Poland’s troop contributions to US-led military operations as a security policy instrument

This article addresses the issue of Poland's troop contributions to US-led military operations, which for Poland constituted a salient instrument for attaining its security policy goals. It is argued that the United States of America played a pivotal role in Poland’s security policy, and by providing it with active support for the military operations in which the US exercised political and/or military leadership, Poland hoped to advance its security agenda. This assumption stemmed from America’s leading role in the global system and a conviction that it could influence its development in the way suiting the Polish interest. The article is in four parts. First, it examines the significance of foreign deployments as an instrument for attaining Poland’s security policy goals. Next, it explains the role the United States was assigned in Poland’s security policy. After that, it recounts the operations of Polish military contingents in US-led allied and coalition military operations. Finally, it discusses whether and how the engagement in those operations contributed to enhancing Poland’s security. The article embraces the period from the first military operation to which Poland deployed troops following the collapse of the Communist bloc in 1991 to the termination of the ISAF operation, which has had the largest Polish presence to date, in 2014.