Poland’s Security Policy and the Geopolitical Consequences of the Crimean Conflict

Abstract

For twenty-five years Poland’s international environment had been considered stable and free from direct military threats. The crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s military intervention in the Crimea undermined this belief. Russia’s violation of the Ukrainian integrity should meet with an overwhelming response of the international community, especially United States and United Kingdom, who are – together with Russia – the guarantors of Ukraine’s security, territorial integrity and independence. The fulfillment of promises US and UK were given to Ukraine could be nowadays regarded as a test, which can assess ability to meet other obligations given by these two states, including those arising from allied systems. International repercussions of armed conflict in Ukraine may therefore affect not only the future status of Crimea and Ukraine, but also the credibility of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union (including the UK) and the United States. In this context the conflict in Ukraine can become a reason for forcing the review and possibly redefinition of the assumptions of Poland’s security policy. That is because security of Poland was based on three pillars: the NATO and EU membership, and the partnership with the United States. The binder of these pillars is the convince of keeping alliance commitment by the U.S. and partners from EU and NATO. The article discusses the evolution of Poland’s security policy. The article focuses on assessing the weight given by Poland to the compounds allied with NATO, the European Union and the United States and asks how the violation of the Ukrainian territorial integrity and the response to this delict given by the main actors of transatlantic relations can influence on Poland’s security policy.