Contemporary Belarus: Between Democracy and Dictatorship

by Korosteleva,Elena

• ISBN13: 9780700716135
• ISBN10: 0700716130
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-12-06
• Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon

Summary

bBelarus is unique among the states of the former Soviet bloc, in that after a decade of transition', the country remains stalled' and backward-oriented. Political and economic changes are characterised by half-measures, and recently a new suppression of dissent has been introduced; the country balances between the prospect of democracy and a retreat to authoritarianism. These developments contrast starkly with the many democratic changes in neighbouring states and suggest a possible alternative path for future development in Eastern Europe. This book provides a thorough overview of current developments in Belarus. It looks at historical, political, economic and social changes, and at international relations, especially relations with Russia and the European Union, considering all these factors both in their domestic and international contexts and defines the type of democracy, if any, which exists in Belarus, exploring the prospects for further democratisation.

Table of Contents

List of tables	vii
Notes on contributors	ix
Acknowledgements	xv
Note on translation and transliteration	xvii
Introduction: paradoxes of democratisation in post-communist Belarus	1	(20)
Elena A. Korosteleva
Colin W. Lawson
Rosalind J. Marsh
History and politics in post-Soviet Belarus: the foundations	21	(15)
David R. Marples
Explaining post-communist authoritarianism in Belarus	36	(17)
Vital Silitski
Difficulties of elite formation in Belarus after 1991	53	(15)
Olga Belova-Gille
Party system development in post-communist Belarus	68	(17)
Elena A. Korosteleva
Electoral politics of Belarus compared	85	(15)
Christian W. Haerpfer
President and opposition: specific features of the Belarusian political scene	100	(12)
David G. Rotman
Aliaksandr N. Danilov
Belarus: in search of national identity between 1986 and 2000	112	(13)
Jan Zaprudnik
Path-dependence and the economy of Belarus: the consequences of late reforms	125	(12)
Colin W. Lawson
Economic policy in Belarus from official and oppositional perspectives	137	(15)
Nadezhda Lisovskaia
Julia Korosteleva
Russia and Belarus: the quest for the union; or who will pay for Belarus's path to recovery?	152	(13)
Anastasia Nesvetailova
Belarus's external relations	165	(14)
Denis Krivosheev
Belarus's relations with the European Union: a western perspective	179	(14)
Teresa Dumasy
Afterword: the presidential election of September 2001	193	(4)
Index	197