Suchergebnisse

The world of the 21st century provides an intriguing space for academic reflection, offering new challenges and stimulating new concepts of international relations. In this context there emerges the significant question of the essence and direction of these concepts. They may entail deconstruction followed by a reconstruction of the research space in this field. Astrategy of resetting cannot be excluded here, either. Assuming that reconstruction is the appropriate solution there are significant issues of its scope and direction. If a total reset is considered rational we need to address the issue of what it should involve. This is a difficult question for researchers into international relations because it would mean that the hitherto achievements of this subject are being questioned. The post-positivist approach of numerous researchers, which manifests their response to the positivist methodology in the field of international relations, has not so far produced a unified methodological formula or a relatively coherent theory of international relations. Questions concerning the function of science, the nature of the social world (ontology) and the relationship between knowledge and the world (epistemology) remain open. Therefore, it may be worth going back to M. Wight's provocative thesis that it is impossible to construct a reasonable theory of international relations, mainly owing to the dichotomy of the two fields of research that – in his opinion – cannot be overcome, namely the dichotomy of the 'international' (the realm of external affairs of states) and 'internal' (the realm of internal affairs within state), which are mutually exclusive because of their specificity; and once again ask the questions of how sensible the thesis of the dichotomy of both these environments is in a world that is strongly conditioned by the cross-border actors, interdependence and globalization. While the separateness of the 'internal' and 'external' state environments was, for Wight, an important obstacle, making it impossible to construct an academic theory explaining international relations, at the same time the current theory regarding their exclusivity in the context of the internalization of international affairs and the externalization of conditions inside states seems unsustainable. This phenomenon currently allows us to explain the imperative for combining these two environments, overlapping them …breaking down the old, established orders as a result of the now clearly visible phenomena and processes of the 'internal state' merging into the 'international environment' and vice versa, the disappearance of the traditional functions of borders, the weakening of old institutions and structures for steering the international environment as well as replacing them with entirely new institutions and structures.

Th e aim of this study was to analyse the rules of the foreign exchange reserves management in Poland and its legal basis. Having international currencies and/or easy access to them determine now a day the external solvency, credibility and stability of economies, and that's why the emerging market economies accumulate foreign exchange reserves in order to become more attractive for investors and creditors. Constitutional guaranteed central bank independence gives fully autonomy in defi ning of strategy and conducting of foreign exchange reserves policy based on internal regulations of the National Bank of Poland's decision-making bodies. Th ese legal solutions in Poland are consistent with international standards and trends in the way of risk management in foreign exchange reserves investment. Security and liquidity remains a priority. Current structure of National Bank of Poland international reserves refl ects these rules. Th ey are invested in the most reliable instruments denominated in the main international currencies.

The author presents a new European security environment after the cold war, including not only the challenges and threats to international security, but also the essentia conditions and problems of the evolution of European security at the beginning of XXI century. He shows the d ynamic and constant changes taking place within the international environment and those related to the progress of civilization. Moreover, he stresses that the current policy and security measures are not capable of effective action against having to appear before the new challenges and threats. Then, there is taken the problem of unity and identity in the transatlantic relationship. According to the author, in complicating sphere of international conditions increases the role of effectiveness of multilateral institutions of international cooperation. Due to the increasing importance of interdependence and internationalization, European security challenges are European-wide problem, and even transatlantic. Addressing them requires the preservation of unity, and this will be possible by strengthening the common identity based on shared values and common interests ; Autor przedstawia nowe środowisko bezpieczeństwa europejskiego po zimnej wojnie, w tym nie tylko wyzwania i zagrożenia dla międzynarodowego bezpieczeństwa lecz też zasadnicze warunki i problemy europejskiego bezpieczeństwa na początki XXI wieku. Pokazana tu została dynamika i ciągłość zmian zachodzących w międzynarodowym środowisku związanych z postępem technicznym. Ponadto podkreślony zostaje fakt, że środki, jakimi dysponuje współczesna polityka bezpieczeństwa nie są zdolne do skutecznego przeciwdziałania i zapobiegania nowym wyzwaniom i zagrożeniom

Contemporary Polish-Russian relations are examined, taking into consideration the broad internal conditions in Poland and in Russia. Negative mutual stereotypes prevail in both countries, shaped in the course of a complicated history of mutual relations, while the concepts of international policies in both states are underdeveloped and divergent. Polish-Russian relations are increasingly more influenced by external conditions, such as the profound change Europe is going through and the evolution of the entire international order. The most important modern issues in Polish-Russian relations concern the persistent differences in the perception of the history of mutual relations, dissimilar concepts of the European security system, and energy security. The conditions of relations between Poland and Russia affect Poland's ability to pursue its international interests in many areas: in relations with Russia and the CIS, in the forum of international organizations (NATO, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE and the UN), in relations with Poland's closest allies and partners (Germany, France, U.S. and Ukraine). Finally, Polish-Russian relations influence the position and international role of Poland, limiting it when these relations are bad or augmenting it when they are good. Since late 2007 Poland has been trying to conduct a pragmatic policy and normalize its relations with Russia. In general, Polish-Russian reconciliation seems feasible.

