Preempting Democracy: The Case of Belarus

Issue Date October 2005
Volume 16
Issue 4
Page Numbers 83-97
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Having drawn lessons from the downfall of some of his fellow autocrats, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is preventing the emergence of an effective democratic movement in Belarus.

About the Author

Vitali Silitski is director of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies. He has been a visiting fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University (2006–2007), and a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (2004–2005).

View all work by Vitali Silitski

Further Reading

Volume 22, Issue 3

Belarus: A Tale of Two Elections

Strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s suspiciously lopsided 2010 electoral victory—and subsequent crackdown on dissent—may seem like a repeat of the events of 2006, but much has changed in the interval, and his…

Volume 13, Issue 4

Dark Days in Belarus

Why did Belarusians return dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power in September 2001? Could a better-managed opposition campaign have made a difference?

Volume 33, Issue 4

How to Compete in Unfair Elections

Opposition movements often boycott rigged polls rather than risk legitimizing an autocrat. It is usually a mistake. Here is the playbook for how one opposition seized the advantage.