Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne Polski a współpraca polsko-amerykańska w zakresie cywilnego programu jądrowego

The aim of the paper is to analyze and assess the legitimacy of the implementation of a civil nuclear program in Poland and the selection of the United States as the main external partner. The considerations are carried out in the context of ensuring Poland’s energy security. The introduction contains the main methodological assumptions and synthetically outlines the history of nuclear projects in Poland. The first part of the paper analyzes the impact of the nuclear program on Poland’s energy security. The second part is devoted to Polish-American cooperation in the implementation of the nuclear

Is International Relations Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

Whether international relations are a solution to the problem or a way to provoke war is worth discussing. The Democratic Peace Theory under Liberalism holds that all democracies (or, more accurately, all liberal democracies) will not or rarely go to war with another. This theory is further explored in depth the link between democracy and peace. This paper analyzes the situation in Afghanistan, North Korea’s nuclear program and the United States intervention in the world. Finally, it is concluded that international relations theory can solve regional problems and lead to conflict and war. In other words, international relations are both parts of the problem and part of the solution to the issues in international affairs.

Experience of the Nuclear Negotiations with Iran in 2013-2015: Lessons for Joe Biden’s Administration

The article stresses on the importance to solve the problem of Iran’s nuclear program during Joe Biden’s presidency and suggests using the experience of the past nuclear talks with Iran to find a solution of this issue. The article notes that its purpose is to analyze the experience of past negotiations on resolving the problem of Iran’s nuclear program and the prospects of practical application of this experience to solve this problem in the future. The method of system analysis, method of comparative analysis and method of content analysis were used in the article. The article considers the experience of the negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program that took place in 2013 – 2015 and successfully ended by signing the nuclear deal with Iran – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It is analyzed in the article what the lessons could be drawn from those past negotiations and how these lessons could be used by President Joe Biden and other western leaders to achieve a good nuclear deal with Iran. It is concluded that the preconditions for the nuclear talks with Iran in the mid-2010s significantly differed from the situation around Iran’s nuclear program in the early 2020s and at the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency. The article mentions that unlike in the mid-2010s, in the early 2020s the international community and even the NATO allies did not have a united position toward Iran’s nuclear program. Furthermore, Joe Biden’s administration faced much more developed and modernized Iran’s missile and space program than Barak Obama’s administration did. The article proves that those two main obstacles (absence of the united international position regarding Iran’s nuclear program and much more developed missile program) hindered Joe Biden’s administration to bring the United States back to the JCPOA immediately after presidential inauguration in January 2021. The article also mentions another obstacle for recovering JCPOA – Iran’s regional policy that harms US interests as well as the interests of US partners in the Middle East. It is reminded in the article that that obstacle was already present during Barak Obama’s presidency and did not hinder to achieve the JCPOA. The article supposes that in a similar way Joe Biden’s administration could postpone solving the regional contradictions with Iran in order to close at least nuclear issue at the beginning. It is reminded in the article that some provisions of the JCPOA will expire soon, and this opens an opportunity to start already now negotiating the new nuclear deal with Iran that would take into account concerns regarding Iran’s missile program and its regional policy.

PROBLEMS OF EU-CHINA RELATIONS IN SOLVING THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM'S ISSUE

It is proven in the paper that the chosen topic is relevant due to the impact of China and the EU on the negotiations about the regulation of the Iranian nuclear program’s issue. In the article, it is done a comparative analysis of the policy of the EU and China regarding the regulation of the Iranian nuclear program’s problem. It is also mentioned in the paper that since the time of the US presidential administration of Donald Trump, the EU and China have been seen as valuable actors in resolving the Iranian nuclear program’s issue. For this reason, the main purpose of the work is a review of the influence that China’s and EU’s policies regarding the development of the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) exert on European security. The history of China-Iran relations in the nuclear sphere and the important role of China in the development of the Iranian nuclear program is mentioned in the paper. It is also noted that the fact that the EU countries are partners or allies of the United States, which is the main rival of the IRI, has complicated the dialogue between the European Union and Iran. It is shown in the paper that during Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, the Iranian nuclear program was not controlled by the international community, and because of that China supported sanctions of the UN Security Council against Iran. As it is mentioned in the article, until the end of the 2000s, the EU, as well as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), did not support the US policy toward Iran. The Iranian-Chinese relations in the nuclear field were studied. It is mentioned that despite the fact that China is interested in exporting Iranian energy resources, Beijing will never accept Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons. It is assumed that the fact that China does not support the nuclear weapons status of Iran gives it the opportunity to cooperate with the EU in case Iran decides to acquire nuclear weapons. It is noticed that China had a major impact on the negotiations related to signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), i. e. the nuclear agreement with Iran. The further actions of the EU and the PRC after the dissolution of the JCPOA are mentioned in the paper. The scenarios of further development of the situation around the Iranian nuclear program were reviewed. As a result of the research, it is concluded that China and the EU have played a significant role in achieving the JCPOA and conducting diplomatic negotiations with Iran. The strengthening of Beijing’s role as a key partner of Teheran and the decrease of the EU’s impact on Iran’s foreign policy were mentioned in the paper.

STRATEGIC CULTURE FENOMENA IN IRAN-ISRAEL RELATIONS

The current confrontation between the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran is not an exceptionally new phenomenon; however, it is noticeable that escalation around the “Iran nuclear deal” makes this issue one of the most urgent on the current political agenda. This article focuses on countries’ strategic culture as both public and non-state actors see and respond to challenges and opportunities international system − which is the result of cultural perception. Iranian and Israeli strategic cultures have some similarities - consideration of which is necessary to understand the specifics of the relationship between the two states and Jerusalem's possible response to a potential nuclearization of Tehran. Cultural details are often overlooked when we are trying to analyze the policy of a particular state, however, this analysis can provide an understanding of a particular country's response to challenges and threats. Learning more about how and why actors use force in the system is an important topic to which strategic culture may provide some answers but the process of applying it is difficult. In this article, we overview historical preconditions of Iran-Israel relations, Israel's specific view of its ambitions in the region, and nowadays escalation between two countries. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is still on the agenda between the two countries, while negotiations in Vienna continue, Iran increased its enrichment up to 60 percent – the highest level in Iranian history. Iranian nuclear program is a cornerstone in the US-Iran and Iran-Israel relations, but the strategic culture of Israel still cannot adopt improvement of relations between the US and Iran, as Iranian progress in its nuclear ambitions.

THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES IN RESOLVING THE FIRST NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR CRISIS

The article examines the relationship between the United States and the DPRK during the first North Korean nuclear crisis. It discusses the events leading up to the crisis and the behavior of both sides and international organizations before and during the crisis. The article draws up the role of South Korea during the escalation of the crisis, as well as influence of other countries interested in resolving the crisis. It analyzes the U.S.-North Korea relationship and the impact of the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the international situation at that time. In this aspect, the study of the Korean nuclear program and the role of the United States has not previously been carried out in Russian historiography. The discussion leads to the design and stages of the KEDO creation with attention to the documents on this international consortium. The situation demonstrates different visions on the USA foreign policy strategy chosen in relation to the DPRK nuclear problem in 1990s, namely the opinion of the United States diplomats working on relations with the DPRK, and American researchers in humanities and technology. The paper concludes with the reasons of the Framework Agreements’ failure that led to the crises.