For more than 100 days in Minsk, citizens’ protests against the authorities, which falsified the results of the last presidential elections, have not subsided. Forms of suppression unprecedented in Europe – violence and brutality against protesters – have forced many citizens to reconsider their attitude to what is happening. If initially the protest was inspired by the desire to establish democratic mechanisms for the change of power, we are now talking about a more basic level of relations within the framework of the social contract. Citizens insist on a return to the meaning of constitutional rights.
Pavel Barkouski is an independent researcher in the field of philosophy and social science. From November to December 2020 he is a Visiting Fellow of IWM’s Eurasia in Global Dialogue program.
Introduction and moderation by
Marci Shore (Associate Professor of History, Yale University; regular IWM Visiting Fellow)
Comment by
Ludger Hagedorn (IWM Permanent Fellow; Head of IWM’s Patočka Archive and Program)
