Poland’s geopolitical strategy (2004–2015)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyse the strategic choices made in international relations by a smaller state that does not has the status of great powers and participates within the structures of the European Union. In the theoretical part of this article, a survey of selected theories presents the role of smaller states and their basic geopolitical strategic choices. It seems that the most commonly used strategy for smaller states is bandwagoning, i.e. attaching oneself to a great power in exchange for support and protection. Another basic strategy is called balancing. It is usually defined as an attempt to balance the influence and geopolitical clout of an overly strong actor. The variant of balancing is an attempt to build an alternative geopolitical core, composed of smaller countries in the region. Another variant is an attempt to “bind” powers in a framework of institutionalized international cooperation, preferably in the EU. An important strategy is buck-passing, which involves pushing responsibility to others. Yet another is appeasement, which involves giving in to the demands of the dominant state, and final approach may be the accumulation of wealth. In the empirical part, Poland’s geopolitical strategy is analysed, taking into account the European integration in that strategy.