ABSTRACT

During the 1970s Poland's political and economic relations with the industrialized countries of Western Europe and North America have developed substantially. Although the postwar communist political leadership had been quite successful in transforming a rural agricultural Poland into an urban industrial and socialist society, serious economic and political problems remained. This chapter examines the major developments in the foreign policy of Poland since the signing of the Polish-West German treaty. In addition Poland has been one of the most active proponents of detente and improved East-West relations. Poland's proposals were opposed by most of the other Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) members, including the Soviet Union, and to this trade within the socialist community continue to be based on bilateral balancing rather than multilateral exchange. An important question concerning Poland's foreign economic relations concerns the degree to which expanded trade with the West is compatible with integration within the CMEA.