...his voice was listened to in Europe – foreign policy of Austria-Hungary at the time of minister Agenor Gołuchowski the younger in the light of the Galicia press

The article is dedicated to the foreign policy pursued on behalf of Austria-Hungary by Agenor Gołuchowski the younger, minister of foreign affairs in 1895–1906, and the reactions it triggered off in selected Galicia newspapers.

...jeho hlasu bylo v Evropě nasloucháno – zahraniční politika Rakouska-Uherska v době působení ministra Agenora Gołuchowského mladšího ve světle haličského tisku

The relations between Georgia and Western Europe and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1453–1783

The article presents the history of contacts between Georgia and Western Europe as well as Georgia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between the mid-15th and the end of the 18th centuries. In the article, the role of the Georgian diplomatic missions is emphasized in the process of forging anti-Osman coalitions.

Confirmatory documents issued by the rulers for the Bohemian and Silesian cities until 1419.

The author has attempted to provide a holistic view of the practice of confirming the documents for the royal and princely towns in the area of Bohemia and Silesia (the area of Moravia has already been explored in this respect) by the ruler. Confirmatory documents formed an integral part of the production of the writing offices of the rulers of both examined territories, i.e., the Czech kings and the princes of Silesia. Whilst in the case of Bohemia the issuer is unambiguous (the King of Bohemia), the issuers from the region of Silesia could have included the Silesian princes (including the Bishop of Wrocław), the Czech king and the royal starosts (governors) in the principalities directly subject to the Czech ruler as issuers. Generally, confirmatory documents are deemed to have been diplomatic acts which confirmed the existence of a legal reality. These included not only documents (alternatively confirmatory documents issued in the form of a mandate), whereby the rulers confirmed the prevailing legal acts of their predecessors, but also those which confirmed acts of their subjects. A selection of merely one group of recipients was deliberate, notwithstanding the resultant, apparently incomplete image. Such an approach has its advantages, inasmuch as it allows the examination of the resources in a more compact form, and what is more, throughout two territories to some extent shaped by various traditions. The author focuses largely on several issues related to confirmatory documents, notably on the differentiation between confirmatory and dispositive documents. Both types are to some extent convergent, and sometimes the dispositive formula is present in some confirmatory documents. Furthermore, dispositive documents are sometimes deemed to be one of the degrees of confirmation. Nevertheless, in most cases notable is a variance in the usage of both types of documents. First, the author presents a quantitative review of the number of documents issued for particular towns. Was there a direct principle saying that the more important and richer the town, the more confirmative documents are found? How can we measure the ‘validity’ and ’wealth’ of each of the analysed towns? Which towns can boast of confirmations issued by the majority of successive rulers and which have to be satisfied with merely a few acts? This question needs to be explored also from a different point of view: we need to determine the role of confirmatory documents in the policy of the rulers towards the towns as well as how it was reflected in the different phases of the duke’s (king’s) reign. The motives behind issuing individual acts of confirmation and the question what forced the towns to make efforts to have their privileges confirmed are essential elements of the author’s inquiry. The reasons might have been both external, namely the position of the town’s ruler, and internal – problems inherent in the functioning of a given centre.

The goal of the research was to investigate FIFA, one of the most important international sports organisations, from the perspective of its diplomatic subjectivity. It is a case study concerning the process of selection of the World Cup hosts by FIFA, in reference to the engagement of presidents, prime ministers and other representatives of national authorities of states that hosted FIFA World Cup in bidding for the tournament within last the 30 years. The hypothesis that was verified within the research assumed that through selecting World Cup host FIFA obtains diplomatic subjectivity. This refers to research questions concerning the willingness of state leaders to engage in contacts and negotiations with sports officials and reasons for such engagement.

Letters of Anna Radziwiłł, born Mycielska and Charles de Saint-Pol’s diary as sources for examining the Vilnius socialite’s “diplomatic” activity

In the following paper the authors decided to discuss the „diplomatic” correspondence of the Anna Radziwiłłowa (de domo Mycielska) and the diary of the baron Charles de Saint-Pol, which are nowadays in the repertory of the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, touching the matter of the action took by the second wife of the Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł „Rybeńko” in the case of his son „Panie Kochanku” (Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł) in the 1764.

Dopisy Anny z Mycielských Radziwiłłové a deník Charlesa de Saint-Pola jako pramen pro výzkum „diplomatické” činnosti manželky vilenského vojvody

Victor Cădere (born 1891) was a Romanian lawyer, civil servant, diplomat and politician. He participated as an officer in the war with Bulgaria (1913) and in the I-st World War (1916–1918). Then he was at the peace conference in Paris as part of the Romanian delegation. In the years 1919–1921 he was dealing with the repatriation of Romanians from the USA and Russia. After returning to the country, in 1925, he began an academic career, which he continued with interruptions until his death in France in 1981. At that time, he was an activist of the peasant party and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. In the years 1930–1932 he held high official positions in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior. In 1932, he began his career as a diplomat. His first post was Warsaw, where he was to watch over the matters of the Romanian-Polish alliance securing both countries against the threat from the USSR. Before he actually took office, however, he became the Romanian negotiator on the non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, but risked Nicolae Titulescu – an influential diplomat and politician who opposed them and soon became Cădere’s superior, i.e. the minister of foreign affairs. After settling in Warsaw, the new MP tried to work for the development of the alliance. However, he encountered obstacles on the part of Titulescu, who wanted to loosen his ties with the Republic of Poland and bring him closer to Moscow. This affected the fate of Cădere, who was dismissed in July 1935. His diplomatic career slowed down. He took up another post – in Belgrade – only after the fall of Titulescu in 1936, then he was a member of parliament in Lisbon (1941–1944). From 1945 to 1967 he stayed in Romania. In the years 1952- 1956 he was imprisoned by the communist authorities. In 1967 he remained in exile in France.

