Poland 2030 & Central Europe

Syllabus:  Polish Geopolitics and East Dimension of EU – the Polish Paw on a Big Chess.

Short description:
The lecture has to be devoted today's geopolitical situation of Poland in the face of deep shift in the world politics. The relative weakening of the European Union and the United States, emerging of new economic powers  of China and India, the menaces connected with Kremlins politics,  increasing energy  and ecological  problems, issues of new technologies,  world politics demographic and migration problems finally financial crises  - these are factors of those world transformations which apply to the analysis  of polish geopolitical situation. The question is whether Poland is condemned to be only an object of these transformations or can also have an influence on its position and its future?
Description:
The lecture will bring up the following topics and questions:
European and polish demography – ageing societies; Comparison of polish situation with other central European and East European countries. What sort of a danger is depopulation for Poland?
The perspectives of migrations from the polish point of view.
What is national identity under pressure of migration?
Polish coal and polish energy policy.  Polish ecological dilemma.
The chances of  polish entrance to the group of countries which economical   development is based   on higher technologies.
Polish partners in EU: with whom Poland could do the best business?
The perspectives EU- Enlargement: the Ukrainian’s case.     
European integration and transatlantic relationships, EU-Europe in view of the decline of the American power; what does it mean for polish security?
EU-Budget and its main components: is the Brussels managing our money reasonably in the perspective of challenges of two most recent decades?
Perspectives of the development and borders of the European Union.  EU- neighbourhood policy from polish point of view.
The scenarios for Poland 2015-2030.
The lecture will be connected with discussion on newest books on world politics and political science (not yet translated into polish).
Selected literature:
Applebaum Ann: The New World Order. America and the new geopolitics.
Kagan Robert (2008): Return of History and the End of Dreams
Kaplan (2001) Robert D.: The Coming Anarchy. Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War.
Laquer (2007) Walter: The Last Days of Europe. Epitaph for an Old Continent.
McCormick (2007) John: The European Superpower.
Leonard Mark (2005).: why Europe will run the 21st century?
Lucas Edward (2008).: The New Cold War. How the Kremlin Menaces both Russia and the West.
Zakaria Fareed: Is America in Decline?,  Foreign Affairs may/June 2008.
Open up. A Special Report on Migration. The Economist, January 5th 2008.
Jaroszewicz Marta, Szerepka Leszek: Migration Challenges in the European Union’s Eastern Neighbourhood, (2007).
Taleb Nassim Nicholas (2008): The Black Swan. The Impact of Highly Improbable.
Mahbubani Kishore (2008): The New Asian Hemisphere. The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East.Polis