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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...
Croatia is the only applicant for EU membership standing any chance of accession over the next several years. The country has made much headway along the accession path, even if the European Commission continued to finger areas where reforms should be launched and cooperation with the EU tightened up. But because of a border dispute with Slovenia and a yet-to-be-completed process of the EU's institutional...
In Polish-Russian relations, the 20th century was dominated by two processes of fundamental importance: The decline of the Russian empire and Poland's emancipation from Russian domination. It is worth addressing the question of how Russia's modernization path could affect Polish-Russian relations in the 21st century. The vision of a modern and affluent Russia that forms a political part of Europe...
Professor Zbigniew Brzezinski discusses the strategic prospects of Eastern European states 20 years after they regained their independence. He points to the main challenges facing them in connection with the debate, under way in Russia, about that country's future and its directions of development. The author recommends that countries of the Central Europe deepen their integration within Europe, which...
India is a 'power in the making', with many transitory traits showing strength and weakness. During the last twenty years, this country has made enormous progress and is clearly approaching the status of world power. Without a doubt, the India of 1989 and that of 2009 are, in many respects, two entirely different countries. This is the more surprising as the end of the Cold War did not in the least...
The author attempts to appraise the five years of Poland's membership in the European Union by concentrating on the political and institutional issues which formed the basis for decision-making in economic matters. The author's point of departure is the analysis of pre-accession forecasts which helped choose the criteria for appraising Poland's accession. In addition, the author shows in what manner...
In 1977, the People's Republic of Poland - similarly to other Eastern Bloc countries - became the object of Western criticism for its human right violations. The growing importance of this problem in international relations had to do with the First CSCE Follow-Up Meeting which had just begun in Belgrade and one of whose main subjects was the failure by the 'People's Democracies' to abide by their...
Differences of interpretation by Poles and Ukrainians of their common history lead to tensions in relations between the two countries. This differing viewpoint has to do with a different collective memory shaped by stereotypes and with every nation's tendency to idealize its own past. The author of the article suggests that the main cause of Polish-Ukrainian misunderstandings of a historical nature...
Krzysztof Skubiszewski's greatness as foreign minister can best be seen from a distance - by encompassing the entirety of his foreign policy in the internal and international context in which he acted. In initial direct contacts, he gave the impression of being an old world gentleman - a League of Nations era diplomat, whose entire attention is concentrated on details such as on the painful chiseling...
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