The role of historically shaped mentality in the persistence of the Belarusian political system
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/johass.2026.1.7Keywords:
Belarus, political system, culture, mental models, RussiaAbstract
In 2024, it was 30 years since Alexander Lukashenko came to power. Today, the Belarusian political system is classified as consolidated authoritarianism. The aim of this article is to explore whether the mentality of Belarusians is a factor supporting the persistence of the authoritarian political system in this country. The paper is based mainly on a survey of the political mentality of Belarusians conducted in 2023 as part of a project by the National Centre for Research and Development (Poland), as well as on historical analysis. We have come to the conclusion that the mental models are an important factor in persisting the Belarusian political system, but to some extent. The mental models were (in our view) especially crucial to the direction the country took in the 1990s. Later, the dictator's power and his increasingly powerful external protector – Russia – did not allow political change in Belarus, despite generational and mental changes. Today, Belarus is completely subordinated to Moscow. There will be no change to the political system in Belarus without making systemic changes in Russia first. In the current geopolitical situation in Belarus, cultural factors (mental models) are becoming less important as factors contributing to the regime's persistence.
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