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Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 145 - 175, 15.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.17067/asm.1757362

Abstract

References

  • Aktaş, H. M. (2010). The role of multinational corporations in the globalization process: The post-Cold War period (Master thesis, Istanbul University). Istanbul, Türkiye.
  • Alizade, Ferit. (2020). Polonya Siyasetinde Avrupacılık ve Ukrayna Politikaları. DSJOURNAL 1 (2). 121-140.
  • Ambroziak, Ł., Chojna, J., Gniadek, J., Juszczak, A., Miniszewski, M., Strzelecki, J., ... Wąsiński, M. (2021). The Visegrad Group – 30 years of transformation, integration and development. Polish Economic Institute.
  • Arı, T. (2018). Uluslararası İlişkiler Teorileri. 9. Baskı Pdf. Tayyar Arı.
  • Aslan, D. H. (2021). Poland’s foreign policy after the Cold War: 1989–2019. Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Bailey, C. (2017). Socialist Visions of European Unity in Germany: “Ostpolitik” since the 1920s? Contemporary European History, 26(2), 243–260. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26294183
  • Balcer, A., Buras, P., Gromadzki, G., & Smolar, E. (2016). Change in Poland, but what change? Assumptions of Law and Justice party foreign policy. Warsaw.
  • Balcerowicz, E. (2007). The impact of Poland's EU accession on its economy (CASE Report No. 335). Center for Social and Economic Research. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1015782 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1015782
  • Banasik, M. (2019). Fort Trump as a Chance for Security in Europe. Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach.
  • Baumann, R., & Hellmann, G. (2001). Germany and the use of military force: 'Total war', the 'culture of restraint', and the quest for normality. German Politics, 10(1).
  • Bomberg, E., & Stubb, A. (2004). The European Union: How does it work? (p. 116). Oxford University Press.
  • Bronisław Geremek, Rok 1989 -- Geremek odpowiada, Jacek Zakowski pyta (Warsaw: Plejada 1990), trans. James E. Bjork
  • Cadier, D., & Szulecki, K. (2020). Populism, historical discourse and foreign policy: the case of Poland’s Law and Justice government. International Politics, 57(6), 990–1011.
  • Candan, K. (2014). 1989 yuvarlak masa görüşmelerinden günümüze çeyrek asır: Polonya Cumhuriyeti’nde yarı-başkanlık sistemi. In H. Y. Kaya (Ed.), Karşılaştırmalı hükümet sistemleri yarı-başkanlık sistemi: Fransa, Polonya ve Rusya örnekleri (pp. 99–172). TBMM Araştırma Merkezi.
  • Dangerfield, M. (2009). The contribution of the Visegrad Group to the European Union's 'Eastern' policy: Rhetoric or Reality?. Europe-Asia Studies, 61(10), 1735–1755.
  • Davies, N. (2005). Poland: God's Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. II: 1795 to the Present. Oxford University Press.
  • Demir, R. (2015). “A Historical Sociological Approach to the Evolution of Poland”, Journal of Caspian Affairs, 1(1), (Spring): 115-134.
  • Erdal, L., & Çolakoğlu, S. (2007). Evaluation of the EU membership process of Greece, Poland, and Turkey in terms of political criteria. Ankara Journal of European Studies, Spring, 2(2), 69–97.
  • Erler Bayır, Ö. (2011). Soğuk Savaş sonrası Atlantikçilik-Avrupacılık ikileminde Polonya dış politikası (Doktora tezi). İstanbul Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İstanbul.
  • European Commission. (1996). The PHARE programme annual report 1995, COM (96) 360 final (p. 3).
  • European Commission. (2025, May 19). Economic forecast for Poland. European Commission – Economy and Finance – Economic surveillance of EU economies. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://economy- finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-surveillance-eu-economies/poland/economic-forecast-poland_en
  • Fukuyama, F. (1992). The end of history and the last man. New York, NY: Free Press.
  • Gaddis, J. L. (2005). The Cold War: A new history. The Penguin Press.
  • Güngör, T. (2022). Russian policy in the Arctic in the post-Cold War period (Master thesis, Middle East Technical University). Ankara, Turkey.
  • Hummer, W. (2017). Rechtstaatlichkeit Probleme in Ungarn und Polen. EU-Infothek.
  • Judt, T. (2005). Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945. The Penguin Press.
  • Kardaş, Ş., & Balcı, A. (2015). Uluslararası ilişkilere giriş (4. baskı). Küre Yayınları.
  • Kesselman, M., Krieger, J., & Joseph, W. A. (2014). Introduction to comparative politics: Political challenges and changing agendas (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
  • Klatt, M. (2011). Poland and its Eastern neighbours: Foreign policy principles. University of Melbourne.
  • Koçak, S. Y., & Genç, F. N. (2012). A comparative assessment in public administration studies: Poland's semi- presidential system and Turkey. In H. Kavruk (Ed.), Kuram ve Yöntem Açısından Türkiye’de Kamu Yönetimi Bildiriler Kitabı [Proceedings on Theory and Method in Public Administration in Turkey] (pp. 837-852). Ankara: TODAİE.
  • Kratochwil, F. (1989). Rules, norms, and decisions: On the conditions of practical and legal reasoning in international relations and domestic affairs (p. 126). Cambridge University Press.
