ABSTRACT
This chapters looks at the personalization of power in Belarus through the creation of non-democratic political institutions that are beholden to Lukashenka as president. It shows that this has been achieved in three ways. Through circumvention, institutions are ignored, bypassed, or denigrated. With subordination the rules of the game for institutions are modified or changed outright to better meet the needs of the presidency. Finally, these weakened institutions can be commandeered, by ensuring that those agents who hold important positions in them are appointed by, and loyal to, the presidency. After outlining the structures that were in place when Lukashenka came to power, this chapter illustrates how these techniques have been employed in all three branches of government – the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. It also examines the centralization of power and the weakening of local self-government. The chapter then turns to how the personalization of power around Lukashenka and control of appointments extends into the national economy. In sum, a presidential vertical of power – or the vertikal’ – has been established, which reflects many of the key aspects of neopatrimonialism within personalist non-democratic rule.
