ABSTRACT
What makes some European transitional states assume the role as ‘trusted allies’ to the United States in the war against terrorism in general and the Iraq war in particular, in sharp contrast to the Franco-German axis that vehemently opposes recent US policy in the Middle East? Why was Europe not more closely knit as a political entity than to allow the disarray that followed the US and UK initiatives regarding Iraq, which seriously damaged the cohesion of NATO and the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy?2 In order to begin answering these questions, this study investigates the basic principles and policy ideas underlying the foreign policy of two increasingly central, yet surprisingly overlooked, actors in modern European politics – Poland and the Czech Republic.3
