Vägen till demokratisering : En komparativ analys av den politiska utvecklingen i Estland och Belarus efter Sovjetunionens fall

Sammanfattning: This study has examined the political development of the post soviet countries Estonia and Belarus after their independence in the 1990s. The aim is to identify the factors that led Estonia to become democratic while Belarus remained autocratic, which is interesting as both are neighboring countries. In order to find the answers, the qualitative comparative analysis method has been used by consuming a theory. The theory used is Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan's five arenas for a consolidated democracy. By comparing the political development of these countries, the study has concluded thatEstonia chose a democratization process by creating the democratic institutions needed to reach a consolidated democracy. Estonia did so by changing its political system to parliamentarism where there was a balance of power between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, leading to a functional bureaucracy with a free civil society. Belarus on the other hand, together with the tyrannical president, has changed the constitution several times where the power of the president has been significantly increased. Through a strong presidentialism, the balance of power between the political institutions never emerged, wich has resulted in an undemocratic state where power is highly centralized with no functional bureaucracy.