Präsidentschaftswahl in Belarus vor dem Hintergrund der Pandemie und Massenprotesten /

Presidential Election in Belarus Against the Background of Pandemic and Popular Protests

The presidential election in Belarus is scheduled for the 9th of August this year. Under the circumstances of the pandemic Covid 19 and growing popular discontent, the smooth re-election of the incumbent president, Aliaksandr Lukashenka, for his 6th term is put into question.

The country witnesses an unprecedented level of publicly expressed support for alternative candidates coming from various social groups far beyond the classical opposition electorate. At least two presidential candidates are former high-profile regime insiders. Their popularity and background seem to represent a substantial threat to the regime – two out of three most popular figures have been detained so far, while a wave of repressions against people gathering signatures and protesting against detentions has started.

How to explain the sudden signs of extensive politisation in Belarus? To what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic changed the relationship between citizens and state while simultaneously boosting social solidarity? What is the role of social media and online activism in the society’s capacity to self-organise? And what impact does this pressure have on the unity of the political elite?

Diskutanten / Discussants
Ryhor ASTAPENIA, Robert Bosch Stiftung Academy Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, London
Aliaksandr HERASIMENKA, Computational Propaganda Project, University of Oxford

Moderation
Olga DRYNDOVA, Redakteurin „Belarus-Analysen” / Stellvertretende Vorsitzende, deutsch-belarussische gesellschaft e.V., Berlin

Einführung / Introduction
Markus MECKEL, Vorsitzender, deutsch-belarussische gesellschaft e.V., Berlin
Gabriele FREITAG, Geschäftsführerin, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde e.V., Berlin

Die Diskussion findet in englischer Sprache statt. /
The discussion will be held in English.

Bitte melden Sie sich bis zum 29. Juni 2020 an: Aktivieren Sie JavaScript, um diesen Inhalt anzuzeigen. /
We ask for registration up to the 29th June via: Aktivieren Sie JavaScript, um diesen Inhalt anzuzeigen.

Information for participants will be sent after registration.

Veranstaltung in Kooperation mit der deutsch-belarussischen gesellschaft e.V.
/ Discission is a cooperation between the German-Belarusian Society and the German Association for East European Studies

Veranstaltungsprogramm

Einladung (PDF, 368 kB)