EU and human rights and democracy promotion. The case of Belarus + Policy paper 4 (5 April 2022)
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:
Please, evaluate the EU´s long-term policy in
relation to Belarus (sanctions, their suspension after 2016 and new imposition
after the events in 2020; attempts for rapprochement and subsequent EU critique
of Lukashenko´s régime etc.)
Try to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of
the EU policy towards Belarus.
Evaluate the current position of the EU towards
Belarus (also in the context of recent events – migration crisis on EU-Belarus
border; current cooperation of Lukashenko with Russia; current security
situation in Eastern Europe). Do you see any future perspective for EU-Belarus
relations?
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
Shraibman, A. (2022): Where
Does Belarus Stand in the Russia-West Standoff? Carnegie Moscow Center. 14.02.2022.
On-line: https://carnegiemoscow.org/commentary/86430
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)
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.
EEAS (2016): Belarus and the EU. On-line: (https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/15975/belarus-and-eu_en)
Kłysiński,
K. (2021): Belarus: further Western sanctions. Centre for Eastern Studies, OSW.
2021-12-03. On-line: https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2021-12-03/belarus-further-western-sanctions
Korosteleva, E., A. (2016): “The European Union
and Belarus: democracy promotion by technocratic means?” Democratization, Vol.
23, No. 4, pp. 678–698
Leonard, M., Slunkin, P. and Zerka, P. (2021): How
migration became a weapon: the Belarus-Polish border crisis. Podcast. 12
November 2021, ecfr.eu. On-line: https://ecfr.eu/podcasts/episode/how-migration-became-a-weapon-the-belarus-polish-border-crisis/
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.
Vieira, A. & Vasilyan, S. (2018) Armenia
and Belarus: caught between the EU's and Russia's conditionalities?, European
Politics and Society, 19:4, pp. 471-489
(2016) Belarusians between East and West, Post-Soviet Affairs, 32:1, 1-27, DOI: 10.1080/1060586X.2014.986872
PRESENTATION:
Position paper 4:
What have been, in your view, the pros and cons
of the EU policy towards Belarus? What have been the main problems? Do you see
any achievements? (Prepare around 3 supportive and/or 3 critical arguments.)
Suggest possible future directions in the EU – Belarus relations and explain
your recommendations (taking into the account current situation in eastern
Europe). You may also take into consideration the specific historic and
geopolitical position of Belarus between the West (the EU) and Russia and the
specific (and often also problematic) nature of Russia-Belarus relations.
As literature you may use the required and recommended
reading and/or any other relevant sources (journal articles, books, news
articles, government reports, think tank papers, legal analysis, high-impact
blog posts, etc.; databases such as Cambridge, Oxford, SAGE, Wiley Online
available in the electronic resources of the FSS MU library are highly
recommended).
DEADLINE: Position paper must be uploaded to the particular folders no later than 3 p.m. of the day before the seminar for which the position paper is written, i.e. April 4, 2022, 3 p.m.