Ambivalence of globalization: Case of Belarus

Abstract

The article considers the ambivalence of globalization based on the case of Belarus. The theoretical framework and methodological basis of the analysis are the following concepts: the ambivalence of modernity by Zygmunt Bauman, multiple modernities by Shmuel Eisenstadt, glocalization by Roland Robertson and the plural flows of globalization by Arjun Appadurai, Malcolm Waters, John Urry. The author of the article studies the uneven involvement of Belarus in the processes of globalization in the political, military, economic and environmental dimensions. Additionally, the author analyzes the development of the authoritarian political regime in Belarus (new authoritarianism in the Jerzy Vyatr’s terminology) and the appearance of such a phenomenon as the globalization of authoritarianism. It is stated that Belarus is becoming a regional and global actor, a donor of authoritarianism (inclusion in the globalization through the expansion of authoritarianism). Particular attention is given to the civil protest events that took place in Belarus in 2020-2021. They contributed to the making of a new political subjectivity (civic national identity) and to a counter consolidation of the authoritarian political regime. The author concludes that Belarus is an example of the strengthening (in terms of paternalism and authoritarian state governance of the population) the role of the nation state (Belarusian autocracy) in the context of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a new wave of de-globalization.