Foreign policy: Playground turned player

IN THE 20TH CENTURY Poland played a central role in international politics on several occasions: in 1920, when it beat back the Red Army; in 1939, when Poles exchanged the first shots of the second world war with Germans in Gdansk; and in 1980, when an organised movement, Solidarity, defied communist rule in the Soviet bloc for the first time.Yet for most of the 20th century Poland was a playground rather than player in international politics. For much of the time it was occupied by Austrians, Germans, Russians or Soviets. So when it emerged from communism, having known independence for only 20 of the previous 200 years, it was at first focused on itself and its transformation from a dictatorship with a centrally planned economy to a free-market democracy. Poles were poor and prickly, and many of them saw the divide with the West as unbridgeable.That changed when Poland, together with nine other countries, joined the European Union on May 1st 2004. As Poles became richer and more successful within the EU, their international stature grew, as did their self-confidence and enthusiasm for deeper integration. “Poles are still in love with the EU ten...



from The Economist: Special report http://ift.tt/VqUDfw