In October, Polish voters demonstrated that even extremely unequal elections against authoritarian incumbents can be won. The opposition’s victory, and the country’s subsequent re-democratisation, may hold useful lessons for likeminded forces in Hungary, Turkey, and …
This wasn’t supposed to happen. With sweeping control over state financial resources and public and local media, Poland’s populist ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), had a massive structural advantage in this month’s parliamentary election. …
The rocket strike that killed two Poles near their country’s border with Ukraine on 15 November proved to be a test not so much of defence policy as of the information policy of Poland, Ukraine …
Immediately after World War II, the Paris-exiled Polish intellectual Jerzy Giedroyc (of Lithuanian origins, born in Minsk) coined a phrase that would come to define Poland’s foreign policy towards its eastern neighbours: ‘There will be …
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Poland has received daily threats from Russian propagandists that it will be next. Yet despite these high stakes, Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party government has decided …
As the war in Ukraine rages on, the stability of neighbouring Belarus, which has been backing the Russian invasion, appears to be fracturing. Has Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression opened a Pandora’s box …
In the broader discussion about Russia’s war on Ukraine, an important but overlooked element is the exodus of Russians from their homeland. Though it’s impossible to determine the scale of this phenomenon, we can expect …
After a prolonged lead-up, Germany finally delivered on its decision to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine. But the Gepard (Cheetah) anti-aircraft tanks that Germany is offering are antiques that lack ammunition. The manufacturer has only …
When US President Joe Biden comes to Poland later this week, he may decide to visit the main hall of the Warsaw Central Railway Station, which is just across the street from the Marriott where …
Vladimir Putin’s regime has banned Russian media from referring to his invasion of Ukraine as a ‘war’. Instead, it is to be framed as ‘an operation to liberate Ukraine from neo-Nazis’. The state-run RIA news …
For international observers, Russian President Vladimir Putin either will start a new war in Ukraine or he will not. But for Ukrainians, the war started when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, and it has continued …
After a long, mysterious silence, US President Joe Biden has spoken out about the ever-increasing concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. He would have been better off keeping quiet, given his astonishing and …