The „Giedroyc’s doctrine” in the context of the European Union’s policy towards Russia

Abstract

Russian intervention in Donbas and annexation of Crimea have triggered a fundamental revision of the EU policy towards Easter neighbourhood and Russia. The main goal of this paper is to develop discussion about the EU strategy towards Russia by presenting political concept named “The Giedroyc doctrine”, created by Polish intellectuals on exile, when Poland was under Soviet domination. Although created a few decades ago, some elements of this doctrine are still surprisingly relevant today and may contribute to contemporary European debate. In particular, we argue that strengthening the prosperity, stability and security in Eastern Europe is possible only when Russia transforms itself into a prosperous and democratic state. Autocratic and neo-imperial Russia undermines any major pro-Western political changes in the region. Therefore, successful transformation of Russia into stable, prosperous and democratic state should be included into the long-term vision of European politicians who intend to keep Europe secure. All political activities in the Eastern neighbourhood should be subordinated to this. It means that economic support for Ukraine and strengthening cooperation with this country should not be a goal itself. Westernization of Ukraine ought to be perceived only as a beginning of political transformation of the whole region.

Keywords

• Polish eastern policy
• foreign policy of the EU
• Jerzy Giedroyc
• Juliusz Mieroszewski
• ULB
• international relations