EU as the actor of human rights and democracy promotion. The case of Belarus + Position paper 4 (27 March 2023)
This lecture and seminar discuss the EU's
external policies in the eastern neighbourhood, with a special focus on the
promotion of human rights and democracy. Specifically, the seminar is devoted to the case of Belarus in
relation to the EU and its efforts and limits in the area of democracy promotion.
The context of events after presidential elections in 2020 will be taken into
the account, as well as current close cooperation between Putin and Lukashenko in the context of Ukrainian war.
Questions for discussion:
Evaluate in the long term perspective the EU policy towards Belarus (sanctions, their lifting after 2016; the efforts for rapprochement and the subsequent EU response to the events in 2020 and the current relationship of Lukashenko's Belarus with Russia, in the context of the war in Ukraine). Assess the strengths and weaknesses of EU policy towards Belarus (prepare arguments).
What, in your view, are the possible solutions and approaches to the current situation (from the EU perspective) and what should the further development of mutual relations look like? Take into account the events of the last months and years (the migration crisis on the EU-Belarus border in 2021; Lukashenko's Belarus' cooperation with Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine and the current security situation in Eastern Europe).
In your opinion, is there any prospect for a rapprochement between the EU and Belarus? On what conditions?
Readings:
Bosse, G. (2021): Authoritarian consolidation in Belarus: What role for the EU? European View. Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp: 201-210. https://doi.org/10.1177/17816858211061839
Korosteleva, E. and Petrova,
I. (2021): Community Resilience in Belarus and the EU response. JCMS
2021 pp. 1–13. DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13248
Lvovskiy, L. (2023): Has Belarus´s Support for Russia´s War Gone Unrewarded? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 16.03.2023. On-line: https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/89276
Slunkin, P. (2023): A prison of the mind. Lukashenka´s pursuit of exiled Belarusians. Europeam Council on Foreign Relations. Commentary. 30 January 2023. On-line: (https://ecfr.eu/article/a-prison-of-the-mind-lukashenkas-pursuit-of-exiled-belarusians/)
Recommended:
Börzel, T, A. - Lebanidze,
B. (2017): “The transformative power of Europe” beyond enlargement: the EU’s
performance in promoting democracy in its neighbourhood." East European
Politics, 2017, VOL. 33, NO. 1, 17–35.
Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Belarus (n.d.): https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/belarus_en?s=218
Podcast: The Story of Belarus. New Eastern Europe.
November 25, 2020. On-line: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/11/25/the-story-of-belarus/
Nygren, B. (2010): The
Rebuilding of Greater Russia. Putin´s foreign policy towards the CIS countries.
London: Routledge, pp. 66 – 81.
(2016) Belarusians between East and West, Post-Soviet Affairs, 32:1, 1-27, DOI: 10.1080/1060586X.2014.986872
Titarenko, L. (2018): Belarus and the European Union. From confrontation to the dialogue. CSE WORKING PAPERS 18/01. Centro Studi Europei. On-line: (http://elea.unisa.it/bitstream/handle/10556/2553/2018_-_cse_wp_1._larisa_titarenko.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y)
Position paper 4:
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the EU's policy towards Belarus to date. Where do you see the biggest problems and possible reasons for the failure of EU policy towards Belarus? Can you see any success in the EU policy towards Belarus? What could be the future of mutual relations and under what conditions? What would you recommend as to how the EU should proceed towards Belarus and the Lukashenko regime at the present time? (Take into account the current situation in Eastern Europe, possibly also history, the specifics of Belarus as one of the states in the post-Soviet space, the geographical position of Belarus, the political regime, etc., according to your own choice.)
DEADLINE: Position paper must be uploaded to the particular folders no later than 5 p.m. of the day before the seminar for which the position paper is written, i.e. March 26, 2023, 5 p.m.
PRESENTATION: