Suchergebnisse

The article addresses selected issues that constitute the main areas of Polish-Romanian relations in the 21st century in the political dimension and in the broad sense of security. Relations between Poland and Romania have been characterized in the context of the membership of both countries in the European Union. Particular emphasis was placed on the period of the Romanian Presidency, which lasted from January to the end of June 2019. The article indicates the most important common interests of our countries, the ways of their implementation, as well as potential opportunities for the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The article also takes into account the key challenges that Poland and Romania must meet in connection with EU membership.

Venezuela, which is the country with the largest documented oil reserves in the world, has been plunged into a political, economic and social crisis for several years, struggling with recession and multi-digit inflation. In the second half of the second decade of the 21st century, the country's economic and political situation deteriorated. Over a million Venezuelans have already migrated from their country, where there is a lack of basic everyday products, including food, medicines and hygiene products. In relation to this state, part of a discussion is not only the political or economic crisis, but also the humanitarian one. Venezuela's internal problems also affect security throughout the Latin American region. International institutions and regional organizations are trying to undertake activities aimed at ending the dictatorial rule of President Nicolás Maduro and restoring the country's democracy and the rule of law. Wenezuela, która jest państwem posiadającym największe udokumentowane złoża ropy naftowej na świecie, już od kilku lat pogrążona jest w kryzysie politycznym, gospodarczym i społecznym, a także zmaga się z recesją oraz z wielocyfrową inflacją. W drugiej połowie drugiej dekady XXI wieku sytuacja gospodarcza i polityczna tego kraju uległa pogorszeniu. Już ponad milion Wenezuelczyków wyemigrowało z kraju, w którym brakuje podstawowych produktów codziennego użytku, w tym żywności, lekarstw czy środków higienicznych. W odniesieniu do tego państwa mówi się obecnie nie tylko o kryzysie politycznym i gospodarczym, ale także humanitarnym. Problemy wewnętrzne Wenezueli mają także wpływ na bezpieczeństwo w całym regionie latynoamerykańskim. Międzynarodowe instytucje i organizacje regionalne starają się podejmować działania, które mają na celu zakończenie dyktatorskich rządów prezydenta Nicolása Maduro oraz przywrócenie w kraju demokracji i praworządności.

The work is a compendium of information and a study of Polish-Latin American relations, with particular emphasis on the implications of Poland's accession to the structures of the European Union in the context of the country's policy towards Latin America. The monograph is the first in the literature on the subject in which the title issue has been presented within the framework of the entire post-cold war period, i.e. 1989/1990–2016, and in a comprehensive way, on the political, economic, scientific and cultural levels. The author has focused on the analysis of bilateral relations with Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. The determinant of such a choice was the desire to discuss Poland's relations with its main Latin American partners. In accordance with the government document Strategia RP w odniesieniu do pozaeuropejskich krajów rozwijających się [Strategy of the Republic of Poland with regard to non-European developing countries] of 2004, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico were included among the priority partners, while Colombia and Venezuela were defined as important. These are the Latin American countries with which Poland conducts political dialogue both bilaterally and multilaterally (within the EU or the Pacific Alliance, which includes three of the countries listed in the Strategy – Mexico, Chile and Colombia), and Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile account for the largest percentage of Poland's trade with the region (about 75%). As far as the historical experience of mutual contacts is concerned, it should be noted that these countries, especially Brazil and Argentina, were the main directions of emigration from Poland to Latin America. The work also mentions Poland's relations with other countries of the region, such as Cuba, Peru, Panama and Ecuador. The study is devoted to the post-war period, but it takes into account the context of Poland's earlier policy towards Latin America, divided into the most characteristic stages, corresponding to continuity and change in the bilateral relations. It discusses Poland's contacts with the countries of this region in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as in the 19th century, when there was an increased emigration of Poles, especially to Brazil (the so-called Brazilian fever) and Argentina. The title issue has been presented in the bilateral and multilateral dimension, taking into account the formal and legal basis and the results of meetings at the highest and lowest levels. Factors hindering and facilitating relations between Poland and Latin American countries and the position of these countries in the foreign policy of Poland have been identified. Determinants and tendencies in Polish policy towards the Latin American region, its manifestations, as well as dilemmas and challenges that appeared in the 21st century have been presented. Moreover, arguments for intensification of mutual relations in bilateral and multilateral forums and potential areas of cooperation in the field of political, economic, scientific and cultural relations have been indicated.

