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BULLETINS “IISEPS NEWS” N 1 (23) MARCH

IISEPS News, N 1 (23), 2002

Content:

Preface

Formation of Public Opinion and Policy in Belarus:
Materials of International Conference:
Prof. Dr. Stanislav Bogdankevich, IISEPS Advisory Board Chairman (Belarus)
Role of Opposition Parties in Formation of Public Opinion and Policy in Belarus
Dr. Vera Nanivskaya, Dr. Vladimir Nikitin, International Center of Prospective Studies (Ukraine)
How Could We Build Civic Society?
Dr. Tatiana Protko, Belarusian Helsinki Committee (Belarus)
Role of Human Rights Organizations in Formation of Public Opinion and Policy
Dr. Irina Bugrova, International Institute of Political Studies (Belarus)
Public Politics as Rehabilitation of Politics
Dr. Valentin Akudovich, Belarusian Collegium (Belarus)
How to Sacralize Belarus?
Dr. Yuri Drakokhrust, Belarusian Service of Radio Liberty (Czech Republic)
Engagement of Independent Experts and Formation of Public Policy
Dr. Leonid Zaiko, “Strategy” Analytical Center (Belarus)
Economic and Social Policy: Interest Groups and Integral Result
Georgy Badey, Belarusian Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers Named After Professor M. S. Kunyavsky (Belarus)
Role of Private Enterprise in Formation of Public Opinion and Social-Economic Policy
Dr. Anatoly Kasyanenko, Center for Development of Social Resources “Oracul” (Belarus)
Role of NGO’s in Formation of Public Opinion and Policy
Prof. Dr. Oleg Manaev, Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (Belarus)
Role of Independent Researches in Formation of Public Opinion and Policy: Belarusian Variant
Dr. Anatoly Lysiuk, Public Association “Logos” (Belarus)
Local Analytical Centers as Factor of Regional Development

Open Forum:
Andrei Klimov: “Belarus Turned into “Banana” Republic”
(V. Dorokhov, Head of IISEPS Center for Documentation, talked to A. Klimov, prominent businessman, politician and former political prisoner)

Bookshelf:
Vladimir Dorokhov, IISEPS
“Presidential Election in the Republic of Belarus – 2001”
Prof. Dr. Oleg Manaev, IISEPS
“NIRA’s World Directory of Think Tanks 2002”

Preface:

Dear readers!

 

The new, 23rd issue of the bulletin “IISEPS News” offers to your attention materials reflecting the most interesting results of the institute’s work in the first quarter of 2002.
During that period IISEPS has launched a new, three-year project “Strengthening Role of Independent Social Research and Expert Networks in Belarus”, which is expected to result in new knowledge about social-economic and public-political development, increasing role of independent social research and expert networks in the process. We are going to present the most interesting results of the given project to our readers. The project started with an International Conference “Formation of Public Opinion and Policy in Belarus”, which took place in February of 2002 in the Minsk International Educational Center (IBB) with support of the OSCE AMG in Belarus and MacArthur Foundation (the USA), and was dedicated to IISEPS’s 10th anniversary. The main goal of the conference was for leading policymakers and analysts of Belarus to discuss results and pros-pects of the development of public opinion and public policy under new conditions after the September 9, 2001, presidential election, an action strategy for democratic forces, possibilities of cooperation between state and non-state institutions.
A high level of the conference was set at the opening ceremony. Speaking at the conference Michel Rivolier, acting Head of the OSCE AMG in Belarus, Eva Czepinski, Coordinator of OSCE ODHR programs for the CIS, Michael Kozak, US Ambassador to Belarus, and Tatiana Zhdanova, Director of the MacArthur Foundation Moscow Office noted an increasing role of independent research and analytical centers in formation of public opinion and public policy, development of democracy in the West and the former USSR states, including Belarus.
In order to widen the context in which the above problems were discussed, the first panel of reporters – “International Experience in Formation of Public Opinion and Public Policy” – included leaders of the most prominent and influential independent research and analytical centers of the neighboring countries: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Ukraine. The second panel of reporters – “Role of Civic Society in Formation of Public Opinion and Public Policy in Belarus” – included heads of the leading structures of civic society: BHC, Belarusian Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, BAJ. A special attention was paid to the role of Belarusian think tanks at the national and regional levels. Prominent politicians and political analysts of Belarus formed the third panel of reporters devoted to the role of political structures in formation of public opinion and public policy.
The most interesting reports of the IISEPS jubilee conference are the main contents of the given issue of our analytical bulletin.
Our readers, probably, have already accustomed to the fact that authors of our rubric “Open Forum” are the most prominent and influential experts and policymakers of Belarus. During these years our publication has presented reflections by heads of leading political parties and public organizations, candidates for presidency in Belarus, representatives of international structures. This time you are going to have an unusual meeting – with Andrei Klimov, former deputy of the 13th Supreme Council, businessman and political prisoner. How have his views of the past, the present and the future of Belarus changed? Who and what should do in the new political situation after the September 9 election? What role in the public-political life of the country is he going to play? More than four years ago Andrei Klimov was deprived of the possibility to actively participate in politics and business, but he had enough time for reflection. Considering an unusual position of the author (he agreed to speak out just several days after his release from prison), we offer his reflections in the form of an interview with Vladimir Dorokhov, Head of our Center for documentation.
On our “Bookshelf” you’ll find reviews of two new books, which seem interesting to all those who take an interest in Belarus’ development – one of them was published by the “Independent Monitoring” Public Initiative and is devoted to analysis of the past presidential campaign, another – is a world directory of the most prominent think tanks published every three years by the National Institute for Research Advancement of Japan.
We hope that the materials of the given issue would be interesting and useful to you and your colleagues. Comments and requests are welcome!

 

IISEPS Board