Good Governance Promotion in the Context of Authoritarian Consolidation: the Case of Belarus

Can an authoritarian state genuinely adopt and implement good governance principles within its public administration? This question may appear paradoxical; however, evidence suggests that authoritarian governments can and often do align themselves with the "good governance" concept. This phenomenon becomes particularly salient when international organizations support programmes and projects related to good governance promotion. Belarus, a country with a consolidating authoritarian regime, is a viable case for investigating how the government can accept, adopt, and use good governance for its own purposes. This presentation aims to explore the transformation of institutions and principles of good governance in public administration as promoted by international organizations in Belarus. During periods of relative liberalization from 2008 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020, Belarusian public administration saw the introduction of some good governance practices. These initial innovations, however, were largely reversed following the mass protests in 2020, the ensuing political crisis, and the Belarusian government's alignment with Russia during the war against Ukraine, followed by the imposing of the most severe Western sanctions in the history of the country. However, despite all these developments, international programmes aimed at promoting good governance have not entirely ceased and, in some cases, continue up till now. The first part of the presentation investigates theoretical approaches towards the co-optation concept and its possible implications for analyzing the situation in Belarus as a consolidating authoritarian regime. Secondly, it examines facets of good governance in practice to gain insights into how it is operationalized and implemented on the ground (in Belarus). Then, an empirical analysis of international programmes and projects related to good governance promotion in public administration in Belarus is presented, and a comparison of two periods before (2015 – 2020) and after (2020 – 2024) is made. It concludes with a discussion on the content of the programmes of good governance support in Belarus and how the authoritarian government co-opts them to achieve its own purposes.