  • Kupiecki, R. (2019). Poland and NATO after the Cold War. Warsaw.
  • Kutlu, Ö., & Usta, S. (2013). Polonya’da yerel yönetimler. In M. Okçu & H. Özgür (Eds.), Dünyada yerel yönetimler: Örnekler-uygulamalar (pp. 507–543). Seçkin Yayıncılık.
  • Kuzniar, Roman. Polska Polityka Bezpieczenstwa 1989-2000. Warszawa: Scholar Publishing House, 2000 (in Polish).
  • Laruelle, M. (2016). Russia as an anti-liberal European civilisation. In P. Kolstø & H. Blakkisrud (Eds.), The New Russian Nationalism: Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism 2000–2015 (pp. 275–297). Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1bh2kk5.17
  • Mazurkiewicz, A. (2022). John Pomfret: From Warsaw with Love. University of Gdańsk Repository. https://repozytorium.bg.ug.edu.pl/docstore/download/UOG1bcf65e2333e4e63a8a9d8a961a40973/Mazurkie wicz_Anna_John_Pomfret_From_Warsaw_2022.pdf
  • Michta, A. A. (1995). Poland and NATO: The road ahead. SAIS Review, 15(2), 137–151. The Johns Hopkins University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45345295
  • Obydenkova, A. (2006). Democratization, Europeanization and regionalization beyond the European Union: Search for empirical evidence. European Integration Online Papers, 10(1), 5.
  • Pugacewicz, T. (2022). Foreign policy analysis in post-Cold War Poland: History, teaching, institutions, westernization, and theoretical approaches (pp. 257–283). Jagiellonian University Press.
  • Rose, G. (1998). Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy [Review of The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security; Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization, and Sino-American Conflict, 1947-1958; Deadly Imbalances: Tripolarity and Hitler’s Strategy of World Conquest; The Elusive Balance: Power and Perceptions during the Cold War; From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America’s World Role, by M. E. Brown, T. J. Christensen, R. L. Schweller, W. C. Wohlforth, & F. Zakaria]. World Politics, 51(1), 144–172. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25054068
  • Sakwa, R. (2015). The death of Europe? Continental fates after Ukraine. International Affairs, 91(3), 553–579. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12281
  • Schimmelfennig, F., & Sedelmeier, U. (2005). The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe (pp. 1–28). Cornell University Press.
  • Sönmezoğlu, F., & Erler Bayır, Ö. (2014). Dış Politika Karşılaştırmalı Bir Bakış. DER Yayınları, 293-339.
  • Styczyńska, N. (2023). Conflict or Conciliation? The Polish elections of 2023 and their consequences for the EU (European Policy Analysis No. 2023:13epa). Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies. https://sieps.se/en/publications/2023/conflict-or-conciliation-the-polish-elections-of-2023-and-their- consequences-for-the-eu/
  • Sulowski, S. (2013). Polish foreign policy since 1989. Studia Politologiczne, 31, 20–50.
  • Szilágyi, I. M. (2014). Problems and future possibilities of Visegrad cooperation. AARMS, 13(2), 295–304.
  • Tek, Ş. (2022). Trump Dönemi Transatlantik İlişkileri. Scientific Journal of Finance and Financial Law Studies, 2(1), 13-38.
  • The World Bank. (2018). 2018 GNI data for Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic. The World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.MKTP.CD?end=2018&locations=PL-HU-CZ- SK&start=2018&view=bar
  • Uğur, Ö., & Doğan, K. C. (2017). The impact of Europeanization on Polish public administration in the EU accession process. ASSAM International Refereed Journal (ASSAM - UHAD), 4(8), 30–45.
  • Vinton, L. (1992). Poland's "Little Constitution" clarifies Walesa's powers. RFE/RL Research Report, 1(35).
  • Voytyuk, O. (2022). The Baltic Pipe and its impact on energy security in Central and Eastern Europe. Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal, 25(1), 89–108. https://doi.org/10.33223/epj/145554
  • Walczak, L., & Polish Navy. (2004). NATO enlargement: Strategic impact on Poland’s security.
  • Walt, Stephen M. The Origins of Alliances. Cornell University Press, 1987.
  • Wilczyński, R. (1994). The role of international financial institutions in Poland's transition to a market economy. Eastern European Economics, 32(5), 36-50.
  • World Bank (2006a). World Bank EU-8 Quarterly Economic Report, Part II: Special Topic: Labor Migration from the New EU Member States.
  • World Bank. (n.d.). GDP (constant 2015 US$) - Poland. World Bank Data. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?end=2024&locations=PL&start=2015&view=chart
  • World Bank. (n.d.). GDP growth (annual %) - Poland. World Bank Data. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2024&locations=PL&start=2015&view=chart
  • Wyrozumska, A. (2002). Direct application of the Polish constitution and international treaties to private conduct. In W. Czapliński (Ed.), Poland’s way to the European Union (pp. 9–13). Warsaw.
  • Yang, S.-Y. (2008). Europeization and the promotion of political development in Poland. Krakowskie Studia Miedzynarodowe.
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Soğuk Savaş Sonrası Dönemde Polonya'nın Dış Politika Dönüşümü

Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 145 - 175, 15.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.17067/asm.1757362

Abstract

Bu makale, Polonya’nın Soğuk Savaş sonrası dış politika dönüşümünü neo-klasik realizm çerçevesinde incelemekte; özellikle Batılı kurumlara entegrasyonu ve küresel dinamiklerin evrimiyle şekillenen stratejik yeniden konumlanmayı ele almaktadır. Bu bağlamda çalışma, Polonya’nın Soğuk Savaş sonrası dış politikasının ilk dönemlerde olduğu gibi yalnızca Batı’ya entegrasyonu teşvik eden sistemik baskılarla değil, aynı zamanda çok kutupluluğun etkisiyle özellikle Hukuk ve Adalet Partisi (PiS) döneminde belirginleşen iç siyasal dinamiklerin bu baskıları aracılık ederek daha seçici, iddialı ve bölgeselci bir dış politika yönelimi üretmesiyle şekillendiği hipotezini ileri sürmektedir. 1991 yılında iki kutuplu düzenin çökmesinin ardından Amerika Birleşik Devletleri baskın küresel aktör olarak öne çıkarken; küreselleşmenin yükselişi de ülkenin batı eksenli uluslararası ilişkilerini şekillendirmiştir. Bu çerçevede Polonya, dış politika hedeflerini yeniden tanımlayarak önce NATO ve sonra Avrupa Birliği’ne katılmayı öncelik haline getirmiş ve öncesinde transatlantik güvenlik yapılarıyla ikinci Irak Savaşında konumlanmıştır. Çalışma, Polonya’nın demokratikleşme sürecini, piyasa ekonomisine geçiş döneminde uluslararası finans kuruluşlarıyla kurduğu ilişkileri ve Visegrad Grubu ile Üç Deniz Girişimi gibi bölgesel inisiyatifler aracılığıyla yeni bölgesel jeopolitik konumunu pekiştirmesini ele almaktadır. Ayrıca, çalışmada AB’nin ekonomik, göç, güvenlik sorunları ve Rusya’nın yayılmacılığı karşısında etkisiz kalması, küresel systemin çok kutupluluğa evrilmesi, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ile kurulan stratejik ittifaka ve Rusya’ya olan enerji bağımlılığını azaltmaya yönelik enerji güvenliği politikalarının evrimine de özel bir dikkat gösterilmektedir. Makale esas olarak, Hukuk ve Adalet Partisi (PiS) yönetimindeki popülist yönetişimin etkilerini değerlendirmekte; Avrupa Birliği ile artan gerilimleri, hukukun üstünlüğüne yönelik tehditleri ve diplomatik kurumların yeniden yapılandırılmasını irdelemektedir. Çalışmanın yöntemi hem betimleyici hem de tartışmacı niteliksel içerik analizine dayanmaktadır; resmi Politika belgelerinden yararlanılarak Türk uluslararası ilişkiler literatürüne katkı yapılmak istenmiştir. Bu çalışma, Polonya’nın Soğuk Savaş sonrası dış politikasının başlangıçta Batı’ya geçiş ve entegrasyon etrafında şekillendiğini, ancak son yıllarda iç siyasi değişimlerle yön verilen daha iddialı bir bölgeselcilik ve seçici transatlantikçiliğe doğru kayma, bu yönüyle dış politikada çeşitlilik yaşandığını savunmaktadır.

