Between the EU and Russia
Geopolitical Games in Belarus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6172767 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David R Marples (University of Alberta, corresponding author), David Marples |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 38-68 |
| Publication date | 2013-12-11 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Belarusian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0075-4161 • E-ISSN: 2052-6512 |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.30965/20526512-00701003 |
| OpenAlex | W2993301176 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 3 |
The three-way relationship between Belarus, Russia, and the European Union has often been discussed, particularly concerning what seems to be a tug-of-war for the allegiance of Belarus between two power bases: the one a traditional ally and regional power; the other an important economic partner with political ambitions.But it has less often been portrayed for its prevailing characteristic: a convenient instrument deployed by the Lukašenka regime in Belarus to keep itself afloat.Official Belarus has achieved this feat in a number of ways that will be explored in this paper.Although relations with the EU deteriorated after the brutal crackdown on demonstrators after the December 2010 presidential elections in Belarus, relations with Russia, which had been frigid between 2008 and 2010, improved by the end of the latter year, and Belarus began to play a more active role in the CSTO and to enjoy favoured status with reduced prices for imported oil and gas.On the other hand, by 2012, Belarus had become more reticent about sales of valuable companies to Russia, according to official pronouncements.Many Belarusians feared the consequences of Russia's raising energy prices or reducing Belarusian imports and thus by early 2013, it was hardly surprising to see the president once again reaching out to Brussels with an olive branch (Korovenkova 2013).This paper attempts to answer the question whether the current Belarusian regime can continue to manipulate its relations between the two centres and survive growing external and internal pressures from the EU and Russia, and the economic difficulties that surfaced in 2009 and still pose problems. It addresses as a secondary issue what it perceives as the key question of EUBetween the EU and Russia: Geopolitical Games in Belarus 38
Economics · Geopolitics · International trade · Political science · Politics · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · European Politics and Security · Law
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |