ABSTRACT
If the reaction of liberal democracies to the drastic intensification of the Russia-Ukraine war on February 24, 2022 was relatively consonant—almost all of them supported Ukraine—patronal autocracies did not speak in one voice either for or against Russia’s aggression. As the voting in the UN General Assembly on March 2, 2022 has shown, they chose different strategies in response to the conflict. 1 Some patronal autocracies like Hungary condemned the aggression by supporting the General Assembly’s resolution, but preserved and nurtured discursive ambiguity at home. 2 Other patronal autocracies, especially the ones located in Russia’s immediate neighborhood, chose to be more cautious. Some simply did not participate in the respective UN session, refusing to take any stance (e.g. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). Others were present but abstained from voting, manifesting their neutrality and thus indirectly encouraging Russia’s actions (e.g. Kazakhstan). Yet others voted against the resolution, showing their wholehearted support for the intervention (e.g. Belarus).
