From the category archives:

Belarus

Belarus: illegal weapons supplier?

by Islander on August 11, 2010

Some facts indicate that Belarus is an active and willing exporter of arms. It has technical capabilities and financial incentives to participate in arms transfer with countries implicated in sponsoring terrorism such as Iran, Syria and Sudan.

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Belarus: Good Friends with Iran

by Islander on August 5, 2010

The Islamic Republic of Iran became the next big friend of Belarus after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell in 2003. Iranian and Belarusian officials had met before the second Iraq war; however, following the fall of Saddam’s Iraq, Belarusian-Iranian relations in economic, diplomatic, and military areas rapidly took off.

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Belarus, located in the heart of Europe, was becoming increasingly interested in economic and diplomatic cooperation with various African states. What went largely unreported by media and official statements was the fact that many of the above mentioned potential trade partners had lax anti-money laundering laws.

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Belarus: Befriending the Axis of Terror

by Islander on July 30, 2010

Since early 1990s, the Belarusian government actively has been establishing diplomatic, military, and economic relationships with foreign countries. Interestingly, although Belarus is located in the heart of Europe, it has shown special attention to African and Middle Eastern countries. Specifically, the Belarusian government has focused development of its diplomatic, military, and economic efforts on Iraq, [...]

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Tying three models together

by Islander on July 20, 2010

The Model I, II, and III are different in type of questions they pose, perspectives, approaches and possible outcomes. However different though, together they provide a fuller picture because upon a closer look they could be logically linked together. Model I shows that Belarus is strategically positioned to take advantage of its status as a [...]

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Model III questions: Model III looks and analyzes individuals and attempts to predict outcomes or possible course of action based on this analysis. a) Whose opinion and views really count in making a particular economic or political decision? Considering that incumbent Belarusian President remains in power for 14 years (as of 2008), it should be [...]

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Model II questions: While Model I focuses more on a broader picture, Model II attempts to look at organizational traits that shape and produce opinions, perceptions and courses of action. a) What organization/factor plays the biggest role in Belarus? It appears to be the Soviet Union. Certainly Soviet Union does not exist, yet its legacy [...]

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In an attempt to create a complete picture with circumstances, factors and motives that underline Belarus’ energy policies and create grounds for future developments, this discussion will adopt and follow three conceptual models and corresponding questions presented and developed by Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow (1999) in their book “Essence of Decision. Explaining the Cuban [...]

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Being Anchored by the Image of Soviet Success In the atmosphere of general chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and suffering from distorted trade links and unsecured currency, the image of Belarus as one of the most stable and successful republic saw a blowing crash. Unable to get public support for painful [...]

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1990′s: Where Do You Go From Here? In 1991 Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed a document that effectively dissolved the Soviet Union and paved the way for its former members towards full independence. On the eve of such grandiose historical event Belarus was rather a successful republic with very high living standards compared to most [...]

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