References

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  • Alizade, Ferit. (2020). Polonya Siyasetinde Avrupacılık ve Ukrayna Politikaları. DSJOURNAL 1 (2). 121-140.
  • Ambroziak, Ł., Chojna, J., Gniadek, J., Juszczak, A., Miniszewski, M., Strzelecki, J., ... Wąsiński, M. (2021). The Visegrad Group – 30 years of transformation, integration and development. Polish Economic Institute.
  • Arı, T. (2018). Uluslararası İlişkiler Teorileri. 9. Baskı Pdf. Tayyar Arı.
  • Aslan, D. H. (2021). Poland’s foreign policy after the Cold War: 1989–2019. Akademisyen Kitabevi.
  • Bailey, C. (2017). Socialist Visions of European Unity in Germany: “Ostpolitik” since the 1920s? Contemporary European History, 26(2), 243–260. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26294183
  • Balcer, A., Buras, P., Gromadzki, G., & Smolar, E. (2016). Change in Poland, but what change? Assumptions of Law and Justice party foreign policy. Warsaw.
  • Balcerowicz, E. (2007). The impact of Poland's EU accession on its economy (CASE Report No. 335). Center for Social and Economic Research. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1015782 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1015782
  • Banasik, M. (2019). Fort Trump as a Chance for Security in Europe. Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach.
  • Baumann, R., & Hellmann, G. (2001). Germany and the use of military force: 'Total war', the 'culture of restraint', and the quest for normality. German Politics, 10(1).
  • Bomberg, E., & Stubb, A. (2004). The European Union: How does it work? (p. 116). Oxford University Press.
  • Bronisław Geremek, Rok 1989 -- Geremek odpowiada, Jacek Zakowski pyta (Warsaw: Plejada 1990), trans. James E. Bjork
  • Cadier, D., & Szulecki, K. (2020). Populism, historical discourse and foreign policy: the case of Poland’s Law and Justice government. International Politics, 57(6), 990–1011.
  • Candan, K. (2014). 1989 yuvarlak masa görüşmelerinden günümüze çeyrek asır: Polonya Cumhuriyeti’nde yarı-başkanlık sistemi. In H. Y. Kaya (Ed.), Karşılaştırmalı hükümet sistemleri yarı-başkanlık sistemi: Fransa, Polonya ve Rusya örnekleri (pp. 99–172). TBMM Araştırma Merkezi.
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  • Demir, R. (2015). “A Historical Sociological Approach to the Evolution of Poland”, Journal of Caspian Affairs, 1(1), (Spring): 115-134.
  • Erdal, L., & Çolakoğlu, S. (2007). Evaluation of the EU membership process of Greece, Poland, and Turkey in terms of political criteria. Ankara Journal of European Studies, Spring, 2(2), 69–97.
  • Erler Bayır, Ö. (2011). Soğuk Savaş sonrası Atlantikçilik-Avrupacılık ikileminde Polonya dış politikası (Doktora tezi). İstanbul Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İstanbul.
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  • Gaddis, J. L. (2005). The Cold War: A new history. The Penguin Press.
  • Güngör, T. (2022). Russian policy in the Arctic in the post-Cold War period (Master thesis, Middle East Technical University). Ankara, Turkey.
  • Hummer, W. (2017). Rechtstaatlichkeit Probleme in Ungarn und Polen. EU-Infothek.
  • Judt, T. (2005). Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945. The Penguin Press.
  • Kardaş, Ş., & Balcı, A. (2015). Uluslararası ilişkilere giriş (4. baskı). Küre Yayınları.
  • Kesselman, M., Krieger, J., & Joseph, W. A. (2014). Introduction to comparative politics: Political challenges and changing agendas (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
  • Klatt, M. (2011). Poland and its Eastern neighbours: Foreign policy principles. University of Melbourne.
  • Koçak, S. Y., & Genç, F. N. (2012). A comparative assessment in public administration studies: Poland's semi- presidential system and Turkey. In H. Kavruk (Ed.), Kuram ve Yöntem Açısından Türkiye’de Kamu Yönetimi Bildiriler Kitabı [Proceedings on Theory and Method in Public Administration in Turkey] (pp. 837-852). Ankara: TODAİE.
  • Kratochwil, F. (1989). Rules, norms, and decisions: On the conditions of practical and legal reasoning in international relations and domestic affairs (p. 126). Cambridge University Press.
  • Kupiecki, R. (2019). Poland and NATO after the Cold War. Warsaw.
  • Kutlu, Ö., & Usta, S. (2013). Polonya’da yerel yönetimler. In M. Okçu & H. Özgür (Eds.), Dünyada yerel yönetimler: Örnekler-uygulamalar (pp. 507–543). Seçkin Yayıncılık.
  • Kuzniar, Roman. Polska Polityka Bezpieczenstwa 1989-2000. Warszawa: Scholar Publishing House, 2000 (in Polish).
  • Laruelle, M. (2016). Russia as an anti-liberal European civilisation. In P. Kolstø & H. Blakkisrud (Eds.), The New Russian Nationalism: Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism 2000–2015 (pp. 275–297). Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1bh2kk5.17
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  • Michta, A. A. (1995). Poland and NATO: The road ahead. SAIS Review, 15(2), 137–151. The Johns Hopkins University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45345295
