Sunday, May 28, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Belarus is a warning of what can happen when authoritarians are squeezed by global powers: Kiarash Ighani and J. Berkshire Miller in the Globe

October 6, 2020
in Columns, Europe and Russia, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Program, In the Media, Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Latest News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

The situation in Belarus should be seen as a warning to the West once again on the reach of authoritarian regimes such as that in the Kremlin, and their ruthless drive to pursue their regional interests, write Kiarash Ighani and Jonathan Berkshire Miller in the Globe and Mail. 

By Kiarash Ighani and Jonathan Berkshire Miller, October 6, 2020

Last week, Canada joined other countries in imposing sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other high-ranking members of his administration over allegations of human rights violations following a rigged presidential election this past August. Yet Mr. Lukashenko, aptly labelled “the last dictator of Europe,” has carried on with his 26-year reign – thanks in large part to Belarus’s superpower neighbour to the east, Russia. Unfortunately for Belarusians, Russia continues to staunchly support its undemocratic ally, and Moscow has been one of the primary pillars in its longstanding survival.

The situation in Belarus should be seen as a warning to the West once again on the reach of authoritarian regimes such as that in the Kremlin, and their ruthless drive to pursue their regional interests.

Central Asian countries find themselves in a precarious geopolitical situation, sandwiched between two massive Eurasian authoritarian superpowers in Russia and China. Like Belarus, since their inception as new countries, gaining independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan have all had to try to cope with the political, economic and social pressures placed onto them by their domineering neighbours. It does no help to the people living in those states that the Central Asian countries are all run, to varying degrees, by authoritarians.

But what has changed in the past decade is the increase in economic and, ultimately, political pressure exerted on these states by their ambitious neighbours.

In 2015, Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a customs union between Russia and several former Soviet republics, came into effect. But while there is some economic benefit to having a smoother customs process – not having to wait three days to cross the borders with cargo, for example – the EEU has been an overall negative experience for Central Asia. Coupled with the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA), the EEU creates greater economic dependency on Moscow, and so when Russia’s economy slumps – which it often does and has in the past decade – the Central Asian economies suffer. Moscow’s economic woes and the collapse of the ruble have contributed to local economies taking a major hit.

Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that the only plausible alternative currently available – China – has been welcomed by the ruling elites of the Central Asian republics. China’s Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) – one component of its massive infrastructure building vision dubbed the Belt and Road Initiative – is a multibillion dollar investment effort from China to create the necessary infrastructure for its economic vision in a multitude of countries spanning Eurasia. The catch: these lucrative development contracts are awarded to Chinese enterprises by the same self-serving undemocratic governments. While corrupt bureaucrats fill their pockets with bribe money, their countries go into even greater debt. Further, development projects almost always employ Chinese instead of local labour.

In order to secure Chinese investments, governments of Central Asian countries have entered into agreements with China and have changed their own laws. Kazakhstan, for example, has enacted land reforms that allow foreign interests to lease agricultural land for 25 years. This sparked anti-government and anti-Chinese protests in several cities across Kazakhstan – a country that does not have freedom of assembly, and arbitrarily detains anyone presumed to be protesting against government policy.

Indeed, the prospects and hopes for democratization in Central Asia seem grim. On one hand, the entirety of their short political history has been authoritarian and their bases for liberal democracy are lacking. On the other, the economic and political pressure exerted onto them by Russia and China emboldens and maintains the power of the authoritarian political elite of these states.

The economic reality of the reliance on Russian and Chinese markets certainly moulds the political reality of having to be more or less aligned to the policy positions of at least one of these two powers. Greater political independence from China and Russia necessitates the creation of greater market opportunities outside of the immediate region. Higher volumes of trade with a broader range of partners, especially democratic ones such as Canada, can provide the space to be more politically independent.

This move might be easier for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, given their wealth in natural resources. But governments in Canada and likeminded countries would be wise to engage Central Asian markets. That wouldn’t just be a mutually beneficial economic endeavour – it would also empower citizens who are thirsty for democracy.

Kiarash Ighani is a research intern at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. J. Berkshire Miller is deputy director and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Tags: authoritarianismBelarusForeign Affairsforeign policyJonathan Berkshire MillerKremlinRussia
Previous Post

Canada’s economy grows, but growth remains narrowly-based: MLI’s Leading Economic Indicator

Next Post

Webinar Panel Video: Gardeners vs. Designers – Understanding the Great Fault Line in Canadian Politics

Related Posts

Inquiry or not, foreign interference in Canada’s elections is part of a new Cold War that we cannot hide from: Brian Lee Crowley in the Globe and Mail
Columns

Inquiry or not, foreign interference in Canada’s elections is part of a new Cold War that we cannot hide from: Brian Lee Crowley in the Globe and Mail

May 27, 2023
Don’t blame Indigenous people for Calgary cancelling July 1st fireworks: Melissa Mbarki in the National Post
Columns

Don’t blame Indigenous people for Calgary cancelling July 1st fireworks: Melissa Mbarki in the National Post

May 25, 2023
Canada Must Recognize Iran’s Role in Gaza Terror: Tzvi Kahn for Inside Policy
Inside Policy

Canada Must Recognize Iran’s Role in Gaza Terror: Tzvi Kahn for Inside Policy

May 25, 2023
Next Post
Book Launch – Gardeners vs. Designers: Understanding the Great Fault Line in Canadian Politics

Webinar Panel Video: Gardeners vs. Designers - Understanding the Great Fault Line in Canadian Politics

Newsletter Signup

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Privacy Preference Center

Consent Management

Necessary

Advertising

Analytics

Other