Unfinished Nation-Building in Belarus and the 2006 Presidential Election

Abstract

A U.S.-based geographer interprets the results of the March 19, 2006 presidential elections in Belarus as a contest among three emergent strands of Belarusian nationalism. The study is based on national surveys conducted by an independent research/polling organization, analysis of websites of Radio Liberty's Belarusian Service and opposition-minded and official media outlets, as well as field observations and selected interviews. The author begins by examining polling results believed to reflect mass attitudes of rank-and-file Belarusians; the three strands of nationalism (personified by the three major presidential candidates) are then described in detail. He argues that lack of national consolidation presents a far greater problem for Belarus than the much-reviled Lukashenka regime, particularly in the context of recent disputes with Russia over oil and gas transit and pricing. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, P20, Z00. 5 tables, 70 references.

Keywords:

• Belarus
• Lukashenka
• national identity
• independent media
• Creole nationalism
• Russia
• Poland
• national projects