The Economist: Belarus expects social unrests in 2014

The influential magazine predicts a “high risk” of protests in our country next year.

It follows from a survey conducted by The Economist.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) made a list of countries where social unrests can erupt in 2014. Belarus is among the countries with a high risk of protests. The same group includes other CIS countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Most states with a “high” and “very high” risk of social unrest in 2014 are Asian and African.

“Declines in income and high unemployment are not always followed by unrest. Only when economic trouble is accompanied by other elements of vulnerability is there a high risk of instability. Such factors include wide income-inequality, poor government, low levels of social provision, ethnic tensions and a history of unrest. Of particular importance in sparking unrest in recent times appears to have been an erosion of trust in governments and institutions: a crisis of democracy,” Laza Kekic from the Economist Intelligence Unit says.

Researchers remind that many countries, such as Ukraine, Bulgaria, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey, have had protests in the past twelve months. Even places traditionally more muted, such as Japan and Singapore, have seen demonstrators in the streets. Social inequalities and political discontent have spurred citizens to gather. Resistance can be co-ordinated with greater ease than ever in the age of the smartphone.