Download full text
(106.6Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-70238-4
Exports for your reference manager
The Standoff over Constitutional Reform in Belarus Leaves the EU and Russia on Opposite Sides of the Barricades
[journal article]
Abstract Belarus’s long-term ruler Lukashenka and the opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya (in line with the Coordination Council) pursue irreconcilable goals. Lukashenka aims to divert attention away from the recent fraudulent election and wants to wear down and split the opposition
by means of a lengthy const... view more
Belarus’s long-term ruler Lukashenka and the opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya (in line with the Coordination Council) pursue irreconcilable goals. Lukashenka aims to divert attention away from the recent fraudulent election and wants to wear down and split the opposition
by means of a lengthy constitutional amendment process. Its only goal: to bolster his grip on power. By contrast, the opposition seeks free and fair elections first before an open debate on the constitution could eventually be launched. The EU and Russia officially state that a solution to the conflict should be achieved by Belarusians themselves. But the EU supports Tsikhanouskaya’s call for new elections and does not recognize Lukashenka as a legitimate president, while Russia endorsed Lukashenka’s constitutional reform as a means to overcome the current crisis. What started as a purely internal standoff over the fraudulent election and state repression is now a de facto geopolitical conflict.... view less
Keywords
political conflict; opposition; Russia; Belorussia; political power; constitution; geopolitics; USSR successor state
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 5-7
Journal
Russian Analytical Digest (2020) 257
Issue topic
Russia-Belarus
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000446834
ISSN
1863-0421
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0