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“We No Longer Only Carry Flowers”: Radicalization Processes Among the Belarusian Opposition-in-Exile

par Pierson, Ekaterina
Référence East European politics and societies, 0, 0
Publication Publié, 2025-03-17

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

This article explores radicalization processes among the Belarusian opposition-in-exileusing resource mobilization theory. Drawing on the case of the post-2020 opposition,exiled in the European Union and recognized by the West as a privileged interlocutorand “legitimate representative of the [Belarusian] people,” it identifies the stages of itsradicalization in response to repression in Belarus and Russia’s aggression againstUkraine: first a peaceful approach, then emphasis on self-defense, and finally preparationfor violent resistance. It explains each stage by the aggregation and maintenanceof a “resource threshold.” It counts domestic/exile networks and Western allies asresources crucial for activism among the exiled opposition. The article also argues thatdifferent strategies (peaceful versus violent) have been useful for achieving theresource threshold of the Belarusian opposition-in-exile depending on the domestic,host states’, and sponsor states’ political and geopolitical environments.