The results of the survey on national Belarusan and European values are available

ODB publishes a survey about European and national values in Belarus in order to contribute to the debate on the relations between Belarus and the EU from the public’s perspective.

The survey is commissioned by the Office for a Democratic Belarus (ODB) with the kind assistance of SIDA and Belarus Reforms and Media Assistance (BRAMA) program implemented by Pact with USAID support.  

The nation-wide representative survey  was conducted in Belarus between 20 May and 4 June 2013 focusing on the country’s relations with the EU and the (Eurasian) Customs Union (ECU); as well as public perceptions, values, and attitudes towards the afore-mentioned entities. Professor Elena Korosteleva from the Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent was commissioned as principal investigators to undertake the survey in Belarus, informs the webpage of the Office for Democratic Belarus.

The representative sample of 1000 respondents was multi-staged, stratified, and random, selection of the population aged 18+ (urban and rural) by nationality, sex, region, age and education. Field work was carried out by Centre for Political Research at the Belarus State University. The sample representation error was no more than + 3%, the survey included 12% random quality control on completion. The findings are compared with a similar survey undertaken by the same survey team in December 2008, as well as other available data, including the EU Neighbourhood Barometer East (Autumn 2012) and the IISEPS polls.

According to the results of the survey, three particular trends are observable in Belarus’ public relations:

1. Comparative trends demonstrate a positive and substantive shift in public attitudes towards the EU; reflected in higher levels of awareness, more knowledge about EU structures and policies, more interest in EU affairs, more perceivable commonalities with the EU as a polity, more appreciation of EU support, and most importantly, identity-based preferences developing in relation to the latter.

2. At the same time, normative underpinnings of public behaviour remain firmly rooted in cultural traditions and historical legacies of the past.

3. Levels of awareness about the (Eurasian) Customs Union (ECU) are relatively high (90%). Importantly, the majority of respondents see the ECU as more relevant in addressing immediate economic and energy security concerns.

Continued engagement and the modestly increasing presence of the EU in Belarus may have yielded positive implications on ideational and social preferences of the population, incrementally modifying public behaviour and legitimacy in favour of the EU as a regional political power.

 Level of EU awareness has grown by 2% since 2008 (96.7%). This is also reflected in the correct depiction of the EU as economic and political union of European states (76%, + 3% since 2008).

Five years on (2008; 2013) public legitimation of the EU is clearly on the rise reflecting positive changes in attitudinal preferences and behavioural patterns.

The full information about key findings is available here.

Detailed findings can be found here.