Belarus in the Twenty-First Century: Between Dictatorship and Democracy

Description

This book presents a comprehensive overview of current developments in Belarus. It explores how there has been an upswelling of popular support for the idea that Belarus must change. It highlights how the old regime, aiming to retain the Soviet legacy, reluctant to reform, presiding over worsening economic conditions and refusing to take measures to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, has been confronted by increasing bottom-up and horizontal social mobilisation which demands a transformation of state-society relations and a new sense of Belarusian peoplehood. The book outlines how the current situation has developed, considers how the present demands for change are deep-seated and long-brewing trends, and reveals much detail about many aspects of the growing societal mobilisation. Overall, the book demonstrates that, although the old regime remains in power, Belarusian society has changed fundamentally, thereby bringing great hope that change will eventually come about. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Foreword Introduction Part I History, Identity, and Politics Revisited Chapter 1 The Political Symbols and Concepts of Statehood in the Modern History of Belarus Chapter 2 The ‘Genocide of Belarusians’ and the Survival of Lukashenka’s Regime Chapter 3 The Soviet Roots of the 2020 Protests: The Unlikely History of Belarusian Civic Nationalism Chapter 4 Foreign Policy Manifestations of Belarus’ 2020 Protest Movement: In-betweenness as Usual? Part II Socio-Economic and Institutional Landscapes Chapter 5 Stolen Decades: The Unfulfilled Expectations of the Belarusian Economic Miracle Chapter 6 COVID-19 in Belarus: Politics, Protests, and Public Health Chapter 7 The Belarusian Judicial System: What Can We Learn from Georgia and Ukraine’s Struggle for the Independent Judiciary? Chapter 8 Belarusian Law as an Agent of Change Part III Reclaiming Public Space and Fostering Peoplehood Chapter 9 Social Movements and Political Change in Belarus in 2020 and After Chapter 10 Societal Self-Organization in Belarus Post-2020: The Rise of Peoplehood Chapter 11 Activating and Negotiating Women’s Citizenship in the 2020 Belarusian Uprising Chapter 12 Tracing the Emergence of Peoplehood in Belarus and Ukraine: A Comparative Study Chapter 13 Where Does Belarus Go from Here? Index