Topic: Poland in the contemporary world

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

XII. International matters.

The student:

4) presents the activities of Poland in the United Nations Organization, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The general aim of education:

The student has fundamental knowledge on selected international issues.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• analyses the role of the President of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers in carrying out the Polish foreign policy.

• explains the difference between an embassy and a consulate.

• presents and analyses the most important goals of the Polish foreign policy after 1989.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• 635 method,

• source material analysis,

• snowball method,

• SWOT analysis,

• teaching conversation using interactive scheme, interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• printout of the relation on the signing of the Lisbon Treaty from the website of the Prime Minister of Poland (see: Note for the teacher),

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will find out, what the Polish foreign policy consists in, who is responsible for carrying it out, and how it is carried out.

2. The teacher hands out the printouts of the source material, and asks the students to read a relation on the signing of the Lisbon Treaty taken off the website of the Prime Minister of Poland. The students are supposed to answer the following questions, written on the board:

• The representatives of what organs of authority participated in the event?

• What happened? What did they do?

• What area of Polish foreign policy did the event concern?

Willing/selected students answer the questions.

Implementation:

1. The teacher informs the students that the situation described in the article resulted in the so‑called chair conflict, which was a competence conflict between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister regarding the composition of the Polish delegation to the European Council summit. The conflict resulted from ambiguous constitutional provisions on the division of competence within the area of foreign policy. The teacher asks the students, what organ of authority in Poland adjudicates such conflicts. After the students provide a correct answer, the teacher informs them, that today they become the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal and deal with the case. He informs them also, that they will be work using the 635 method, and explains it if necessary.

a. The teacher formulates the problem and writes it onto the board “Competence dispute regarding the central organ of authorities entitled to represent Poland during the European Council meetings - who should sign the Lisbon Treaty?”.

b. The teacher divides the class into six groups. The task of each group is to write down three arguments that Poland should be represented by either the President of the Republic or the Council of Ministers (the Prime Minister or the Minister of Foreign Affairs). The students have 5 minutes to carry out the task. In the meantime they are allowed to use all the available sources of information (the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the internet). The students write down their ideas on paper.

c. After the time is up, the teacher asks the students to exchange the pieces of paper they have written their ideas on between the groups. Now each group becomes an expert panel - their task is to critically assess their colleagues’ ideas, write down the conclusions of this assessment and come up with counterarguments to each of the three ideas. They have 5 minutes to complete the task.

d. The teacher asks the group panels to present the arguments to each side of the conflict one by one and writes them on the board in two columns: the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers. To sum up the activity the teacher carries out a vote of “the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal” in order to establish the verdict - who should sign the treaty at the European Council summit in Lisbon in December 2007?

2. The teacher informs the students that their task will be to establish and analyse the chosen priorities of Polish foreign policy.

a. To this goal the students will first work using the snowball method in order to decide on a common list of 5 priorities of Polish foreign policy within the next decade. The teacher sets the time to complete the task, and explains the method if necessary. First the students individually write down the goals they think Poland should try to achieve in foreign policy. Then the students join in pairs, groups of four, and even larger groups, each time discussing and creating a common list of 5 priorities, until a whole‑class list is created (the list will probably include the Polish engagement in selected international organisations).

b. In the second part of the exercise, the teacher divides the students into 5 groups, and assigns each group with one of the previously established priorities. The students, using the SWOT analysis method, decide on one most important strength (advantage) and one most important weakness (disadvantage) of pursuing the goal, as well as one opportunity and one threat of making the goal a priority of Polish foreign policy in the next decade. The teacher sets the time to complete the task. When the time is up, representatives of each group present the results of their work to the rest of the class.

c. At the end of the activity, the teacher asks willing/selected students to point out, which of the Polish foreign policy goals they have discussed seems most important to them and why.

3. The teacher asks the students to work in paris and find information online on the subject of the activities carried out by embassies and consulates and to present the differences between the two types of diplomatic missions (the rank, tasks, territorial affiliation, number of diplomatic posts). Then the students exchange their notes with another couple and they check each other’s solutions/fill in the missing information. After the task is completed the teacher displays the “Comparison of the embassy and consulate” scheme on the board and asks willing/selected students to read the solutions out loud. Together with all the students they compare their solutions to the information contained in the scheme and verify their ideas.

