Articles about:
Belarus
Despite what looks like increasing tensions between the European Union and Russia, both blocs will stay neighbours for the foreseeable future. The EU should face up to this reality, work on a common policy, based on interests and norms, and set the agenda. In times of increasing global challenges, both […]
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Belarus is in the deepest political crisis in its modern history. Public protests of hundreds of thousands, representing all social layers and groups, have continued for four months, and spread across the whole country. They initially erupted following the largely flawed presidential election on 9 August, in which the incumbent […]
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The former Polish president Alexander Kwaśniewski (1995-2005) has long been an advocate of regional cooperation in central and eastern Europe. During his presidency, he not only oversaw his country’s accession to the European Union (2004), but just a few months later, when the ‘Orange Revolution’ began in neighbouring Ukraine, he […]
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The mass mobilisation in Belarus in 2020, like Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, is a form of post-electoral protest. The mobilisation was triggered by state repression against the opposition and blatant falsifications of the 9 August presidential election results. Several factors contributed to the politicisation of Belarusians. The new opposition conducted […]
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President Alexander Lukashenko has lost legitimacy. He is no longer in control of the situation in the country. But the structures of repression are still on his side. They are likely to continue to support him, as the Kremlin successfully discourages the West from intervening more actively in Belarus. Who […]
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The mass protests in Belarus are unprecedented in the nation’s history. Hundreds of thousands of people went to the streets regularly to protest against the falsification of the election results. Some still do. Not only the scale, but also the duration of the protests is surprising. Despite brutal interventions by […]
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The EU’s institutional, economic and political channels to exert influence on Belarus are limited. All the contrary to Russia’s multifaceted and well-institutionalised strategy vis-à-it’s small western neighbour. However, a realistic acknowledgement of the EU’s capabilities is no excuse for self-complacency and determinism. The quest of the Belarussian people for democracy […]
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The Belarusian writer, 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, and one of my favourite authors has written a book named “The Unwomanly Face of War” but unlike the war, the protest against the regime and President Alexander Lukashenko, known as ‘Europe’s last dictator’ in the streets of all major cities […]
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It is easy to call for EU action in crises at the borders of the bloc. And in the case of Belarus, these calls have been made again. But the European Union must acknowledge that the Belarusian case cannot be considered without thinking of Russia, and that in some crises […]
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