Episode 7: Repressed for decades. Civil society and the NGO sector in Belarus

Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime has deliberately worked on narrowing down the space for any independent civil society by creating a state-controlled public sphere. In this episode we explore the slow development of civil society organizations in Belarus and how despite repressions they have still managed to make an impact on nation building. We also discuss how the tireless and risky work of these activists has played a role in the 2020 protests and social mobilization.

Hosted by: Adam Reichardt

Guest speaker: Natalia Yerashevich, Director of the Secretariat of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

Background readings and data:

“The condition of NGOs and civil society in Belarus”, Veranika Laputska. Institute of Public Affairs / Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2017:
http://aei.pitt.edu/90422/1/PB2017_civil_society_Belarus2.pdf

“Belarus at a Crossroads: Political Regime Transformation and Future Scenarios”, By Andrei Yeliseyeu. The Eurasian States in Transition Research Center, July 2020. https://east-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-at-a-Crossroads-Political-Regime-Transformation-and-Future-Scenarios.pdf

“The changing role of civil society in Belarus”, ForumCiV, September 2020: https://www.forumciv.org/int/latest/changing-role-civil-society-belarus

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.