BHR Agenda and Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Political and Human Rights Crisis in Belarus Since 2020

Abstract

The topic of business and human rights (BHR) is of multidimensional character. A purely legalistic dimension is hardly sufficient to capture the multiple aspects of BHR. This is why the effective promotion of the BHR agenda on universal and local levels depends upon a variety of factors, including sociocultural context and legal, political and economic modes and practices. These factors are distinct in different regions, including Western and Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (albeit the former two regions are often joined in BHR discussions on a global level).1 Yet, the challenges of the Eastern European region also vary from country to country. For example, if we take the rule of law indicator (which is very important for effective BHR promotion), it is obvious that the rule of law situation in Eastern European countries that are members of the European Union (EU) creates very different challenges compared with those in Eastern European countries that are not members of the EU.2