Belarus after its post-Georgia elections
The EU has eased its visa ban on Belarusian officials. Was this the right move? How far can Belarus, once notorious as the ?last dictatorship in Europe?, really change?
Senior Policy Fellow
Ukraine; comparative politics of democratisation in the post-Soviet states; political technology
English, Russian, Ukrainian, some Belarusian, conversational French
Andrew Wilson is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His topics of focus include Ukraine, comparative politics of democratisation in the post-Soviet states, and political technology
Wilson is Professor in Ukrainian Studies at University College London. His book Ukraine Crisis: What the West Needs to Know was published by Yale in October 2014 in the UK and in November in the USA. He has worked extensively on the comparative politics of the post-Soviet states since 1990. His other books include Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship (2011), The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation (Third edition, 2009), Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (2005) and Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World (2005).
The EU has eased its visa ban on Belarusian officials. Was this the right move? How far can Belarus, once notorious as the ?last dictatorship in Europe?, really change?
Ukraine has lost another government. Tymoshenko has lasted only 8 months as Prime Minister, only a few weeks longer than her first attempt in 2005
This authors analyse the background and developments in the Russia-Georgia conflict and outline recommendations on how to prevent wider political fallout
The EU’s frenetic diplomacy around the conflict is in stark contrast with its reluctance to engage just a few months ago
The hostilities in Georgia are more than a war in Europe’s backyard. It is a war in Europe itself, with dire consequences
The EU needs to figure out a way to come together to fight back against Russian aggression. An article published in Newsweek
The biannual EU-Russia summit begins on 26 June in Siberia. Can the EU take advantage of the opportunity to restart the relationship, or will it fall victim to the divisions that have plagued it in the past?
As Russia prepares for the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev on 7 May, the mystery surrounding the next president continues to grow
The fact that Dmitry Medvedev has won the Russian presidential election hardly counts as news, but the manner of his win contained a number of surprises
An in-depth analysis of the political context of Dmitry Medvedev’s rise, focusing on the behind-the-scenes manipulation by ?political technologists’
No clear postwar situation is likely to emerge in Ukraine. The country’s EU partners will have to help it reform during wartime
If Moldova can resist Russia’s weaponisation of gas and get through this winter, it should be able to make strong progress on its programme of reforms
The campaign has encouraged Zelensky’s tendency towards governance through informal means. This has allowed him to act speedily – but it risks letting oligarchic influence return
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
Introduction Volodymyrska Hill, Kyiv, on a June evening in 2019. Kyivans and tourists stroll along the riverside park’s newly relaid paths, many wending their way…
Dramatic change may not be on the cards, but the EU can and should shift to a ‘status quo plus’ approach that builds on existing activity
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
The future of Europe’s relations with Russia looks bleak as the Kremlin pursues an increasingly aggressive foreign policy
The penetration of Ukrainian politics by the super-rich oligarchy still forms a major obstacle to reform
Ukrainian experts on war, politics and national identity
Moldova’s recent local elections faced unprecedented levels of Russian interference. In the lead up to the presidential election next year, the EU should help Moldova counter these threats before it’s too late
Moldova’s total dependence on Russian gas makes it a key front in Moscow’s hybrid war. The EU should help Moldova diversify its energy supplies to prevent further destabilisation
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Russia sees two types of sovereignty in its civilisational space. Full Westphalian sovereignty – which it believes it has and Ukraine does not. This means that defending Ukraine means defending its sovereignty in full
Lukashenka is complicit in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But this should not stigmatise members of the Belarusian democratic movement – who need more support than they are receiving
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy
Recent elections have seen Georgia’s ruling party dig in, while Moldova’s has lost the presidency
President Volodymyr Zelensky could violate the constitution as he tries to prevent the Constitutional Court from dismantling governance reforms
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
Mark Leonard welcomes Andrew Wilson to discuss political technology and the globalisation of political manipulation
What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion?
What can and should the EU do to support Ukrainian sovereignty?
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Although US President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election are shameless, they are still more subtle than the outright election rigging that one finds…
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Wilson, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu about the Kerch Strait ship capture, what this means and how the international community…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses peacekeeping in Ukraine and the EU's Russia policy with ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson
Discussion avec Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR et Mathilde Ciulla, coordinatrice du bureau de Paris de l'ECFR,…
Podcast de la conférence “L’Union européenne et le Partenariat oriental” du 19/10 à la Maison de l'Europe de Paris avec Andrew Wilson, senior…
In challenging times for Ukraine, despite public appraisals following the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ten-year mark of the Russian…