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August 7 – August 13, 2017

Belarusian authorities lack experience in information and psychological operations

The situation has not changed
Belarusian authorities lack experience in information and psychological operations

For a long time, special information and psychological operations (IPSOs) have been the weakest link in the Belarusian defence. The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian confrontation has emphasised this weakness.

On August 11th, 2017, the Ukrainian media published reports that President Putin had submitted for ratification to the State Duma the protocol on amendments to the Belarusian-Russian agreement establishing a unified regional air defence system of the two states. The amendments are of unprincipled nature, only clarifying some issues. Russia and Belarus signed the corresponding protocol in November 2016. However, Ukrainian media provided commentaries that Russia took over the Belarusian border control, created mechanisms for further aggressive actions, and expanded the Russian military presence in Belarus. Through social media, such reports have swiftly spread among Ukrainian users.

That said, Belarus ratified the protocol back in March this year and then, this news did not raise any interest, as well as the very fact of signing the protocol in November 2016.

This was not the first time when the authorities of the neighbouring states carried out special information operations against the Belarusian authorities. Earlier, such targeted reports were against the Defence Ministry and the KGB. Each time, the Belarusian security forces demonstrated blatant helplessness and inability to parry information attacks. This is due to both, the lack of professional staff capable of leading a psychological confrontation, and poor understanding of modern IPSOs by the Belarusian security forces’ leadership, which is often confused with political propaganda against opponents of the current government.

As the interstate information-psychological operations are gaining an increasingly important role in the confrontation among major regional players, Belarus faces the choice: either to create an effective IPSO system, or continue to suffer from manipulation attempts from the neighbours. Currently, the Belarusian law enforcement agencies, taking into account the available human resources, are incapable of carrying out effective IPSOs. Moreover, there are no reasons to assume that the situation could improve in future.

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Once a week, in coordination with a group of prominent Belarusian analysts, we provide analytical commentaries on the most topical and relevant issues, including the behind-the-scenes processes occurring in Belarus. These commentaries are available in Belarusian, Russian, and English.
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