Polish diplomatic representatives in Romania in the years 1918–1940 Part II 1923–1940

Polish representatives in Bucharest in the interwar period were – what is obvious – executors of the Polish government’s foreign policy, formulated by the successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs. They had to act within that framework. In exceptional circumstances were Linde and Koźmiński, who happened to act in conditions of nonexistence of a single center shaping Polish foreign policy and they often had to demonstrate creativity, without any directives coming from the top. To a certain extent in a similar situation was Raczyński, who also had to act independently, in a state of necessity – as he claimed – ignoring the supremacy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs interned in Romania. Effective professionals efficiently performing the tasks allocated to them were Wielowieyski, Szembek and Arciszewski. Jurjewicz was perceived as much less energetic. His relatively low activity on the position of the envoy, however, was largely derived from minister Seyda’s passive policy towards Romania. Undoubtedly, the most prominent Polish diplomat in Bucharest was Alexander Skrzyński. He not only performed his duties of the representative of the Republic of Poland with the invention but he also showed his own initiative, when Poland was in extremely difficult war situation in 1919–1920.

Poland’s Diplomatic Representatives in Romania, 1918–1940. Part 1: 1918–1940

Polish politicians had appreciated the importance of relations with Romania since the beginning of the independent Poland, indicating the need for close political and economic cooperation with that country which would serve to resist the Soviet expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. The establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and Romania proved to be a rather complex process. It was essentially affected by the lack of agreement between the two centers competing for leadership in Poland, that is the authorities in Warsaw and the Polish National Committee (KNP) in Paris. It was manifested by keeping in Bucharest their own representatives, more or less tolerated by the Romanian, the so-called Legation headed by Marian Linde and the delegate of KNP Stanisław Koźmiński. In the end, Alexander Skrzyński was appointed the envoy of the Republic of Poland and officially recognized by the Romanian authorities. The establishment of official diplomatic relations did not mean, however, immediate rapprochement between the two countries. It was a process lasting almost two years which, thanks to the merits of Alexander Skrzyński, was crowned by signing the Polish-Romanian alliance in March 1921. The next stage consisted of the efforts to strengthen and extend this alliance made by Skrzyński as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Paweł Jurjewicz – his successor to the position of chargé d’affaires, and then an envoy in Bucharest. The process was slowed down by the inept policy of Marian Seyda, the next foreign minister of Poland.

Together with the acceleration of globalization processes, power in international relations has moved from the political and military space to the economic one. Today, true power means ability and capacity to integrate with the global economy. Therefore, economic diplomacy, which is not a new phenomenon, became one of the most important elements of foreign policy of all countries. The aim of the article is to present the importance of economic diplomacy in foreign policy in the era of globalization with a particular emphasis on the economic activity of China.

The Litterati in the entourage of Vladislaus the Short around 1320

The article presents a group of 26 litteratorum (clerics with university education) and their activities in the diplomacy and monarchical chancellery of Vladislaus the Short, and in the Polish-Teutonic trial between 1314 and 1323.

The article analyzes changes in the conditions of functioning of modern diplomatic services and their impact on the functions of diplomats and ways of achieving foreign policy goals, in particular in the field of multilateral diplomatic interactions. New telecommunication tools, the multiplicity of information sources and the growing frequency of direct interactions between governments and societies increase the requirements for diplomats. The role of diplomats as agents-intermediaries is losing its importance, while their role as the creators of cooperation in the implementation of international public policies is gaining importance. The author shows how changes in communication technologies lead to a decline in the importance of simple data collection. On the other hand, the strong interdependence of economic and social processes, external and domestic changes increases the degree of uncertainty of diplomats’ activities and opens the field for diplomats who are able to create international policies and international cooperation mechanisms.

„J’ai des yeux de Cracovien”. Jean Van Ghele (1912–1985), French consul in Cracow in the sight of Polish Security Service

The article is a biographical sketch of the biograpy of French consul in Krakow, who served as in the years 1956–1961. The background is the life of Krakow at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the extended and complicated operation of the communist secret police. The text presents broad aspects of counterintelligence activities in the system of an authoritarian state. The context is also the warming in Polish-French relations, which was significant after the turn of October 1956, bringing cultural, scientific and regulatory effects.

Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese School of Diplomacy. A Pragmatic Approach to the Traditional Narrative

The aim of the article is to define and analyze the specific, traditional features of Vietnamese diplomacy that are associated with the international activities of the first Vietnamese president, Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969). The basis of the Vietnamese leader’s official rhetoric is communist (Marxist-Leninist) ideology, which, adapted to Vietnamese realities, is often referred to as hoshiminism. Alongside communist ideas in Ho’s speeches and activities, patriotism and nationalism or sovereign decision-making should be mentioned. These are reflected in the documents of the recent 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a brief analysis of which in the context of contemporary diplomacy is presented in the article. The blending of global and regional trends, the ability to navigate the tangle of interests of the great powers, to extract as much benefit for oneself as possible from the contradictions of their interests, to build an image of a flexible, friendly, pragmatic state have all been adopted from the war period are characteristics reflected in the term used for Vietnam’s diplomacy today – ‘bamboo diplomacy’.