Challenging Sanctions: What Price Is Belarus Willing to Pay to Maintain the Autocratic Regime?

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and state building process for Belarusian newly formed government till the elections held in August 2020, ensuring the continuity of one of the last autocracies in the world, circumstances have altered cases. It is the kind of challenge the European Union never expected to deal with, especially following the Minsk signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to create the OSCE-led Advisory Monitory Group in 1997. This paper will examine and explore the different stages in the rise of a repressive regime, the buffering role that Belarus plays in the stage of sanctions, as well as the economic implications that a partnership between the EU and Belarus might have had in the case of a successful OSCE mission and European External Action Services (EEAS) to six Eastern Europe States, including Belarus. The potential outcomes would indicate improved quality of life, more business opportunities, liberalization of economic activity and financial assistance.