The Role of Ideology in Polish Foreign Policy, 1918-1921
The Role of Ideology in Polish Foreign Policy, 1918-1921

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the sources of foreign policy decisions made by Polish leaders in the period between 1918 and 1921. Reappearing on the map of Europe after more than a century of absence, Warsaw controlled a territory devastated by war, formerly owned by three different empires, in need of a unified administration. Despite a clear incentive to aspire to a stable security environment, Poland engaged in conflicts with most of its neighbors. Developing a case study in foreign policy analysis, this paper reveals how ideological motives prevailed in the minds of the rulers formulating Warsaw’s approach to external affairs, thus involving the Second Republic in hostilities for the first three years of its existence.

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