“At present, China has no allies, apart from Russia, which is in a very difficult situation. Thus, China cannot exercise global leadership because few other states would want to follow the Chinese example” – said Dr. Bartłomiej Nowak, expert at the CIR, in an interview with Obserwator Finansowy [18.11.2022]

Putin contributed to the revival of NATO and the revival of the West as an alliance of the United States and Europe, but also others, like Canada or Japan because Japan also belongs to the West, even though it is an Asian country. Today we encounter something that is the last resort in international politics, i.e. war. Indeed, democracies in the face of war also mobilize slowly, but they mobilize effectively and show it. History shows that they can win because they have the real support of the population. And I think the war actually showed that we can do it, commentend Dr. Nowak on recent international developments.

Further, on behalf of Poland’s role in the new security debate, Dr. Nowak added I would like Poland to join this debate in a constructive way because Poland is a frontline state. Currently, all eyes are on us, and we have absolutely great potential to shape policy, the future security policy of the European Union. We really have a window of opportunity to influence this new situation and the approaching point of view on Europe’s security policy. Why is it important? Because we cannot assume that American support and American involvement in the European continent is given once and for all. Imagine what would happen, if Donald Trump was president today instead of Joe Biden. So we also need to build our capacity of course, in agreement with the United States, with the assumption of NATO first, which means that it is the general security alliance for us. But we have to answer the question of what the European pillar of security is and what will happen, if American priorities are elsewhere, because today Xi Jinping in China is openly saying what he wants to do with Taiwan.

Dr. Nowak exends the view on the Ukrainian issue to a global perspecive and concludes that with the rise of the BRICS states, new international challenges are on the horizon for Europe aside from an assertive Russia. Everyone already knows on what terms China invests and what colossal problems this causes for developing countries. I think, our world is becoming more and more broken, in which it will be more and more difficult to do something together, so diplomacy is all the more important, closes Dr. Nowak.