Looks at the sources of stability and instability in post-Soviet authoritarian states through the case study of President Lukashenka’s firm hold on power in Belarus. In particular, it seeks to understand the role of energy relations, policies, and discourses in the maintenance of this power. The central empirical question Balmaceda seeks to answer is what has been the role of energy policies in the maintenance of Lukashenka’s power in Belarus? In particular, it analyzes the role of energy policies in the management of Lukashenka’s relationship with three constituencies crucial to his hold on power: Russian actors, the Belarusian nomenklatura, and the Belarusian electorate.
In terms of foreign relations, the book focuses on the factors explaining Lukashenka’s ability to project Belarus’ power in its relationship with Russia in such a way as to compensate for its objective high level of dependency, assuring high levels of energy subsidies and rents continuing well beyond the initial worsening of the relationship in c. 2004. In terms of domestic relations, Balmaceda examines Lukashenka’s specific use of those energy rents in such a way as to assure the continuing support of both the Belarusian nomenklatura and the Belarusian electorate.
Author(s): Margarita M. Balmaceda
Publisher: Central European University Press
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 236
City: Budapest
Tags: Belarus Russia relations Belorussia White Eastern Europoe East European politics energy policy geopolitics Russian revisionism New Cold War
List of Tables, Graphs and Figures ix
Preface and Acknowledgements xi
Note on Sources and Transliteration xv
1. Introduction 1
2. Belarus: Between Russia and the West, and at the Very Core
of the Soviet System 19
3. The “High Years”: Energy and Russian-Belarusian Relations,
1994–2004 33
4. Nomenklatura Players, Energy Corruption, and Belarus’
“Energy-Political Model” 93
5. The “Low Years”: Energy and Russian–Belarusian Relations,
2004–2009 117
6. The Energy Prologue and the Aftermath to the 2010 Elections:
from Euphoria to Forced Concessions 159
7. Conclusion 179
Map 192
Bibliography 193
Index 213
