Decision-making in Poland's foreign policy. An organisational and bureaucratic perspective

<ns3:p>The decision-making process is a key element of any state's foreign policy analysis. Research on how decisions are made feeds into the research of the Polish foreign policy as a whole and results in a better understanding of its determinants. Based on the analysis of primary sources collected in the archives of the government, the Sejm, the Senate and the President, as well as the statements of decision-makers, this article analyses the decision-making process in Poland's foreign policy between 1992 and 1997. Two George Allison’s models have been applied: the organisational process model (emphasises the formal-institutional dimension of the decision-making process) and the bureaucratic policy model (emphasises the bureaucratic-functional dimension). The article is intended to make it possible to answer the following research questions: How were the decisions taken in Poland's foreign policy, by whom, what mechanisms, formal or informal, were most important and can Allison's models be an effective tool for studying the entire decision-making process, and not only selected decision-making situations? The article proves that although the key decisions in Poland's foreign policy were taken by the Prime Minister together with the Foreign Minister, the influence of the President was also considerable. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that the President played an important role in foreign policy during the period of the Small Constitution. Allison's models can be a tool for analysing processual phenomena, and not only individual decision-making situations. In the case of Poland, one more centre should be taken into account, in addition to the dual executive, i.e. the Sejm and the Senate, which at the time had at least a controlling function. The decision-making process in Poland's foreign policy was clearly dominated by informal components based on parochial communities of values, experiences and an oppositional past.</ns3:p>