“Si vis pacem, para bellum” – “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
This could become the new motto of Europe under the second Trump Administration: it had been well-known that President Trump asks European states to strengthen their armies and expand their defense budgets. But it has only been in the wake of Vice President JD Vance’s talk at the 61st Munich Security Conference and the disastrous press conference with President Zelenskyi that all European states are starting to take Trump seriously. Poland is decidedly ahead of the curve: in 2024, it spent 4.12% of its GDP on defense.
How quickly has Poland been able to outpace its European peers? And how does it perceive the second Trump Administration – and the EU’s response to it? We dive into these questions with Małgorzata Bonikowska, professor at Vistula University and a member of the St.Gallen Symposium community.
Prof. Małgorzata Bonikowska has been the Co-Founder and President of THINKTANK since 2009, a platform which serves to foster collaboration between business and public administration leaders, facilitate knowledge exchange, and conduct research on topics ranging from management to public policy. In addition to her role at THINKTANK, Prof. Bonikowska has served as the President of the Centre for International Relations Foundation (CIR) since 2013. CIR is a non-governmental think tank dedicated to addressing issues related to Polish foreign, European, and international policy. Alumna of two Ph.D. programs, one in Poland (Polish Academy of Sciences) and one abroad (SSSS, Italy), Prof. Bonikowska completed a specialization program at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at the Columbia University in New York (Fulbright Scholarship).Some of Prof. Małgorzata Bonikowska recommendations:the Film “A Real Pain”the book “God’s Playground. A History of Poland”
