On 8 July 2026, Dr Damian Szacawa, Head of the Baltic-Nordic Team at the Institute of Central Europe (IEŚ), took part as a panellist in the expert roundtable entitle The Shadow Fleet and the Northern Turn in Regional Foreign Policy: Poland and Germany Facing Security Challenges in the Baltic Sea. The event was held in Berlin at the initiative of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Centre for Historical Research, in cooperation with the Berlin Office of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM).
In his opening remarks, Dr Damian Szacawa argued that the so-called “Northern Turn” in Poland’s foreign and security policy is not merely an adjustment to the country’s previous course, but rather represents a profound transformation of its geopolitical culture. He also emphasised that, since 2022, the security architecture of the Baltic Sea region has undergone a fundamental reconfiguration, driven in part by Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO, as well as significant increases in defence spending by Poland, the Baltic States, and the Nordic countries.
The IEŚ expert also underlined that the Northern Turn is based upon solid economic and energy foundations. Infrastructure investments such as the Baltic Pipe, the LNG terminal in Świnoujście, and the development of Poland’s seaports have ensured that the northern dimension is no longer simply a political choice, but has become a permanent component of the country’s strategic infrastructure.
The presentation was based on the article The Northern Turn in Poland’s Geopolitical Culture, co-authored by Damian Szacawa and Przemysław Oleksy and published in The Yearbook of the Institute of East-Central Europe, Vol. 23 (2025), No. 3. The article is available on the IEŚ website https://ies.lublin.pl/rocznik/riesw/2025/3/8/.
Dr Damian Szacawa Takes Part in Expert Roundtable in Berlin