The Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc MERCOSUR is a prologue to the creation of one of the world's largest markets. However, behind the large-scale economic prospects lie the fierce disputes characteristic of the EU, especially acute in Poland – a country that is traditionally one of the largest agricultural producers in the EU.

A conversation with Tomas Venclova, Lithuanian philosopher and writer. Interviewer: Nikodem Szczyglowski

The Tatars of Poland remain one of the country’s most enduring ethnic minorities. Arriving in the area as early as the 14th century, this group has maintained its own distinctiveness while adapting to many wider Polish customs. This process has involved as much positive as negative developments.

Had you, 30 or 40 years ago, visited Kruszyniany, a village near the Belarusian border that is home to one of the two traditional Tatar settlements in Poland, you would have encountered the tranquil rhythm of community life centred around bayrams (a Turkic word for festivals or celebrations). In Muslim tradition, religious holidays are moments for families to gather in prayer at a mosque or a cemetery (mizar). To join their relatives in these celebrations, descendants of Tatars from all around Poland would flock to Kruszyniany. However, once the festivities were over, only a few Tatar families stayed in the village, enjoying its tranquillity and the slow pace of life.

Cemeteries, khachkars, churches and bakeries all point to the Armenian presence in Poland that stretches far back to medieval times. Though often overlooked, Armenian communities once played a vital role in trade, diplomacy and culture, traces of which remain in cities dotted around Poland. A new wave of Armenian migration is mixing with the “Old Polish Armenian” communities, adding a fresh influence to the enduring legacy of Armenian heritage in Poland.

Standing fast by Poland’s national “master narrative”, the country’s schools teach that the Polish nation, defined as all the speakers of the Polish language, is a millennium old. Yet, this pairing of the Polish nation and language dates back only to the late 19th century.

In Polish popular opinion, the view that the Polish nation consists of all the speakers of the Polish language is not controversial. Hence, the Polish speech community is unreflectively equated with the Polish nation. In turn, all the territories where speakers of Polish reside compactly are deemed to rightfully constitute the Polish nation-state. 

Without solving historical issues, Polish-Ukrainian relations will be neither healed nor improved. They are burdened by a dispute over the commemoration of Polish victims on Ukrainian soil from the Second World War, as well as diverging perceptions of Polish involvement in helping Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion.

In the shadow of Cold War tensions, covert diplomatic talks took place in Warsaw from 1958 to 1970 between the United States and the People's Republic of China. These talks, today largely forgotten, laid the foundation for a rapprochement that would change the course of global politics in the 1970s.

The 1950s were an immensely complex decade for global geopolitics. Numerous African and Asian nations started to regain their independence, redefining the old colonial world order and thus weakening past colonial superpowers, such as the United Kingdom or France. Above all, however, the new world order was emerging, dominated by the duopoly of the United States and Soviet Union and a visible division of spheres of influence between them.

An interview with Bartosz Cichocki, former Polish ambassador to Ukraine. Interviewers: Andrii Kutsyk and Kateryna Kyrychenko.

Interview with Mirosław Różański, a Polish general and senator. Interviewer: Jarosław Kociszewski.

Across the region there has been a lot of talk about the power of young voters. While this group was seemingly responsible for a recent shift towards the centre in Poland, young people are also linked to growing radicalism. This has seen the youth vote increasingly correlated with a potential threat to democratic values and norms.

The 2023 elections in Poland were historic with a record turnout exceeding 74 per cent. The dissatisfied youth moved against the ruling party, leading to many headlines declaring that “young voters and women saved the elections.” Indeed, many polling stations remained open well past closing time, as videos circulated on social media of queues of voters stretching far down the street. There is no doubt that the youth vote played a decisive role in preventing another term for the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party. But did they also stop the far right from gaining influence?

An interview with Jacob Mikanowski, author of Goodbye Eastern Europe. An intimate history of a divided land. Interviewers: Adam Reichardt and Nina Pániková