Poland

Abstract

Abstract This chapter looks at Poland’s policy towards NATO. Since its accession in 1999, Poland has considered the Alliance as the guarantor of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, the United States has been perceived as Poland’s main ally, on which to rely with regard to maintaining peace and security in Central and Eastern Europe. After the 2008 Russian–Georgian war, Poland started to opt for a change in NATO’s military posture, perceiving Russia as the biggest military threat and non-military challenge. This was reinforced following the 2014 Ukraine crisis. Warsaw has then worked towards developing a strong allied deterrence posture on the Eastern flank. In parallel, it has striven to enhance Polish–US ties and secure a US military presence on its soil. Poland sees itself both as a security consumer and as a security provider, notably through its participation in NATO’s out-of-area missions and reassurance measures towards other allies. Warsaw has also been investing in its own defence and consistently raised military expenditure above 2% of its gross domestic product. Looking forward, Poland sees manifold challenges for NATO, starting with concerns about the future of the US security and defence policy, the ability of European allies to engage more in collective defence, and rising tensions among allies. While NATO and military cooperation with the United States remain at the centre of Poland’s defence posture, Warsaw has started to explore possibilities of further enhancing ties with regional allies.