  • Obydenkova, A. (2006). Democratization, Europeanization and regionalization beyond the European Union: Search for empirical evidence. European Integration Online Papers, 10(1), 5.
  • Pugacewicz, T. (2022). Foreign policy analysis in post-Cold War Poland: History, teaching, institutions, westernization, and theoretical approaches (pp. 257–283). Jagiellonian University Press.
  • Rose, G. (1998). Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy [Review of The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security; Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization, and Sino-American Conflict, 1947-1958; Deadly Imbalances: Tripolarity and Hitler’s Strategy of World Conquest; The Elusive Balance: Power and Perceptions during the Cold War; From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America’s World Role, by M. E. Brown, T. J. Christensen, R. L. Schweller, W. C. Wohlforth, & F. Zakaria]. World Politics, 51(1), 144–172. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25054068
  • Sakwa, R. (2015). The death of Europe? Continental fates after Ukraine. International Affairs, 91(3), 553–579. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12281
  • Schimmelfennig, F., & Sedelmeier, U. (2005). The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe (pp. 1–28). Cornell University Press.
  • Sönmezoğlu, F., & Erler Bayır, Ö. (2014). Dış Politika Karşılaştırmalı Bir Bakış. DER Yayınları, 293-339.
  • Styczyńska, N. (2023). Conflict or Conciliation? The Polish elections of 2023 and their consequences for the EU (European Policy Analysis No. 2023:13epa). Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies. https://sieps.se/en/publications/2023/conflict-or-conciliation-the-polish-elections-of-2023-and-their- consequences-for-the-eu/
  • Sulowski, S. (2013). Polish foreign policy since 1989. Studia Politologiczne, 31, 20–50.
  • Szilágyi, I. M. (2014). Problems and future possibilities of Visegrad cooperation. AARMS, 13(2), 295–304.
  • Tek, Ş. (2022). Trump Dönemi Transatlantik İlişkileri. Scientific Journal of Finance and Financial Law Studies, 2(1), 13-38.
  • The World Bank. (2018). 2018 GNI data for Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic. The World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.MKTP.CD?end=2018&locations=PL-HU-CZ- SK&start=2018&view=bar
  • Uğur, Ö., & Doğan, K. C. (2017). The impact of Europeanization on Polish public administration in the EU accession process. ASSAM International Refereed Journal (ASSAM - UHAD), 4(8), 30–45.
  • Vinton, L. (1992). Poland's "Little Constitution" clarifies Walesa's powers. RFE/RL Research Report, 1(35).
  • Voytyuk, O. (2022). The Baltic Pipe and its impact on energy security in Central and Eastern Europe. Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal, 25(1), 89–108. https://doi.org/10.33223/epj/145554
  • Walczak, L., & Polish Navy. (2004). NATO enlargement: Strategic impact on Poland’s security.
  • Walt, Stephen M. The Origins of Alliances. Cornell University Press, 1987.
  • Wilczyński, R. (1994). The role of international financial institutions in Poland's transition to a market economy. Eastern European Economics, 32(5), 36-50.
  • World Bank (2006a). World Bank EU-8 Quarterly Economic Report, Part II: Special Topic: Labor Migration from the New EU Member States.
  • World Bank. (n.d.). GDP (constant 2015 US$) - Poland. World Bank Data. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?end=2024&locations=PL&start=2015&view=chart
  • World Bank. (n.d.). GDP growth (annual %) - Poland. World Bank Data. Retrieved July 28, 2025, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2024&locations=PL&start=2015&view=chart
  • Wyrozumska, A. (2002). Direct application of the Polish constitution and international treaties to private conduct. In W. Czapliński (Ed.), Poland’s way to the European Union (pp. 9–13). Warsaw.
  • Yang, S.-Y. (2008). Europeization and the promotion of political development in Poland. Krakowskie Studia Miedzynarodowe.
  • Yapıcı, U. (2018). Gorbachev, Yeltsin ve Putin/Medvedev yönetimlerinin bir dış politika aracı olarak Katın Katliamı söylemi. Karadeniz Araştırmaları.
  • Yeşiltaş, S., & Erdem, T. (2021). Vişegrad Grubu Üzerine Bir Analiz: Oluşumu, İşleyişi, Etkileri ve Sorunlar. OPUS International Journal of Society Research, 18(40), 2961-2998. https://doi.org/10.26466/opus.871140
  • Zakaria, F. (2008). The post-American world. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Zięba, R. (2019). The 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO. In Open Door: NATO and Euro-Atlantic security after the Cold War (p. 197–214). Foreign Policy Institute and Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.
  • Zieba, R. (2022). Poland’s Foreign Policy Under the Rule of the Law and Justice Party. SİYASAL: Journal of Political Sciences, 31(Suppl. 1), P11–P26.
  • Zwolski, K. (2017). Poland’s foreign-policy turn. Survival, 59(4), 167-182.

