Külügyi Szemle - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet folyóirata - 2013 (12. évfolyam)
2013 / 3. szám - A POSZTSZOVJET TÉRSÉG ÉS OROSZORSZÁG - Rácz András: A belorusz-orosz viszony és a szuverenitás problémája
A belorusz-orosz viszony és a szuverenitás problémája Résumé Belarus-Russia Relations and the Problem of Sovereignty The article analyses contemporary Belarus-Russia relations according to the sovereignty theory of Stephen J. Krasner, outlined in his book Sovereignty. Organized Hypocrisy (1999). The article focuses on the Westphalian aspect of sovereignty, e.g. the ability of a state to exclude unwelcome outside actors from its domestic functioning. Based on this concept, three aspects of the sovereignty of Belarus are examined: statehood, military, and economic sovereignty. In terms of statehood, even though the Russia-Belarus Union State originally started as an initiative that would have lead to the integration of the two states, finally the project got stuck on the level of close intergovernmental cooperation. The reason was that thefinalité politicjue of the integration radically changed when Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia: instead of a confederation of two equal states, which would have been very beneficial for Belarus, Putin proposed that Belarus should get integrated into Russia. As this would have fundamentally endangered the power of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Minsk refused the offer, thus the further development of the Union State got stopped. Hence, in terms of statehood, Belarus managed to preserve its Westphalian sovereignty. However, the closer examination of military security reveals that this sovereignty is far from being complete. Russia-Belarus bilateral military cooperation is conducted in the framework of the Union State, thus Belarus formally keeps its veto right. However, in reality Moscow demands more and more compromises from Minsk, including military issues, in exchange for continuously providing the economic and financial support vital for the preservation of Lukashenko's power. Hence, defence policy decisions are increasingly taken in Moscow, instead of getting elaborated jointly, and the sovereignty of Belarus is gradually decreasing. The picture is even darker when economic sovereignty is concerned. The gradual Russian takeover of key state-owned companies is happening clearly against the will of Belarus. The case of the Beltransgaz company clearly demonstrates both this trend and economic dependence of Belarus on Russia. 2013. ősz 17
