Realia prowadzenia polityki zagranicznej państw w pierwszej dekadzie XXI wieku

Abstract

There is no doubt that after the end of the Cold War the structure of the Interna­tional System had to reformulate. 20 years after the fali of the SovietUnion, itis worth asking the question: Are the Contemporary International Relation turning into the unipolar or multipolar system? And what impact on present-day states’ capabilities to conduct foreign policy the globalization has and will be having? To capture the essence of the contemporary International environment the text is devoted to the historical evolution of International Relations which highlights the characteristics of the current period.

The article reveals that, as a result of unsettled structure of the Contemporary International System and increasing influence of the globalization, present-day governments tend to look for different reference systems, depending on the objective to be achieved. In order to maximize security and developmentopportunities and minimize the level of dependence states are creating flexible networks of key partners. It seems that, atthe threshold of the 21th century a successful foreign policy making is seen as the ability to balance between efficient management and independent management.