Poland’s Foreign Policy Transformation in the Post-Cold War Era

Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 145 - 175, 15.01.2026
https://doi.org/10.17067/asm.1757362

Abstract

This article examines Poland’s post-Cold War foreign policy transformation through the lens of neoclassical realism, focusing on its integration into Western institutions and the strategic recalibration driven by evolving global dynamics. In this context, this article hypothesizes that Poland’s post-Cold War foreign policy has been shaped not only-as the previous decades-by systemic pressures favouring Western integration, but also by domestic political dynamics which, particularly under the Law and Justice Party (PiS), later it have mediated these pressures and produced a more selective, assertive, and regionally oriented foreign policy orientation with the emerging multipolarity. Following the collapse of the bipolar order in 1991, the United States emerged as the dominant global actor, while the rise of globalization reshaped the country’s western centric international relations. In this context, Poland redefined its foreign policy objectives by prioritizing first, accession to NATO and later the European Union, and aligning itself with transatlantic security structures during second Iraq Wars. The study explores Poland’s democratization process, its engagement with international financial institutions during the transition to a market economy, and the consolidation of its new regional geopolitical position through initiatives such as the Visegrad Group and the Three Seas Initiative. Furthermore, the study examines the EU’s infectiveness in the face of economic, migration, security, Russian revisionism questions with the evolution of multipolarity of global system which all particular attention is paid to the strategic alliance with the United States and the evolution of energy security policies aimed at reducing dependence on Russia. Moreover, the article assesses the implications of populist governance under the Law and Justice Party (PiS), highlighting rising tensions with the European Union, challenges to the rule of law, and the restructuring of diplomatic institutions. Drawing on both descriptive and discursive qualitative content analysis of policy documents due to contribute more to Turkish academic literature, this study argues that while Poland’s post-Cold War foreign policy initially revolved around from transition to Western integration, however, recent years have witnessed a shift to diversity toward assertive regionalism and selective trans-Atlanticism shaped by domestic political change.

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma etik beyan ilkelerine uyularak hazırlanmıştır.

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There are 65 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Relations (Other)
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Murat Alakel 0000-0002-6785-0523

Uğur Can Özkan 0009-0002-6427-0184

Submission Date August 3, 2025
Acceptance Date January 2, 2026
Publication Date January 15, 2026
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 14 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Alakel, M., & Özkan, U. C. (2026). Poland’s Foreign Policy Transformation in the Post-Cold War Era. Asia Minor Studies, 14(1), 145-175. https://doi.org/10.17067/asm.1757362