, may seek to predetermine the outcome of the two countries' border dispute. The most important factor underlying the Slovenian veto, and simultaneously the essence of the Slovenian-Croatian border spat, is the question of the Piran Bay's ownership and...
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