Of all the countries that joined the EU in 2004 Poland was by far the largest and the most vocal. Its confidence and assertiveness over the European constitution, together with its strong support for US policy over Iraq, suggested that Warsaw was determined from the start to be a heavyweight in the new Europe. Given its military potential, its proven capacity to use armed force and its de facto role as a regional leader, it is clear that Poland will have a defining influence not only on the nature of transatlantic relations, but also on the EU's emerging international identity. This book is the first authoritative account of Poland's emerging foreign and security policies and will contribute to an understanding of the foreign policy preferences of an enlarged EU.

Dr Kerry Longhurst is Senior Lecturer in European Security at the European Research Institute at the University of Birmingham, UK. She has published in the areas of German security policy, Polish foreign policy and transatlantic security.

Dr Marcin Zaborowski is a Lecturer in European Politics at Aston University in the UK and is currently seconded as a Senior Research Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris. He has published widely in the areas of European and transatlantic security, and the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

1. Introduction.

2. The past as prologue: the culture of Polish foreign and security policy.

3. The emergence of an Atlanticist: the strategic orientation of Polish security policy after 1989.

4. The EU as a security actor: the Polish perspective.

5. Eastern policy - Poland's specialism.

6. Poland in the enlarged EU.

7. Conclusion.