Coming of age in Europe? Polish perceptions of power relations within the EU and NATO

Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, followed by the full-scale invasion in 2022, drastically altered Poland’s security landscape. Poland became a frontline state and a major provider of aid to Ukraine. This tested relations between allied states, ultimately demonstrating the willingness of Western partners to secure allies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This article analyses the shifts in perceptions of the EU and NATO in the immediate aftermath of Russian aggression. To achieve this, we examine how relationships within both organizations have been framed, and how the unjust use of power and hierarchy have been perceived. Role theory was employed to capture the contestation of governmental framing by public opinion leaders. Empirically, we analysed approximately 2,500 articles in four leading Polish newspapers covering a broad political spectrum. We demonstrate that the growing contestation in Polish foreign policy is most evident in assessments of the EU and its relations with Western allies, particularly France and Germany. In contrast, relations within NATO and with the United States were not matters of significant political contention. Our results confirm that the clear power asymmetry within NATO based on military power was more widely accepted, while the perceived hierarchies within the EU were contested and opposed.