ARTICLE
Raisons d’État. EU Security and Defence Policy
Framework in the Context of Polish
and German Interests. An Analysis
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Warsaw School of Economics
Publication date: 2016-12-31
Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations 2016;52(4):51-65
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The asymmetry of the cultures of security and different levels of perception of
security interests in their direct international environment remains (for now) an
insurmountable obstacle for Germany and Poland. Europe is facing new challenges,
the establishment of new powers and the decline of traditional state structures,
which is confronting it with threats aimed at weakening the European value system,
democratic frameworks, the rule of law and the protection of human rights.
Europe is losing to the rest of the world in terms of demographics, economy
and politics, and faces more and more obstacles in establishing alliances for the
purpose of the development and maintenance of prosperity. For the European
Union, this is a source of potential internal and external conflicts. Differences in
the external activities of the European Union will hinder it from playing the role of
a unified, responsible, international force in the future. It will therefore not be able
to create enough political will to establish a European Foreign, Security and Defence
Policy. On the contrary, the possibility of degradation of the achieved potential for
unification in the form of the EU’s Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy
must be taken into account. In such case, could Poland and Germany take the lead
on European defence policy?