| Summary: | After Poland assumed a pro-Western orientation following the end of the communist regime in 1989, its immediate foreign policy goals became to join NATO and the EU, the importance of Poland's relations with the newly emerging states in the ex-Soviet region lagged behind in the foreign policy agenda. While there was political consensus among the policy making elite and the populace about Poland's integration into Western structures and necessary resources and efforts were channelled to this end, challenges posed by the transformation in Poland's East was dealt with in a piecemeal fashion, devoid of a coherent conceptual Eastern policy framework and a strong institutional backing. However, as Poland's prospects of joining NATO and the EU became more secure. Eastern policy was increasingly debated in intellectual and academic circles and foreign policy makers searched for a more structured and robust response to the challenges brought about by relations with Poland's Eastern neighbours. Poland's Eastern policy has progressed since the early 1990s when its existence was doubted and became an important dimension of Poland's foreign policy and after joining the EU in 2004, Polish policy makers even contemplated how Poland's Eastern policy could influence and even shape the EU's relations with its Eastern neighbours. This study investigates the factors that contributed to the formation of an Eastern policy concept and domestic and international determinants that shaped Poland's relations with its Eastern neighbours. It presents how Polish foreign policy responded to a changing regional and international environment and gives an account of Poland's accession process to NATO and the EU and concurrent development of relations with the Eastern neighbours. It explores the legal framework and institutions that take part in foreign policy making and execution and offers an analysis of 20th century historical currents and intellectual and academic debates on EP. Poland's bilateral relations with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus constitute the main case studies where the impact on relations of domestic political discourses in Poland, the EU and NATO enlargement, economic and investment links, regional energy politics and the role of minorities and historical heritage are examined. As well as extensive primary and secondary sources, the study utilises in-depth interviews with high level Polish policy makers, academics and businessmen undertaken during fieldwork in Poland.
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