Russian Federation in Franco‑American relations during the post‑Cold‑War period. This article analyzes the role of Russia in the relations between 5th French Republic and United States of America after 1989. The manuscript suggests that Franco‑American relations in the Russian dimension are based not only on the elements of cooperation but also on rivalry. However it has to be noted, that the reasons of activity in this area are different. On the one hand, French politics focus mostly on European and economic dimension. On the other hand, Russian‑American relations are connected mostly with international security, nonproliferation and disarmament issues. The significance of Russian Federation in bilateral relations is important in the context of main challenges for international security. Despite some differences between France and USA, both countries understand that only the cooperation with Russia will allow to cope with the dangers of the 21st century.

The purpose of the present paper is to characterise the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution No. 65 276 on the 'Participation of the European Union in the work of the United Nations.' This resolution was adopted as a result of efforts undertaken by the EU following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon which radically changed the principles and conditions of the EU's participation in other international organisations. Pursuant to the provisions of Resolution 65 276, the EU was granted a new set of new rights at the UNGA as well as in some of its subsidiary bodies, international conferences and meetings held under its auspices. Despite these changes, the status of the EU at the UNGA is not similar to the status of observer states, and Resolution 65 276 points out that the same rights may also be accorded to other regional international organisations. Consequently, the UNGA does not account for the uniqueness of the integration process in the EU member states, treating the EU like any other international organisation.

There is no doubt that after the end of the Cold War the structure of the International System had to reformulate. 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, it is worth asking the question: Are the Contemporary International Relation turning into the unipolar or multipolar system? And what impact on present-day states' capabilities to conduct foreign policy the globalization has and will be having? To capture the essence of the contemporary international environment the text is devoted to the historical evolution of International Relations which highlights the characteristics of the current period. The article reveals that, as a result of unsettled structure of the Contemporary International System and increasing influence of the globalization, present-day governments tend to look for different reference systems, depending on the objective to be achieved. In order to maximize security and development opportunities and minimize the level of dependence states are creating flexible networks of key partners. It seems that, at the threshold of the 21th century a successful foreign policy making is seen as the ability to balance between efficient management and independent management. ; Nie ulega wątpliwości, że po zakończeniu zimnowojennych zmagań bipolarny system międzynarodowy musiał ulec przeformułowaniu. Po 20 latach od upadku Związku Radzieckiego warto postawić pytanie: Czy współczesna scena polityczna zmierza w kierunku układu jedno- czy wielobiegunowego? Nie mniej istotny jest wpływ globalizacji i regionalizacji (fragmentaryzacji) – wielopłaszczyznowych procesów, które od połowy XX wieku coraz intensywniej kształtują sytuację gospodarczo-społeczną oraz polityczną świata . Aby uchwycić sedno współczesnego otoczenia międzynarodowego niniejszy tekst poświęcony został historycznej ewolucji stosunków międzynarodowych, która uwypukli cechy charakteryzujące okres obecny. W rezultacie systemowych uwarunkowań współczesne rządy będą szukały różnych układów odniesienia w zależności od rodzaju celu, jaki chcą osiągnąć. Wobec pragmatyzacji polityki współczesnych państw, sieci kluczowych partnerów, odpowiadające poszczególnym priorytetom ich strategii rozwoju, wydają się być rozwiązaniem maksymalizującym szanse i minimalizującym zagrożenia. Skuteczna polityka doby XXI wieku jawi się więc, jako umiejętność balansowania pomiędzy sprawnym zarządzaniem, a niezależnym zarządzaniem, dającym aktorom maksymalne bezpieczeństwo i możliwości rozwoju, przy możliwym do zaakceptowania poziomie uzależnienia.

This paper demonstrates the most formidable challenges that the Policy Planning Staff in the Department of State has been facing since it was created in 1947 by G. Marshall and G. Kennan. In the first place attention is paid to the history of this institution. The following turning points were identified: the creation under G. Kennan and the incumbency of H. Kissinger as a Secretary of State. Then there are debated a few most important issues which the Policy Planning Staff deals with. It comprises difficulties in exerting influence, impossibility of merging the focus on strategic thinking with operational disposability. Finally, in the article there are presented some ideas of Z. Brzezinski who sought to enhance the Staff's performance. The intention of this article is to shed light on the obstacles that the policy planners have to tackle in order to effectively impact the American foreign policy. This issue has not been exhaustively discussed yet in the Polish scientific literature.