Crossing Shadows: Polish Sovereignty, Post-Communist Foreign Policy and European Security.

摘要

This thesis examines the components of Poland's emerging foreign policy in light of the withdrawal of Soviet hegemony from Eastern Europe and efforts by the Poles to reestablish their political and economic autonomy. For the first time since the brief period between World Wars One and Two, Poland is free to construct a foreign policy based on their own perceptions of Polish national interests. The factors influencing these perceptions include an historical memory unique to Central Europe and the realities of a geostrategic position that continues to play a crucial role in European security. This thesis will examine the contributions that these factors have made to the Polish political character and their related impact on the formulation of the Polish strategy for internal reform and external stability. The developing strategy will then be examined in order to determine Poland's views of European security as it stands poised between a now united Germany and a disintegrating Soviet Union. This thesis will argue that Poland's strategy has the potential to provide a mechanism for Soviet reform and measured stability, while acting as a potential bridge for East European integration with the West. In this way, and because Poland's strategy provides for the maintenance of Western security institutions and the focussed commitment to an open and integrative European union, it will be argued that Poland stands as a valuable non-traditional partner for the United States during their mutual quest for a new European security paradigm.