Elena Drozhzhina’s scientific contributions

The monograph is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the transformation and modernization of the Republic of Belarus in the post-Soviet period. The authors present a comprehensive view of this process, which had a distinct specificity in Belarus and made its development in many ways unlike both its neighbors in the former USSR and the post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe. The main aspects of the life of the Belarusian state and society in the post-Soviet period are considered: the development of the political system, economic reforms, policy in the sphere of culture, language, national relations and historical memory, foreign policy. The Union State of Russia and Belarus is considered separately as a significant factor in the development of Belarusian-Russian relations in economics and politics. The main characteristics of the Belarusian model of post-Soviet transformation and the reasons for its dissimilarity from other states of Eastern Europe are identified.

The monograph examines fundamentally new phenomena and patterns in electoral processes in the countries of South-Eastern Europe at the turning point of two eras. A series of essays on presidential, parliamentary and local elections and the specifics of power formation in the states of the region ends with a section aimed at comprehension of the new phenomena. The very nature of their emergence, according to the author, indicates the dysfunction of the existing political system and its transition to a different qualitative state. The work can be helpful both for experts on the region and for anyone who studies the modern political systems and electoral practices.

In a collective monograph authors explore problems of European social and political life connected with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2022. Issues of civil society, system of higher education and religious institutes are examined. Chapters of the book touch upon internal political situation in the majority of European countries and regions such as Great Britain, France, Sweden, Greece, Norway, South-Eastern Europe. Authors come to a conclusion that COVID-19 highlighted problems in medical, social and economic spheres of the majority of European countries and unpreparedness of political structures to tackle the multi-faceted threat of the global pandemic.