Polish Foreign Policy

obligatory courses

The course is dealing with the Polish Foreign Policy strategy after regaining sovereingty in 1989. Special attention is paid to process of European Integration (the EU membership) and the security issues (membership in NATO). Also included are: neighbourhood policy, alliances and future challenges in front of Polish Foreign Policy. Especially in the context of current change (Brexit) within the European integration process and visible restructure of the global order (soo called Trump effect and growth of roleof Asia and China in it).

Poland in 1989 regained her sovereingty. Later the country fulfilled its strategic goals "anchoring" into the Western institutional framework (Council of Europe, OECD, NATO, the EU).

The crucial aim of this course is to allow the students to reckognize the crucial Polish Foreign Policy directions, followed by challenges and dilemmas behind it. Poland it too weak to stand alone or to have her own global policy. Thus, and this is a second major aim of this course, one need to find a proper solutions in Foreign Policy, according to qualities and features of Polish position.

The most important issues debated here are Polish role in the EU, NATO, our neighbourhood in Central Europe, but also Polish leading role in the Eastern Policy of the EU, innovative and creative approaches towards the changing world. In the final part of the course special attention is paid and the course is focused on the new global scene on the eve of XXI century and the new global institutional framework (order?) after the crisis of 2008. It will be combined with another crucial issue of contemporary era i.e. gloabl challenges, like proliferation of atomic energy, global terror (including cyberterror), climate change, environmenatl pollution etc. We will try to identify the Polish position towards all of them. At the end there will be also a reference to the pandemic of COVID-19 which brought about some new dynamics into the international system, with some new challenges in front of the nation states.

The course is divided on nine subjects and 30 lectures as follows:

I. Main principles and requirements of Polish Foreign Policy

1. Raison d'Etat

2. Main principles: sovereignty, security and development

3. Alliances and "return to Europe"

4. Strategy and Foreign Policy

II. Evolution of Foreign Policy 1989 - 2012

5. Return to sovereingty 1989-1992

6. External security 1993-1999

7. European integration 2000-2004

8. The experience of IV Republic in Foreign Policy and its return after 2015 inm the form of "more nsovereignty" policy

III. European Integration in Polish Foreign Policy

9. From partnership to membership - accession process

10. Poland in the EU - the inventary

11. Institutional framework of Polish Membership

12. Dilemmas surrounding Polish Membership in the EU

IV. Poland in NATO

13. Accession process

14. Polish participation in NATO missions abroad

15. Poland and Lisbon Strategy 2010

V. Polish Eastern Policy

16. Eastern Partnership of the EU - Polish project

17. Ukrainian Crisis and challenges in the East

18. Challenges in relations with Russia

VI. Poland in Central Europe - Regional Policy of Poland

19. Regional Policy of Poland and Visegrad Group (V4)

20. Other regional initiatives (CEI, Baltic Council, Three Seas Initiative)

VII. Poland in international organizations

21. Poland in the UN and UN System

22. Poland in OSCE

23. Poland in Council of Europe

VIII. Poland and the emerging new global order

24. Crisis of 2008 and its consequences

25. G-2, BRICS, SCO and other initiatives

26. Poland toward the emerging markets. and especially China's BRI 17+1 and AIIB

IX. Poland towards the global challenges

27. Terrorism and cyberterrorism

18. Climate change and latrenative energy sources

29. Environmenatl challenges

30. COVID-19 and its effects for Poland and the world

Student's workload:

lecture - 30 hrs

preparation to the lecture - 45 hrs

preparation to the exam - 45 hrs

total time - 120 hrs

1. "Polska polityka zagraniczna RP 1989 - 2002", pod red. R. Kuźniara, K. Szczepanika, ASKON, Warszawa 2002;

2. R. Kuźniar, "Droga do wolności. Polityka zagraniczna III Rzeczypospolitej", SCHOLAR, Warszawa 2008.

3. R. Zięba, "Główne kierunki polityki zagranicznej Polski po zimnej wojnie", Wyd. Akademickie i Profesjonalne,Warszawa 2010.

4. „Polityka zagraniczna Polski po wstawieniu do NATO i do Unii Europejskiej. Problemy tożsamości i adaptacji”, pod red. S. Bielenia, Difin, Warszawa 2010.

5. "Poland's Foreign Policy in the 21st Century" Ed. By. S. Bieleń, Warsaw 2010

6. "Obama Is Poland's Only Hope", "Foreign Policy", January 21, 2016

7. J. Zielonka, "Kontrrewolucja. Liberalna Europa w odwrocie", PWN, Warszawa 2018.

8. "Europe's Crises", Ed. by Manuel Castells et al., Polity, Cambridge 2018

9. Parag Khanna, "The Future is Asan", Simon and Schuster, New York 2019

After completion of the course, students shall be able to:

KNOWLEDGE:

- explain the essence of changes taking place in the international order in the first decade of the 21st century

- identify the evolution trends of Polish Foreign Policy (European integration, security policy, etc.)

- identify main Polish institutions responsible for foreign policy creation and evaluate their role

- specify Polish position on global, European and regional arena

- know what is the Polish position towards the major global challenges of contemporary era

SKILLS:

- indeopendently assess the decision-making process of Polish diplomacy

- decide, how to have a postitive impact on foreign policy of the state

- analyze and create an inventary of positive and negative aspoects of Polish behaviour on international arena

- know where he or she individually could have an impact on forign policy implementation (NGO, aid policy, blog, etc.)

ATTITUDES:

- try to independenty assess the efects of Foreign Policy

- understand, that foreign policy choices are a summary of individaual choices, i.e. evryone has a voice in democratic state

- impact on immedaite neigbourhood in positive sense

- be sensitive to the challenges and be aware of what is the Polish position on particular issues.

Writen exam to be passed after receiving 60 percent of required ponitage