Polish-Mexican relations on the political, economic, cultural and scientific levels have developed over the decades. The first political contacts between our two countries, after Poland regained its independence, were established in the 1920s. However, interstate contacts have not been developed on a larger scale. This was due, among others, to the fact that the Latin American countries did not occupy a priority position in Polish foreign policy neither before or after World War II. After 1990, Mexico became one of Poland's most important Latin American partners. The Polish-Mexican trade exchange has been growing systematically. In 2015, it exceeded USD 1 billion for the first time in history. In April 2017 the first, historic visit at the highest level of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, took place in Mexico. It was a positive manifestation of the need to strengthen relations at the highest level and to testify the political will to intensify Poland's relations with Mexico. In the second decade of the 21st century, we can talk about a "new opening" in Polish-Mexican relations. This manifests itself in both political and economic as well as cultural and scientific contacts. This article shows the most important manifestations of Poland's relations with Mexico in the first and second decade of the 21st century with some references to previous years.

The article addresses several issues that constitute the main areas of Polish-Romanian relations in the 21st century in the political dimension and in the broad sense of security. Relations between Poland and Romania have been characterized in the context of the membership of both countries in the European Union. Particular emphasis was placed on the period of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of EU, which lasted from January to the end of June 2019. The article indicates the most important common interests of both countries, the ways for their implementation, as well as potential opportunities for the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The article also takes into account the key challenges that Poland and Romania must face in connection with EU membership.

Polish-Mexican relations on the political, economic, cultural and scientific levels have developed over the decades. The first political contacts between our two countries, after Poland regained its independence, were established in the 1920s. However, interstate contacts have not been developed on a larger scale. This was due, among others, to the fact that the Latin American countries did not occupy a priority position in Polish foreign policy neither before or after World War II. After 1990, Mexico became one of Poland's most important Latin American partners. The Polish-Mexican trade exchange has been growing systematically. In 2015, it exceeded USD 1 billion for the first time in history. In April 2017 the first, historic visit at the highest level of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, took place in Mexico. It was a positive manifestation of the need to strengthen relations at the highest level and to testify the political will to intensify Poland's relations with Mexico. In the second decade of the 21st century, we can talk about a "new opening" in Polish-Mexican relations. This manifests itself in both political and economic as well as cultural and scientific contacts. This article shows the most important manifestations of Poland's relations with Mexico in the first and second decade of the 21st century with some references to previous years.

Background: The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumentalised on several occasions by powers that have seen a new sphere for realising their interests. One such power is the Russian Federation. The article aims to explain the importance of close relations with Venezuela for Russia's strategic objectives in expanding its political power in the Latin American region in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the research objective, the authors focused on answering the following research questions: How has the political crisis in Venezuela affected the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Why and how does Russia consistently support the regime of Nicolás Maduro in times of a pandemic crisis? The article's research hypothesis is that Russia used the new conditions of superpower policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen its influence on Venezuela's domestic politics to secure the realisation of its superpower interests. Methods: The authors used content analysis of media broadcasts, statements by politicians, and literature on the subject (in English, Russian and Spanish). In addition, the re-analysis of quantitative data made it possible, for example, to characterise the economic level of the relations. The main part of the research was completed in November 2021. The article uses methods characteristic of international relations research, including the method of decision analysis. Results: The results of the research confirm that Moscow's activity in Latin America should be interpreted as one of the manifestations of the reactivity of Russian geostrategy, i.e. a response to U.S. actions in the post-Soviet area. Conclusions: In this context, Caracas has a special position in Russia's policy as a key regional partner in energy cooperation and a market for the sale of military technologies. The research was conducted on 13 March 2020 and ended before 24 February 2022.

For Venezuela, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit a country that already has been in a multidimensional crisis for years in circumstances of economic and social devastation, and authoritarian rule. However, the pandemic accelerated Venezuela's transformation into a police state by introducing unsubstantiated pandemic restrictions that were enforced by the state security apparatus and abusive armed forces. The aim of the article is to show the instrumentalization of the COVID-19 pandemic in the area of radicalization of the Maduro regime and to answer the questions in which areas of the state's functioning and in what dimension the Nicolás Maduro regime used the pandemic and the related restrictions on civil rights to strengthen its authoritarian power, radicalize the activities of the security services, violate human rights, and to transform Venezuela into a police state.