Public associations in the process of Russian-Belarusian integration

Abstract

Introduction: to strengthen the Union State of Belarus and Russia, it is necessary to use a complex of effective and multi-level pro-integration mechanisms. An important place among them belongs to public associations focused on formation and promotion of a positive integration agenda significant not only for the political elites, but also for citizens of the both countries. Objectives: to check the hypothesis about the agency function of public associations in the process of Russian-Belarusian integration. Methods: traditional and formalized study of documents and Internet resources, as well as binary analysis. Timeline of content analysis is 2019 − first half of 2021. Results: the program documents of four public associations were analyzed: in the Russian Federation − the All-Russian Public Movement “People’s Front” for Russia”, the All- Russian public organization “Russian Union of Youth”; in the Republic of Belarus − the Republican Public Association “Belaya Rus” (“White Rus”) and the Belarusian Republican Youth Union. The level of interest of these public associations in covering integration issues was determined by analyzing the content of their Internet resources (official sites and groups on VKontakte social network), and the users’ interest in posts on this topic was studied. The authors provide practical recommendations for national and union government bodies. Conclusions: the integration component is clearly expressed in the program documents of two public associations: the All-Russian Public Movement “People’s Front” for Russia” and the Republican Public Association “Belaya Rus” (“White Rus”). An analysis of the content of the public associations’ Internet resources allows interpreting their positions as pro-integration, but with a large degree of convention. There is a steady interest of users in posts on the issues of Russian-Belarusian integration, as well as in posts related to other vectors of integration, including the European one. On the whole, the considered public associations cannot be recognized as successful integration agents. The current situation can be corrected by securing the special status of public associations under the bodies of the Union State of Belarus and Russia developing and implementing new joint projects, expanding information support for creating the Union State and promoting the advantages of Russian-Belarusian integration.