The Limits of EU Governance in Belarus

The article examines some conceptual and practical tensions related to the application of the

external governance framework to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in less

motivated states, such as Belarus. First, it critically analyses the foundations of the external

governance framework – from M. Smith’s perspective – in order to suggest that the

failure of the ENP to legitimize in Belarus should not be solely attributed to the vices of

Lukashenko’s regime. Second, it argues that an understanding of specifically Belarusian

‘boundaries of order’ – geopolitics and culture – is essential for tailoring a more nuanced

policy that will be able to accommodate the needs and interests of ‘less motivated’ ENP

partner states. In conclusion, it is suggested that a new policy framework – of extended

partnership – should be more technical and less political, based on horizontal networks of

cooperation rather than on hitherto hierarchical governance by conditionality that has

found little appeal in the less motivated neighbourhood. Can an Eastern Partnership

framework become such an alternative?