The Federal Idea in Poland in the Interwar Period: Idealism or Pragmatism?

The final months of World War I were marked by the concept of national self-determination. At that time Józef Piłsudski and his followers were putting into practice the so-called federal idea, which aimed at the maintaining of Polish influence in the territories of the pre-partition Poland. However, attempts to put this concept into practice faced national aspirations of Lithuanians and Ukrainians. These two nations intended to build their own states. Despite spectacular victory of the Polish army over the Red Army at Warsaw, the federal idea failed. The final end to the project came in 1921. The article presents a wider historical and political context for the foreign policy visions of Piłsudski and his aspiration to create a federal structure within the Polish borders.