Przesłanki wewnętrzne i międzynarodowe upadku Związku Radzieckiego w 1991 roku oraz jego konsekwencje geopolityczne dla polityki zagranicznej Polski

Abstract

The article surveys the domestic and international determinants of the collapse of the Soviet Union and its implications for Poland’s external relations and the role it has been playing in Central and Eastern Europe. It demonstrates geopolitical shifts underway at that moment in history and their impact on the reorientation of Polish foreign policy at the turn of century. It addresses a number of research questions and tests hypotheses pertaining to the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the key assumption that the collapse of the USSR was induced not only by domestic factors, but also developments in Europe and globally, including the “Autumn of Nations”. The analysis shows that after the fall of the USSR, Polish foreign policy was conducted in accordance with the country’s raison d’Etat and weighed heavily on the region. It was premised on the Euro-Atlantic system and close relations with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Central and Eastern European countries. The research draws on classical realism, theories of foreign policy as well as constructivism. The following research methods were employed: review and critical analysis of documents and state-of-the-art literature. Polish and foreign published documents, books, articles, and reports, as well as press and Internet sources.