Foreign relations of Poland
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The
Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
is a
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
an country and member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, among others. Poland wields considerable influence in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
and is a
middle power In international relations, a middle power is a sovereign state that is not a great power nor a superpower, but still has large or moderate influence and international recognition. The concept of the "middle power" dates back to the origins of ...
in international affairs. The foreign policy of Poland is based on four basic commitments: to Atlantic co-operation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. The Polish economy is fairly open and relies strongly on international trade. Since the collapse of communism and its re-establishment as a democratic nation, Poland has extended its responsibilities and position in European and Western affairs, supporting and establishing friendly foreign relations with both the West and with numerous European countries.


History

Foreign policy topics are covered in the history articles: *
History of Poland The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy; through Poland's Golden Age, expansionism and becoming one of the largest European powers; to its collapse and partitions, two world wars, ...
**
History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795) The early modern era of History of Poland, Polish history follows the History of Poland in the Middle Ages, late Middle Ages. Historians use the term ''early modern Europe, early modern'' to refer to early modern period, the period beginning in app ...
**
History of Poland (1795–1918) From 1795 to 1918, Poland was split between Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and Russia and had no independent existence. In 1795 the third and the last of the three 18th-century partitions of Poland ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuania ...
, when it was split three ways between Germany, Russia and Austria and had no foreign policy ***
Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
(1807–1815) a semi-independent country ***
History of Poland during World War I While Poland did not exist as an independent state during World War I, its geographical position between the fighting powers meant that much fighting and terrific human and material losses occurred on the Polish lands between 1914 and 1918. When ...
**
History of Poland (1918–1939) The history of interwar Poland comprises the period from the revival of the independent Polish state in 1918, until the Invasion of Poland from the West by Nazi Germany in 1939 at the onset of World War II, followed by the Soviet Union from th ...
**
History of Poland (1939–1945) The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses primarily the period from the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to the end of World War II. Following the German–Soviet non-aggression pact, Poland was invaded by Nazi ...
**
History of Poland (1945–1989) The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Marxist–Leninist regime in Poland after the end of World War II. These years, while featuring general industrialization, urbanization and many improvements in the standard of living, ...
**
History of Poland (1989–present) In 1989–1991, Poland engaged in a democratic transition which put an end to the Polish People's Republic and led to the foundation of a democratic government, known as the Third Polish Republic (Polish: ''III Rzeczpospolita Polska''), follow ...


Integration with the West and Europe

After regaining independence in 1989, Poland has forged ahead on its economic reintegration with the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
. Poland also has been an active nation in advocating
European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
. In 1994, Poland became an associate member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU) and its defensive arm, the
Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
(WEU). In 1996, Poland achieved full
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
membership and submitted preliminary documentation for full EU membership. Poland formally joined the European Union in May 2004, along with the other members of the
Visegrád Group The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four, the V4, or the European Quartet) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-o ...
.


NATO membership

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950) is a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidarity ...
told a 2014 audience at the
Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...
that Poland sought to join NATO as early as 1992. In 1997, Poland was invited in the first wave of
NATO enlargement NATO is a military alliance of Member states of NATO, twenty-eight European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic ...
at the July
1997 NATO Madrid summit The 1997 Madrid summit was a NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain from 8–9 July 1997. It was the 15th NATO summit and the second in 1997, the previous one being held in Paris. The summit was notable for inviting three new members, Hungary, Poland, ...
. In March 1999, Poland became a full member of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. Poland promoted its NATO candidacy through energetic participation in the
Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; french: Partenariat pour la paix) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; ...
(PfP) program and through intensified individual dialogue with NATO. Poland was a part of the
multinational force in Iraq Multinational may refer to: * Multinational corporation, a corporate organization operating in multiple countries * Multinational force, a military body from multiple countries * Multinational state, a sovereign state that comprises two or more na ...
.


Bilateral relations

List of countries which Poland established diplomatic relations with:


Africa


Americas


Asia


Europe


Oceania


See also

*
List of diplomatic missions in Poland This article lists diplomatic missions resident in the Republic of Poland. At present, the capital city of Warsaw hosts 97 embassies. Several countries have ambassadors accredited to Poland, with most being resident in Brussels, Berlin or Moscow. ...
*
List of diplomatic missions of Poland This is a list of diplomatic missions of Poland Excluding from this listing are honorary consulates, cultural institutes, and trade missions. On the other hand, the Polish Office in Taipei is included, as it serves as a de facto embassy to Taiwa ...
*
Polish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq On March 17, 2003, then Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski announced that Poland would send about 2,000 troops to the Persian Gulf to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Polish soldiers had been present in the region since July 2002 and ...


References


Further reading

*Biskupski, M. B. ''The History of Poland.'' Greenwood, 2000. 264 pp
online edition
*''The Cambridge History of Poland'', 2 vols., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1941 (1697–1935), 1950 (to 1696). New York: Octagon Books, 197
online edition vol 1 to 1696
old fashioned but highly detailed * Davies, Norman. ''
God's Playground ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'' is a history book in two volumes written by Norman Davies, covering a 1000-year history of Poland. Volume 1: ''The origins to 1795'', and Volume 2: ''1795 to the present'' first appeared as the Oxford Cla ...
. A History of Poland. Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982 / . *Davies, Norman. ''Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland.'' Oxford University Press, 1984. 511 pp
excerpt and text search
* *Frucht, Richard. ''Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism'' Garland Pub., 200
online edition
* Gerson Louis L. '' Woodrow Wilson and the Rebirth of Poland 1914-1920'' (1972) * Hetherington, Peter. ''Unvanquished: Joseph Pilsudski, Resurrected Poland, and the Struggle for Eastern Europe'' (2012) 752p
excerpt and text search
*Kenney, Padraic. "After the Blank Spots Are Filled: Recent Perspectives on Modern Poland," ''Journal of Modern History'' (2007) 79#1 pp 134–61
in JSTOR
historiography * Klatt, Malgorzata. "Poland and its Eastern neighbours: Foreign policy principles." ''Journal of Contemporary European Research'' 7.1 (2011): 61-76
online
* Korbel, Josef. ''Poland Between East and West: Soviet and German Diplomacy toward Poland, 1919–1933'' (Princeton University Press, 1963) * Kuźniar, R. ed. ''Poland's Security Policy 1989-2000'' (Warsaw: Scholar Publishing House, 2001). *Lerski, George J. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945.'' Greenwood, 1996. 750 pp
online
* Leslie, R. F. et al. ''The History of Poland since 1863.'' Cambridge U. Press, 1980. 494 pp
excerpt
*Lukowski, Jerzy and Zawadzki, Hubert. ''A Concise History of Poland.'' (2nd ed. Cambridge U. Press, 2006). 408pp
excerpts and search
* Magocsi, Paul Robert t al. ''A History of East Central Europe'' (1974). *Pogonowski, Iwo Cyprian. ''Poland: A Historical Atlas.'' Hippocrene, 1987. 321 pp. * Prazmowska, Anita J. ''A History of Poland'' (2004\) *Sanford, George. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland.'' Scarecrow Press, 2003. 291 pp. * Snyder, Timothy. ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999'' (2003). * Wróbel, Piotr. ''Historical Dictionary of Poland, 1945-1996.'' Greenwood, 1998. 397 pp. * Zięba, Ryszard. ''Poland's Foreign and Security Policy'' Springer, 2020
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Relations Of Poland .
1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the Central England temperature, CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Uni ...
.
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
1795 Events January–June * January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the Central England temperature, CET records dating back to 1659. * January 14 – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Uni ...