The main thesis of this essay is the assertion of the concurrence of the Polish transformation after 1989 with the world switch towards the liberal international order at that time. Poland was among initiators of these changes and hugely benefited from them. It applied to the establishment of the regime of the rule of law and the open market economy. The success of the Polish transformation and the rapid economic growth would have not been possible or they would have been limited without this external support. The main although not the only theoretical explanation framework to these processes is the liberal school of thought. Democratic regress in Poland (since end of 2015) and a turn to authoritarianism coincide with backsliding of the international liberal order. Unfavourable internal changes incapacitate Poland’s foreign policy as well as its international standing.
