Real breakthrough or pragmatic continuation? The Polish People's Republic in the assessment of German diplomacy on the eve of imposing martial law in Poland -discussion theses (original) (raw)
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2016
Reconciliation - Partnership - Security: Cooperation between Poland and Germany 1991-2016. The 25th Anniversary of the Treaty between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany on Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation The theme of this collection of academic essays relates to the dimensions of Polish-German cooperation with regard to security, which has mainly occurred during the last 25 years since the signing of the 1991 Treaty on Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany. Due to the complexity of Polish-German relations, it is also necessary to take their historical background into consideration. That is why some of the studies address historical aspects of the countries’ bilateral relationship, i.e. those prior to 1991, which will provide the readers with a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of Polish-German relations. The contributions deal with Polish-German cooperation on issues such as domestic and foreign security and defence as well as with their cooperation at the regional level. The authors have not only used secondary sources in their studies but also legal and archival documents plus other official papers. Since the articles were written by a group of international political scholars and historians, they contain sources in a variety of languages, mainly Polish, German and English, which adds to this volume’s value.
The present chapter aims at presenting the juridical nature of the Martial Law in Poland (1981-1985) in its broader political, economic and social context. That context is different from states of exception in capitalist polities, and therefore, in the next section I will put a strong emphasis on the ‘normalcy’ of state socialism, including the place of law and fundamental rights in that concrete order. Only against that background can the actual juridical value of the Martial Law be evaluated. The question whether there indeed existed an exceptional situation in December 1981 is a crucial one, as it determines whether the state of exception was justified in the light of the Constitution of the Polish People’s Republic, or not. The possibility of a ‘fraternal aid’ from Poland’s Warsaw Pact allies, keen on preserving authoritarian state socialism, is only one aspect of the exceptionality, discussed in the subsequent section. The economic, social but above all internal political situation – with the movement of Solidarność (Solidarity) challenging the hegemonic role of the Leninist party (i.e. the Polish United Workers’ Party, henceforth the ‘Party') – amounted to an exceptional situation, as I will argue. The next section, perhaps the most lawcentric one in this chapter, provides a brief overview of the juridical acts introducing martial law – that is, the resolution of the Council of State and the accompanying legislative decrees which, in my view, were all perfectly legal under the state-socialist constitution of the period. Finally, in the last section, I address the question of the nature of General Jaruzelski’s dictatura, specifically asking about its commissary or sovereign character, and about its role in transforming the Polish politity and building the foundations of the ‘rule of law’.
The Emergence of the Polish State in 1918 in the Light of International Law
Prawo i Więź nr 3 (37), 2021
The author presents the issue of the rebirth of Poland in 1918 from the perspective of international law. It was quite an important subject of legal studies conducted 100 years ago. Today this matter has been forgotten and, therefore, it is worth reminding of it from a new temporal perspective. The subject-matter, on which this article is based is provided by the most significant analyses performed by the representatives of the Polish scholarship of the interwar period, including in particular the works of the following professors: C. Berezowski, S. Hubert, Z. Cybichowski, W. Komarnicki, S. Bukowiecki, and documents of that period and stances and opinions of some leading foreign international jurists. While it would be easy to present the views expressed by authors, it is difficult to discuss the subject itself because the stances taken by the representatives of scholarship about it are not uniform. One may even say that they are confrontational. The said contradiction also follows from the incoherent international practice and the internal practice of the authorities of the Second Republic of Poland. The article not only collects and presents those contradictions but also indicates their significance and practical results. On the other hand, it aims at reconciling them, though perhaps not at the legal level, which is impossible in principle, but rather at the political level, which considers an additional aim that appeared after 100 years. It is-as stressed in summary-the need to promote Polish history (the State's image) abroad. Hence, the text was written in English. The article discusses the following matters: the historical and legal background of the reconstructed Polish statehood; the conception of the emergence of Poland as a new State; the conception of the continuity of the statehood that had existed before the partitions (the end of occupation); the approach of the domestic judiciary to the issue of the Polish statehood; the stance taken by the allied forces: recognition and treaty solutions; the issue of Polish borders; the succession of debts incurred by the partitioners; the succession of nationality. Thus, as far as possible-within limits imposed by editorial requirements-the text constitutes a complete analysis of the issue.
2017
The article attempts to analyse the practical examples of closer political, economic and military relations between Germany and Soviet Russia, and then the Soviet Union, in the years 1921-1926. The paper lays out the thesis that the closer German-Soviet political, economic and military relations, in the years 1921-1926, posed a significant threat to the security of the Second Polish Republic. To justify the above thesis both the literature and source materials were examined, including first of all the materials held in the Central Military Archives (Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe) in Warszawa-Rembertów. The materials gathered in the groups of records of the Second Department of the Polish Army High Command and the Collections of Russian records were found out to be of key importance. The collected archival materials made it possible to identify different planes of cooperation between the Germans and the Soviets in the discussed period and to establish to what extent the Polish military intelligence was aware of the feasibility and effects of such closer relations, resulting in a direct threat to the security of the Polish state. On the basis of the presented information it can be stated that the Polish military intelligence provided an accurate diagnosis of the examples of German-Soviet cooperation, often anti-Polish in its form and character. In the years 1921-1926, this cooperation was particularly intensified, posing a threat to the security of the Second Polish Republic and leading to negotiations regarding both the western and the eastern borders of Poland established after the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Riga.
Poland's Foreign Policy: the Power of Tradition. A monographic study, 2019
The monograph “Poland's foreign policy: the power of tradition” is devoted to the study of the main factors shaping the current foreign policy of the Republic of Poland. The main goal of the paper is to search for an answer to the question: what makes Polish politics the way we see it today? In an attempt to establish a causal link between the historical legacy of Polish politics and today's actions of Warsaw in the international arena, the author begins with streamlining the disparate phenomena of Polish political life. On the research path, the author moves from the conceptual and ideological foundations of Polish foreign policy to their actual expression in the country's foreign policy strategy. The author analyzes in detail the nature of the Polish course concerning the EU and NATO structures, as well as regional players. It is worth noting separately a chapter devoted to a detailed study of the critical causes of tension in Russian-Polish relations.