Editing History of Poland (section)

===Democratic constitution, NATO and European Union memberships===

There were several post-Solidarity governments between the [[1989 Polish legislative election|1989 election]] and the [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|1993 election]], after which the "[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|post-communist]]" left-wing parties took over.<ref name="Stelmachowski 124">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|p=124}}.</ref> In 1993, the formerly Soviet [[Northern Group of Forces]], a vestige of past domination, left Poland.<ref name="playground II xxiii"/>

In 1995, [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]] of the [[Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland|Social Democratic Party]] was elected president and remained in that capacity for the next ten years (two terms).<ref name="playground II xxiii"/>

In 1997, the new [[Constitution of Poland]] was finalized and approved in a referendum; it replaced the [[Small Constitution of 1992]], an amended version of the [[Constitution of the Polish People's Republic|communist constitution]].<ref name="Stelmachowski 152–156">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=152–156}}.</ref>

Poland joined [[NATO]] in 1999.<ref name="playground 517">{{Harvnb|Davies|2005b|p=517}}.</ref> Elements of the [[Polish Armed Forces]] have since participated in the [[Iraq War]] and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]. Poland joined the [[European Union]] as part of its [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|enlargement in 2004]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/poland-joined-the-eu-15-years-ago-5757|title=Poland joined the EU 15 years ago|website=www.thefirstnews.com}}</ref> However, Poland [[Poland and the euro|has not adopted]] the [[euro]] as its currency and legal tender, but instead uses the [[Polish złoty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/euro-area/euro/eu-countries-and-euro/poland-and-euro_en|title=Poland and the euro|website=European Commission - European Commission}}</ref>

In April 2010, Polish president [[Lech Kaczyński|Lech Kaczynski]] and dozens of the country's top political and military leaders died in the [[Smolensk air disaster]].<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/europe/11poland.html| title = Polish President Dies in Jet Crash in Russia - The New York Times| newspaper = The New York Times| date = 10 April 2010| last1 = Kulish| first1 = Nicholas| last2 = Barry| first2 = Ellen| last3 = Piotrowski| first3 = Michal}}</ref>

After the election of the far-right<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Routledge_Handbook_of_Far_Right_Extr/UMnOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Europe+is+now+seeing+conservative+parties+that+have+transformed+into+far-right+parties&pg=PA1997&printsec=frontcover The Routledge Handbook of Far-Right Extremism in Europe, 2023, Editors: Katherine Kondor, Mark Littler]</ref><ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Routledge_Handbook_of_Political_Part/lJ_8EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Far+right+parties+were+by+and+large+marginalised+and+discredited+in+Europe++in+the+aftermath+of+the+Second+World+War&pg=PA126&printsec=frontcover The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties 2023, Editors: Gyda M. Sindre, Neil Carter, Sofia Vasilopoulou, Daniel Keith, P.126]</ref> conservative [[Law and Justice]] party in 2015,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/law-justice-party-small-majority-polish-eleciton| title = Polish election: Law and Justice wins over third of vote in first results {{!}} Poland |work= The Guardian| date = 27 October 2015 }}</ref> the Polish government [[2015–present Polish constitutional crisis|repeatedly clashed]] with EU institutions on the issue of judicial reform and was accused by the [[European Commission]] and the [[European Parliament]] of undermining "European Values" and eroding democratic standards. However, the Polish government headed by the Law and Justice party maintained that the reforms were necessary due to the prevalence of corruption within the Polish judiciary and the continued presence of holdover [[Polish People's Republic|Communist era]] judges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/22/controversial-judicial-reform-still-needed-polish-prime-minister-says-after-eu-battle.html |title=Controversial judicial reform still 'needed,' Polish prime minister says after EU battle |last=Ellyatt |first=Holly |date= 22 Jan 2020 |website=CNBC |access-date=25 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/europe_who-will-win-rule-law-clash-between-poland-and-eu/6183694.html |title=Who Will Win in Rule-of-Law Clash Between Poland and EU? |last=Dettmer |first=Jamie|date=4 Feb 2020 |website=Voice of America |access-date=25 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| url = https://quod.lib.umich.edu/h/humfig/11217607.0005.210/--polish-constitutional-crisis-201516-a-figurational?rgn=main;view=fulltext| title = The Polish Constitutional Crisis 2015–16: A Figurational Perspective| journal = Human Figurations| date = July 2016| volume = 5| issue = 2| last1 = Bucholc| first1 = Marta}}</ref>

In October 2019, Poland's governing Law and Justice party (PiS)  won  [[2019 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary election]], keeping its majority in the lower house. The second was  centrist [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]] (KO). The government of Prime Minister [[Mateusz Morawiecki]] continued. However, PiS leader [[Jarosław Kaczyński]] was considered the most powerful political figure in Poland although not a member of government.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50037654| title = Poland election: Ruling Law and Justice party win poll - BBC News| work = BBC News| date = 14 October 2019}}</ref> In July 2020, President [[Andrzej Duda]], supported by PiS, was [[2020 Polish presidential election|re-elected]].<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/poland-election-idINKCN24E0K7| title = Polish conservative Duda re-elected president, deeper EU rifts likely| newspaper = Reuters| date = 13 July 2020}}</ref>

Poland was one of neighbouring Ukraine's most ardent supporters  after the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name=apn1>{{cite news |title=Polish-Ukrainian friendship masks a bitter, bloody history |url=https://apnews.com/article/poland-ukraine-history-war-bandera-tensions-d6a4743ca945dc3144886d9232ed795d |work=AP News |date=5 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> As of November 2022, Poland had received more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the war.<ref name=eib1>{{cite web |title=A solidarity package helps Poland integrate Ukrainian refugees |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/ukrainian-poland-infrastructure-refugees |website=European Investment Bank |language=en}}</ref> In September 2023, however, Poland said that it would stop supplying arms to Ukraine and instead focus on its own defense. Poland's decision to ban importing Ukrainian grain, in order to protect its own farmers, had caused tension between the two countries.<ref name=f24>{{cite news |title=Poland no longer arming Ukraine: Polish PM |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230920-poland-no-longer-arming-ukraine-polish-pm |work=France 24 |date=20 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the [[2023 Polish parliamentary election|election]], but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, [[Donald Tusk]] became the new Prime Minister to succeed Morawiecki, leading a coalition of three [[parliamentary group]]s made up of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], [[Third Way (Poland)|Third Way]], and [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]]. Law and Justice became the leading opposition party.<ref name=bbc1>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-11 |title=Donald Tusk elected as Polish prime minister |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |access-date=2023-12-12}}</ref>

Tensions between Poland and its eastern neighbour, [[Belarus]], reached a new high in June 2024 when Belarus, who had encouraged masses of illegal immigrants to cross the Polish border on foot as part of the undeclared dirty tricks campaign of its [[CSTO]] ally Russia, created the conditions in which a Polish border ground was stabbed to death by a would-be immigrant. The Polish state soon tightened controls of its frontier and on 27 July 2024 the [[Sejm]] passed a law which liberalized the use of firearms by border patrols.<ref name="tvp1">{{Cite web|url=https://tvpworld.com/79509686/poland-removes-criminal-liability-for-soldiers-using-firearms-on-border|title=Poland removes criminal liability for soldiers using firearms on border|website=tvpworld.com}}</ref>