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The game Poland must play: remarks on the book Between the Bug and the Truth: Can Poland Rebuild Its Influence in the East?
ORCID: Paweł Kusiak: 0000-0002-7180-7149
Afiliacja: Akademia Marynarki Wojennej
Pages: 175–190
Edition: Lublin 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2025.2.7
Citation method: P. Kusiak, Gra, w którą Polska grać musi. Uwagi na marginesie książki „Między Bugiem a prawdą. Czy Polska może odbudować swoje wpływy na Wschodzie”, „Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej” 23 (2025), z. 2, s. 175–190, DOI: https://doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2025.2.7
Keywords: Belarus, Eastern Europe, grand strategy, international relations theory, Polish Eastern Europe policy, Russia, Ukraine
Abstract: The article offers a review and analytical interpretation of the book by Bartłomiej Wypartowicz and Wojciech Kozioł, Between the Bug and the Truth: Can Poland Rebuild Its Influence in the East?, published in 2024. The point of departure for the book under discussion is the question of whether Poland can and should become a significant political player in Eastern Europe, and what kind of “game” it in fact plays – or neglects to play – towards Ukraine and Belarus. The first part of the article discusses the structure of the book and its main themes: a diagnosis of Polish Eastern policy after 1989, an analysis of the internal conditions in Ukraine and Belarus, the role of history and memory politics in regional relations, and the authors’ outline of a possible future framework for cooperation between Poland and its neighbours. The second part interprets the book through the lens of the main currents in international relations theory: realism, liberalism, constructivism, and the critical/postcolonial tradition. The article concludes that the book constitutes an important contribution to the debate on Poland’s “grand strategy” towards the East and prompts reflection on Poland’s agency in a changing international order.
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