Belarusians between East and West. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: White, Stephen; Biletskaya, Tania; McAllister, Ian
• Is Part Of: Post-Soviet affairs. Volume 32:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 27
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: Belarus foreign policy -- European integration -- Eurasian integration -- mixed methods; Former Soviet republics -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 947.084
• DOI: 10.1080/1060586X.2014.986872
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1060-586X

Abstract

Abstract : Belarus has a divided identity that reflects its complex history and culture. A mixed-methods investigation incorporating focus groups and national representative surveys conducted over a decade or more suggests that Belarusians themselves are more likely to regard themselves as "European" than their counterparts in Ukraine and Russia, but less likely to do so than in other European countries. There is substantial support for a hypothetical European Union membership, particularly among younger respondents, but there is also strong and widely distributed support for a closer association with the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Consistently, it is the "multidirectional" foreign policy promoted by the current leadership, which seeks closer relations with East and West at the same time, that finds the greatest support. But a "Slavic choice" is also popular, and much more so than a "Western choice" or isolationism.