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Poland and the international system: external influences on democratic consolidation

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Communist and Post-Communist Studies
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Franklin Steves at E3G
Franklin Steves
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Abstract

Democratization in Poland has been heavily influenced by agents and structures external to the Polish state. However, the influence of these external agencies is mediated through domestic social and political institutions, the state foremost among them. The Polish state’s response to and interaction with external agencies is heavily conditioned by the very process of democratization which these agencies seek to influence. Thus, the impact of external agencies on the democratic consolidation process cannot be understood without reference to the influence that democratization has played in reshaping Poland’s foreign relations. This paper explains the interaction between systemic and domestic factors in shaping the democratic consolidation process in Poland.
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Communist and Post-Communist Studies 34 (2001) 339–352
Poland and the international system: external
influences on democratic consolidation
F. Steves
*
Department of Government, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
Abstract
Democratization in Poland has been heavily influenced by agents and structures external to
the Polish state. However, the influence of these external agencies is mediated through dom-
estic social and political institutions, the state foremost among them. The Polish state’s
response to and interaction with external agencies is heavily conditioned by the very process
of democratization which these agencies seek to influence. Thus, the impact of external agenc-
ies on the democratic consolidation process cannot be understood without reference to the
influence that democratization has played in reshaping Poland’s foreign relations. This paper
explains the interaction between systemic and domestic factors in shaping the democratic con-
solidation process in Poland. 2001 The Regents of the University of California. Published
by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Democratization; Poland; Foreign policy; NATO/EU enlargement; Central Europe; Pan-Euro-
pean organizations
Introduction
Democratization in Poland, as in many countries across Eastern and Central Eur-
ope, was precipitated and has been heavily influenced by agents and structures exter-
nal to the Polish state. While the consensus within the democratization literature has
stressed the importance of domestic factors in democratic transition and consoli-
dation, the Polish case demonstrates the critical role of external factors in influencing
democratic consolidation. However, democratic elites and domestic populaces are
not merely passive objects of external influence; they are active agents of change who
* Tel.: +44-1206-872751; fax: +44-1206-873598.
E-mail address: fmstev@essex.ac.uk (F. Steves).
0967-067X/01/$ - see front matter 2001 The Regents of the University of California. Published by Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0967 -067X(01)00012-5
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