4. The teacher asks the students to work in pairs and solve exercise 1 concerning the Polish membership in various types of international organisations. Then the teacher asks willing/selected students to read their answers and together with the other students verifies their correctness.

Summary:

1. At the end of the class, the teacher asks the students the following question: What do you think you still have to learn about the situation of Poland in the world to be satisfied with your knowledge and skills?

Willing/selected students share their opinions.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Write an essay (a maximum of 1000 words) on the subject: “How did the priorities of Polish foreign policy change in the 21st century?”. Remember, that your essay should be comparative, you should also refer to the Polish foreign policy priorities from the end of the 20th century.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

Notes for the teacher

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Poland in the contemporary world

According to the Constitution, the Council of Ministers is responsible for conducting Polish foreign policy. This includes ensuring external security of the state and exercising general control in the field of relations with other states and international organizations. The person directly responsible for the coordination of foreign policy in the government is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Minister is assisted by foreign service, i.e. officials and diplomats working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw and diplomatic missions abroad.

The President of the Republic of Poland is also an important body implementing foreign policy. According to the Constitution, the President represents the state in external relations (he is “the supreme representative of the Republic of Poland”), guarantees the continuity of state power, safeguards the sovereignty and security of our country and the inviolability and integrity of its territory. In the field of foreign policy the President cooperates with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. His main competence is ratifying and renouncing international agreements.

The role of Poland in the world in the last 25 years has changed significantly. Before 1989 Poland was a socialist state, non‑sovereign in international relations, violating basic civil rights and freedoms, with a centrally managed economy. After the transition of 1989 Poland became a democratic country, sovereign in international relations, observing the rule of law, with a market economy. We are currently the member of the most important global and regional international organizations of an economic, political and military character. We participate in numerous peace operations. We have orderly relationships with our nearest neighbors, we are perceived as a stable and predictable partner.

In 1989 after regaining the sovereignty and independence from the Eastern Bloc, above all the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the most important goals of the new Polish foreign policy included:

• becoming a part of the European security system by developing cooperation with European communities,

• developing cooperation with the closest neighbors: Germany in the West, and the states created after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the East,

• creating new regional ties, especially in relations between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary,

• development of political, economic and cultural cooperation with the countries of Western Europe and the United States.

The strategic goal of Poland in the early 1990s was membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. These organizations were able to provide Poland with military and economic security. In relations with our eastern neighbors, the main issues at the beginning of the 1990s were: the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland and the establishment of relations with the states formed after the collapse of the USSR. On the anniversary of the Soviet aggression on Poland, on September 17, 1993, the last group of Russian soldiers left the territory of our country. Since the beginning of the 1990s, Poland has recognized the United States as a strategic partner. Our country maintains relations with this country in the sphere of economy, promotion of democracy and, through NATO, in the area of security.

Polish membership in international organisations

Poland is currently a member of the most important international organisations of a universal nature (open to members from all regions of the world) and regional ones (which can be accessed only by countries from a specific region of the world, e.g. Europe). The Republic of Poland belongs to several dozen governmental organisations. It also cooperates within other structures, such as the Visegrad Group (association of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). Poland is also a founding member of the United Nations (UN) and has joined a number of specialized agencies that are part of the United Nations system.

From the very beginning, Poland actively participated in the meetings of the Conference on Security and Co‑operation in Europe (CSCE). To date, the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE), which is a continuation of the CSCE, remains an important element of European security for Poland.

Since 1989, Poland has begun to seek membership in organizations previously gathering only Western European countries. The first organisation that opened to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was the Council of Europe. Poland’s accession to the Council of Europe (1991) meant that our country was recognised as a democratic state, respectful of the rule of law and human rights. In 1993, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – the most important document of the Council of Europe on human rights – became applicable to Poland. This gave Poles the opportunity to lodge complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.

Poland also sought to join the most important economic, political and military organisations. The strategic goal was membership in the European Union and NATO. We received the status of a full member of the EU on 1 May, 2004, and NATO – on 12 March, 1999. Poland participates in peacekeeping operations of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO. The nature of the tasks entrusted to Polish soldiers is very diverse: from control and observation, through logistics, to sapper trainings or securing contingents. Considering the number of soldiers and missions in which our country participated, Poland is the most involved of all European countries.

Poland is a country that has clearly defined foreign policy goals and is able to persistently pursue these goals.