Transformation of the Political Regime in Belarus: Features, Problems and Prospects
Students Name: Bozhko Vitalii Vitaliiovych
Qualification Level: magister
Speciality: International Relations
Institute: Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Mode of Study: full
Academic Year: 2020-2021 н.р.
Language of Defence: ukrainian
Abstract: Bozhko V.V., Gorbach O.N. (supervisor). Transformation of the political regime in Belarus: features, problems and prospects. Master’s qualification work. - Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, 2020. Extended abstract. Bozhko V.V., Gorbach O.N. (supervisor). Transformation of the political regime in Belarus: features, problems and prospects. Master’s qualification work. - Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, 2020. Belarus is a country that has shaken the international community this year and forced the whole of Europe to freeze. In the current Belarusian revolution of freedom, the context of external relations and interactions is important - which many analysts and publicists call a «geopolitical» factor. How long Europe’s «last dictator» and «Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime» will last is of interest to the whole world and, above all, to the nation of Belarusians fighting for their democracy. One of the main words of the year 2020 is «Belarusian», which characterizes large-scale public protests, for 4 months now. This event could bring new balances of power in Europe after so many years of stability and lead to more and more protests in the world against authoritarianism. The paper analyzes the theoretical foundations and historical aspects of the formation of the political regime of the Republic of Belarus from 1917 to the present day; the peculiarities of the political and state system of Belarus, which exist at the legislative level and in real functioning, are studied. The problems of the formation of civil society and the formation of a democratic regime in the Republic of Belarus were also highlighted on the example of street demonstrations of citizens. For about two decades, political relations between Belarus and the European Union have remained extremely conflicted. Communication between Minsk and Brussels remained low and went far beyond human rights and democracy. The president and his entourage have been subjected to harsh economic and political sanctions from time to time, most recently in November 2020 over the EU’s condemnation of election fraud and brutal crackdown on protests. Despite objective difficulties, the independent Republic of Belarus has managed to develop its international relations without sacrificing national interests. This has allowed the country to confidently and effectively promote and defend its foreign policy goals and priorities. The paper examines Belarus’ relations with the most influential actors such as the European Union, the United States, and the Russian Federation. Study object - the Republic of Belarus as an independent state Scope of research - is the transformation of the political regime of the Republic of Belarus and its future prospects. Goal of research - to study the transformation of the political regime in Belarus; identify features, problems and prospects Key words: Republic of Belarus, Lukashenko regime, authoritarianism, protests 2020, transformation of the regime, democracy, problems and prospects. References. 1) Ляхович В. Політичні режими Росії та Білорусії/ Володимир Ляхович. // Наукові записки Інст. політ. і етнонац. досл. ім. ІФ Кураса. – 2011. – №4. – С. 232–244; 2) Официальный интернет-портал Президента Республики Беларусь [Електронний ресурс]. – 2020. – Режим доступу до ресурсу: http://www.president.gov.by/; 3) Официальный сайт Палаты Представителей [Електронний ресурс]. – 2020. – Режим доступу до ресурсу: http://www.house.gov.by/ru; 4) Leshchenko N. The national ideology and the basis of the Lukashenka regime in Belarus / Natalia Leshchenko // Europe-Asia Studies 60 / Natalia Leshchenko., 2008. – С. 1419–1433; 5) Uladzimer R. The Republic of Belarus: internal factors of statehood development / Rouda Uladzimer. // Acta Slavica Iaponica. – 2004. – №21. – С. 144–180.