Push and Pull: NATO, EU, and Poland’s Positioning after 2022

Authors

Zsombor Zeöld, Corvinus University of BudapestFollow
Réka Dobreffné Bogár, Corvinus University of BudapestFollow
Dániel Bernát Vay, Corvinus University of BudapestFollow

Author Biography

Zsombor Zeöld is a PhD student in International and Security Studies at Corvinus University of Budapest. He earned his MA in International Relations at Eötvös Loránd University Budapest and at Jagiellonian University Kraków. As a former CEPA-Hungary Foundation Andrássy National Security Fellow, his main research interests lie in Central European security and defense, with a particular focus on Poland.

Réka Dobreffné Bogár is a PhD student in International and Security Studies at Corvinus University of Budapest. She earned her MA in International Public Service Studies at the Ludovika University of Public Service. Her research examines how crises shape the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), with a focus on strategic autonomy, transatlantic relations, and the evolving dynamics of the US–China–EU triangle.

Dániel Bernát Vay has military and civilian experience within Hungarian defense institutions. He is a PhD student in International and Security Studies at Corvinus University of Budapest, with an MSc in economics from the University of Pannonia and a BA in security and defence policy from the National University of Public Service. His research focuses on the strengthening of NATO's Eastern Flank.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.19.1.2591

Subject Area Keywords

Defense policy, Europe and EU, International security, Military affairs, Strategy, War studies

Abstract

The 2022 Russia-Ukraine war profoundly reshaped European security, exposing long-standing weaknesses while accelerating institutional adaptation within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). This article argues that NATO reaffirmed its role as the guarantor of hard deterrence and defense commitments (“pull effects”), while the EU advanced as a provider of institutional support, logistics, financial tools, and defense-industrial initiatives (“push effects”). A case study of Poland illustrates how a frontline state navigates these dynamics, using NATO’s pull and the EU’s push to expand its security agency and shape broader European defense debates. Together, these developments suggest a redefined European defense posture, where NATO and EU function less as rivals than as complementary institutions in responding to high-intensity conflict.

Recommended Citation

Zeöld, Zsombor; Dobreffné Bogár, Réka; and Vay, Dániel Bernát. "Push and Pull: NATO, EU, and Poland’s Positioning after 2022." Journal of Strategic Security 19, no. 1 (2026) : 41-62.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.19.1.2591
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol19/iss1/3