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The article consists of three parts. Firstly, the author considers the main concepts of the political regime in Belarus. Such an analysis includes the concepts of hybrid, authoritarian, and neo-patrimonial regimes. The second part deals with the reasons for Belarusian retreat from democratic standards, namely the Russian factor in Belarusian politics. President Vladimir Putin and Russian bureaucracy are afraid to lose Belarus in case Aliaksandr Lukashenka is removed from absolute power. The authoritarian regime in Russia has sponsored autocracies in the post-Soviet space, ensuring their dependence on Moscow. In the third part, the author analyses the transformation of the Belarusian regime, using the variables of the role of leadership, the state of pluralism, the role of ideology, the character of political mobilization, and the state of human rights. During a very short period of Lukashenka's rule, we have witnessed a constant tightening of dictatorship rule, which has led the Belarusian regime to the point of a hybrid authoritarian-sultanistic regime (2006) and almost classical sultanism (2010). Such regimes as Belarusian can only be changed through the mobilization of public protest from below. Besides, the Belarusian semi-sultanism is not sustainable.

The article consists of three parts. Firstly, the author considers the main concepts of the political regime in Belarus. Such an analysis includes the concepts of hybrid, authoritarian, and neo-patrimonial regimes. The second part deals with the reasons for Belarusian retreat from democratic standards, namely the Russian factor in Belarusian politics. President Vladimir Putin and Russian bureaucracy are afraid to lose Belarus in case Aliaksandr Lukashenka is removed from absolute power. The authoritarian regime in Russia has sponsored autocracies in the post-Soviet space, ensuring their dependence on Moscow. In the third part, the author analyses the transformation of the Belarusian regime, using the variables of the role of leadership, the state of pluralism, the role of ideology, the character of political mobilization, and the state of human rights. During a very short period of Lukashenka's rule, we have witnessed a constant tightening of dictatorship rule, which has led the Belarusian regime to the point of a hybrid authoritarian-sultanistic regime (2006) and almost classical sultanism (2010). Such regimes as Belarusian can only be changed through the mobilization of public protest from below. Besides, the Belarusian semi-sultanism is not sustainable. Adapted from the source document.

POST-SOVIET BELARUS SEEMS DETERMINED TO REVERT TO SOME OF THE WORST ASPECTS OF THE RECENTLY DEBUNKED SOVIET STATE. THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE FAILURE OF POST-SOVIET TRANSFORMATION IN BELARUS USING THEORIES OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AND SULTANISM. IT SURVEYS NATIONAL IDENTITY, THE DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION AND PUBLIC OPINION AS BASES FOR WHAT THE AUTHORS VIEW AS A DEVELOPING BELARUSIAN VERSION OF SULTANISM. THE ARTICLE THEN ANALYZES THE SOURCES OF AUTHORITARIAN SULTANISM IN BELARUS AND ITS NEGATIVE IMPACT UPON DEMOCRATIC AND MARKET ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION.

Intro -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Building a Regime-Type Framework -- 1.1 Scholarly Consensus: Lessons Learned -- 1.2 A New Era: An Autocratic-Authoritarian Turn? -- 1.3 Towards a Hypothesis: From Sheikhs to…Sultanism? -- 2. Research Methods and Data Collection -- 2.1 Research Tasks and Hypothesis-Testing: A Systematic Study -- 2.2 Methodological Challenges: Navigating the Fields of Power -- 2.3 Methodological Opportunities: Circumventing the Fields of Power -- 2.4 Methodological Opportunities: Primary Data Prospects -- 2.5 Methodological Opportunities: Primary Data Gathering -- 3. Sultanism: State of the Art -- 3.1 Classical Sultanism: Oriental Origins -- 3.2 Contemporary Sultanism: An Emerging Concept -- 3.3 Contemporary Sultanism: Neo-Sultanism as an Ideal Type -- 3.4 Contemporary Sultanism: A Middle Eastern Deficit? -- 3.5 Contemporary Sultanism: An International Empirical Category -- 3.6 State of the Art: Back to the Middle East? -- 4. Routes to Power: The Rise of MBS and MBZ -- 4.1 Immediate Circumstances: Ambitious Princes, Dynastic Advantages -- 4.2 Wider Determinants: Charisma and Youth -- 4.3 Wider Determinants: Economic Crises, Fresh Approaches -- 4.4 Wider Determinants: Repairing Reputations -- 4.5 Wider Determinants: Mentor-Mentee Relations and the Trump Factor -- 5. Establishing Control: Political Patronage Networks -- 5.1 Inner Circles: Close Relatives -- 5.2 Inner Circles: Technocrats and Gatekeepers -- 5.3 Heads of State: Special Circumstances -- 5.4 Outer Circles: Senior Ruling Family Members -- 5.5 Outer Circles: Other Ruling Family Members -- 6. Establishing Control: Economic Affairs -- 6.1 Economic Institutions: Inner Circle Control -- 6.2 The UAE's Federal Dimension: Abu Dhabi's Economic Supremacy -- 6.3 Big Business: Anti-Corruption and 'Shakedowns'.