| Pub. Date | : Jan, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of International Relations |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJIR010124 |
| Author Name | : Aleksandar Vasilev and Sam Felton |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Arts & Humanities |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 22 |
This study investigates the interdependencies between democracy, privatization, and the rule of law in transitioning countries by comparing the cases of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Based on the findings, the study recommends policies to follow to improve the progression of economic and political transition. By focusing on two key hypotheses-whether democracy positively drives privatization, and whether privatization positively drives the rule of law-the study combines political and economic transitions of countries as one subject. It is found that democracy negatively interferes with privatization in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus due to corruption, insider control, hollow reforms, and institutional weakness. Consequently, the rule of law is also hindered by the same factors. Hence, the root causes of these transitional blockers must be resolved. Finally, the study explores political and economic interdependencies and suggests policies for political, economic, and institutional reforms.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a turning point in the economic
history of many countries as they shifted away from centralized planning and
embraced free market principles. However, despite the widespread adoption of
economic reforms since the 1990s, only Poland has been able to fully establish itself
as a free market economy.1 The disintegration of both an ideology and an economic
system was unprecedented; as a result, the field of transition economics is relatively
new and important for understanding the future development of the European
continent. This also highlights the importance of this area of research for future
development on the European continent.
While extensive research has been conducted since the 1990s to examine the
effects of economic transition on growth and macroeconomic indicators, the field of
transition economics remains a subject of ongoing study. Whereby, relatively little