MINSK, 28 June (BelTA) - Despite the aggression of the West, Belarus remains the guarantor of geopolitical balance of power in the world, BelTA learned from Nikolai Shchekin, Candidate of Philosophy, Head of the Sociology of Public Administration Department at the Sociology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
“In the near future, we should expect the collective West to apply a comprehensive strategy based on provocative actions. The large-scale provocation with the plane and the use of all possible tools of information pressure was the first step. Recent actions of the West clearly suggest that, on the one hand, it is trying to turn Belarus into an anti-Russian and anti-Orthodox project. On the other hand, it has openly proceeded to the plan of pushing the country to the verge of an economic collapse and social chaos through sanctions,” the expert believes. “Taking into account the growing criticism of Belarus on the matters of migration, energy security, so-called democratic rights and freedoms, and also the integration within the Union State with Russia, we cannot rule out that the special services of the collective West will carry out acts to destabilize the situation inside Belarus in the next few months,” he added.
Nikolai Shchekin is sure that there are reasons why the West has acted this way and these reasons have been manifesting themselves gradually.
"First, the pandemic has exposed the crisis of the liberal world that is drifting towards the liberal-totalitarian regimes characterized by political adventurism; secondly, the rapidly changing world, in which new decision-making centers are emerging, leaves no chance for Europe to shape its own agenda; thirdly, the contradictions between old Europe and the EU newcomers; fourthly, the West has come to view Belarus as a primary tool to challenge Russia; fifthly, Belarus was the world's first country to demonstrate the historical unity of the people and the authorities in countering the hybrid war of the West, thus playing a significant role in undermining its authority,” the analyst said. “By the way, it was Belarus that effectively neutralized the intelligence and political-information mechanisms for promoting hybrid methods of warfare,” he said.
According to Nikolai Shchekin, the West will persistently and artificially nurture new grounds for conflicts.
“The possibility of an armed conflict remains quite high. A religious factor might become one of the triggers. Being a scholar in the field of church-state relations, I agree with the president that inter-faith harmony and dialogue between the church and the state have always been the basis for the successful development of Belarus. Eastern Orthodoxy has become a real and viable social institution capable of uniting the country and maintaining peace and stability. In this regard, I regret that Belarusian scholars pay little attention to the development of strategic models and scenarios of dialogue between the church and the state. In addition, certain government institutions that evaluate and certify the results of research in this field should change their attitude and approaches, be guided by the state interests and carry out evaluations objectively and efficiently. All of us should realize that the inter-faith and inter-ethnic peace is the main condition for the sovereignty and independence of Belarus,” Nikolai Shchekin believes.
In any case, we should work and cooperate with the partners we have. We cannot choose our neighbors, Nikolai Shchekin stressed. “There is no talking about a geopolitical U-turn. Belarus plays an important and stabilizing role in the region as a sovereign state, which is recognized by all global players, and is a guarantor of the geopolitical balance of power in the world. Belarus' development relies on its multifaceted economic policy and political priorities that are in sync with national interests. The world is gradually moving towards a civilized ‘negotiated' confrontation. Belarus' response should be well-crafted both strategically and methodologically, targeted, effective, pragmatic, and ideologically and economically reasoned,” Nikolai Shchekin added.
