‘Go West’: Poland’s Security Policy in Transition

Abstract

The West emerged victorious from the Cold War, but its global dominance only became apparent a few months after the beginning of the Autumn of Nations. The changes that began in 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe were so swift that it was not possible to predict in what direction they would evolve.¹ In 1991 the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and the USSR disintegrated into 15 separate states that had to face a number of domestic problems. Long-dormant conflicts broke out between some of them. The situation in the Balkans also became complicated. The Slovenian and Croatian declarations of independence in 1991 marked the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the breakout of bloody conflicts in the area. The appropriateness of NATO’s future existence was discussed, the Western European Union was revived, the integration process within the European Communities progressed apace, and the CSCE became increasingly active. A new international order was emerging—one in which member states of formerly opposite blocs had to redefine their international roles.