The Third Sector and Political Communication in Belarus: Highlights on the Topic of Social Policies from the Presidential Campaign 2010

• Authors: Irmina Matonytė , Tatsiana Chulitskaya
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The main purpose of the article is to show specifics of political communication in a non-democratic regime (Belarus). First, we elaborate the typology of the third sector organizations according to their loyalty to the State and autonomy of their action. Then we describe the third sector organizations engaged in social policies in Belarus. We employ the qualitative discourse analysis framework and focus on public speeches and public acts, related to social concerns and performed by Lukashenka and alternative candidates in September-December 2010. The study shows that the State in Belarus effectively reduces discursive and policy action opportunities of the third sector organizations and marginalizes their political representation. The electoral campaign crucially lacked any stronger alternative social policy proposals. The State (the third sector organizations, subordinated to the State, the state-run media, the governmental officials, and the state institutions such as KGB, military forces) performed pivotal mobilization and public relations roles on behalf of the incumbent President, thus inaugurating a new wave of terror, which followed Lukashenka’s victory on December 19, 2010.

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 235-263

Dates

published

2012-01-01

online

2013-01-31

Contributors

author

Irmina Matonytė

• ISM University of Management and Economics

author

Tatsiana Chulitskaya

• Lithuanian Social Research Center European Humanities University

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10243-012-0020-5