Yearly Archive: 1998

BULLETINS “IISEPS NEWS” N 4 (10) DECEMBER

IISEPS News, N 4 (10), 1998 Content: Preface Youth and Civil Society: Dr. G. Drakokhrust, IISEPS Youth Political Organizations in Belarus Dr. N. Еfimova, IISEPS Ideology and Policies of Youth Organizations, as Seen by Their Leaders I. Bourina, IISEPS Legal Grounds for Youth Policies in the Republic of Belarus Dr. M. Zalessky, IISEPS Young Dwellers …

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BULLETINS “IISEPS NEWS” N 3 (9) OCTOBER

IISEPS News, N 3 (9), 1998 Content: Preface Prof. О. Маnaev, IISEPS Independent Research and Public Policy Impact: Belarusian Variant IISEPS Regional Seminar in Vitebsk: Prof. О. Маnaev, IISEPS The New “Economicst” and Its Audience Dr. N. Efimova, IISEPS Independent TV in Belarus: Economic Information Source and a Resource for Social Leaders Dr. L. Zaiko, …

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INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY IMPACT: BELARUSIAN VARIANT

The main characteristic feature of non-state, independent research and analytical centres, which are referred to as think tanks world-wide, which differs them from traditional university and academic agencies, is their mission: to impact public policy, develop and advocate technologies, which facilitate social progress and make the process of decision-making in authorities and structures of the civil society more competent and responsible. The results of such activities are varied – conferences, seminars, policy papers, media reports, books, different public initiatives etc. – and they attract the growing attention of public and government in many countries across the world.

IT DOES NOT CHANGE ANYTHING, WHETHER YOU VOTE OR NOT

The latest poll (like all previous polls) paid a lot of attention to political life in the country. Questionnaires traditionally included a query about the chances of different candidates during the presidential elections (see Table 1).

ELECTORATE DIVISION BROADENS

As usual, respondents were asked to express their attitude toward the president and his policies. President A. Lukashenko’s rating appears to have withstood all the trials of the recent past, even easing up a bit (Table 1). Much as during the previous polls, cognitive, emotional and motivational characteristics of the people’s stance to the president were used to form an aggregate indicator, which divided the population into president’s pronounced supporters and opponents (see Table 2).
Table 1. President Lukashenko’s rating, %

WHO IS GOING TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS?

According to Table 1, at present the most vexing problems for the community in this country are deteriorating living standards and impoverishment.
Table 1. Distribution of respondents’ answers on the most vexed problems, which the country and they have to address

ECONOMIC VALUES

The respondents’ opinions of the economic side of today’s life also excite curiosity. The results of the survey prove that more and more people give preference to market economy thinking regardless of the active rhetoric of market socialism adherents. The number of supporters of a market economy with a slight state control (which almost conforms to a liberal economic model) reached 35.2%, up 4.8% from the June 1997 level (see Table 1). The number of those who stay loyal to the market economy with considerable state control (a social democratic model) eased up 4.4%. The planned economy (a communist model) is still popular, though previously the “in favor” figure was 7.5% higher.

DO THE PEOPLE WANT BELARUSIAN-RUSSIAN INTEGRATION?

The poll was staged when the Russian economic crisis was in full swing, which yielded interesting results on its influence on the Belarusians’ opinions of the Russian-Belarusian union and Russia itself. The respondents were asked to compare living standards in Belarus with those in the neighboring countries. The same question was asked during the 1996 poll, which lets us see a number of trends (see Table 1).

ARE THE BELARUSIANS AS TOLERANT AS THEY SEEM TO BE?

For the sake of getting to know possible social tensions in the Belarusian society and its readiness to conflicts, the respondents were asked a question about their attitudes to political, professional and other groups (see Table 1).

NATIONAL POLL 09’98

1. Title of the study: “Development of Information Infrastructure for Market Economy in Belarus”
2. Topics of thematic coverage: political, social and economic factors of the development of the information infrastructure for market economy, development of the economic programms of non-state TV (secondary poll)
3. The aim: to study the dynamics of the most important facilitators and obstacles for the development of information infrastructure for market economy, and to prepare the groundwork for the broadcasting pro-market TV program through network of independent regional TV companies
4. Descriptors: market, mass media, socio-economic positions and attitudes, electoral behavior, political attitudes
5. Comparability: most important questions were replicated
6. Geographical area: Belarus-national
7. Principal investigator: IISEPS
8. Polling organization: IISEPS, P.O.B. 219, Minsk, 220030, Belarus, e-mail: iiseps@iiseps.org
9. Fieldwork dates: 1998, September
10. Population sampled: 18+ years old residents of Belarus who are not currently in hospital, jail, military service
11. Sampling: clustered random
12. Sample size: 1486 respondents
13. Mode of interviews: face-to-face interview
14. Interviewers: part-time and university students
15. Control: selective control of interviewers
16. Related publications: 35 publications in mass media
17. Availability of the original data sets: contact with IISEPS
18. Source of information: IISEPS