He took part in the Polish 1968 political crisis, and for his activities he was again imprisoned for three and a half years.

From 1989 to 1991 he was a member of the Polish Senat (Solidarity Citizens' Committee), supporting the left-wing, particularly the Labour Union party and later Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

In 2007, he won the Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science for his research on the emergence of the European identity revealing the importance of pre-Christian and multicultural tradition for the contemporary concept of Europe, presented in his work Barbarzyńska Europa ("Barbarian Europe").

[citation needed] In 2009, he received an honorary degree at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, and in 2014 he was the winner of the prestigious Nike Award for his autobiography entitled Zajeździmy kobyłę historii: wyznania poobijanego jeźdźca ("We'll Ride the Mare of History to the Ground: Confessions of a Bruised Rider") as well as the Kazimierz Moczarski History Award and the Józef Tischner Award.

In 2016, he became an honorary citizen of the city of Wrocław and together with Róża Thun received the Order of Legion d'Honneur.