Case 154 - The Polish Question during World War II

by ISD - Georgetown University
$ 4.50

Harper, John and Andrew Parlin

This case study describes the negotiations conducted during the World War II over the future of Poland. These involved two bitterly contested issues: the location of Poland’s postwar borders and the nature of its internal political regime. This account focuses on the three main parties to the dispute--Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States--and, to a lesser extent, the competing local factions, the so-called London and Lublin Poles. It clearly demonstrates how fundamental asymmetries of power and interests among the various parties inevitably determine the outcome. This case also demonstrates that power among nation-states most often means military power, along with the will to use it.