The article analyses the role played by the Polish diplomacy in the process of developing and implementing the eastern policy of the European Union. Following a presentation of the relevant definition of this policy, as well as its main aims, the geographical and time framework, the author discusses the essential historical determinants that condition its present shape. This has been shown against the background of broader instruments of EU foreign policy, first of all the European Neighbourhood Policy. The EU Eastern Policy is one of the two essential components of the ENP, further divided into strategic partnership with Russia and a new instrument, the Eastern Partnership. The aims, instruments and principles of the latter have been discussed in more detail. The primary topic of the article, however, emphasises the role of Polish diplomacy, for which active participation in the development and implementation of the EU Eastern Policy is one of the key elements securing Poland’s national interests. In this context the author has shown the main Polish political and diplomatic initiatives and undertakings, especially the initiative of establishing the Eastern Partnership. The article ends with a brief attempt to evaluate the achievements and shortcomings in this regard, as well as to out¬line some forecasts.
The article attempts to analyze how the European Union plays its distinctive international role as a so-called soft power. The paper takes into account the fact that the EU acts on its external environment using primarily of a political, diplomatic, economic and cultural means, and not through the use of ‘hard’ instruments of coercion (including the armed forces). The concept of the European Union as a ‘soft power’ serves as a starting point for the presentation of other theories directly related to it – in the first place the concept of the EU as a ‘civilian power’ and ‘normative power’ and other theories derivatives. They take into account various aspects of the specificity of the European Union as a unique participant in contemporary international relations, restraining from using military force and promoting democratic values.
PL
W artykule podjęto próbę analizy tego, w jaki sposób Unia Europejska odgrywa charakterystyczną dla siebie międzynarodową rolę tzw. „łagodnej potęgi” (soft power). W rozważaniachwzięto pod uwagę fakt, że UE oddziałuje na swoje otoczenie zewnętrzne za pomocą przede wszystkim środków o charakterze politycznym, dyplomatycznym, ekonomicznym, kulturowymitp., a nie poprzez zastosowanie „twardych” (hard) instrumentów przymusu (w tym siły zbrojnej). Koncepcja Unii Europejskiej jakosoft power posłużyła jako punkt wyjścia do prezentacjiinnych teorii bezpośrednio z nią związanych, w pierwszym rzędzie koncepcji UE jako civilian power, a następnie normative poweri innych teorii pochodnych. Uwzględniają one rozmaite aspekty specyfiki Unii Europejskiej jako unikatowego uczestnika współczesnych stosunków międzynarodowych, powstrzymującego się od wykorzystywania siły militarnej i promującegowartości demokratyczne.
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