The Discourse of Ideology in Borderlands. Case 1: Belarus

Article

Abstract

[In Russian]

The article represents a part of the investigation of the academic discourse of ideology in Belarus and Ukraine. Despite the fact that it deals with the ideological situation in Belarus only, the comparative basis allows keeping Ukraine as a blind point of reference, emphasizing the points relevant to the study in general. The research grounds on the methodology of depth hermeneutics by J.B. Thompson. The study was conducted in two stages: 1) social analysis, considering  resent symbolic spaces, producing ideological discourses, their social nodes (actors and social structures), and the forms of their interaction; 2) discourse analysis, implying work with texts and narratives. Both phases were accompanied by  qualitative hermeneutical procedures.

The results concerning Belarus showed almost total ideologization of the discourse of ideology: “ideology” is perceived as a practical phenomenon (even within the academic field) rather than a scientific problem. The key player in the  ideological sphere, providing crucial impact on the discourse of ideology (both organizational and substantial), is the president, whose ideas are developed and disseminated in academic and methodical works. 

The rehabilitation of the concept of ideology in contemporary Belarus is inscribed in the broader trend of resovietization which is partial, being implemented institutionally not mentally. The ambivalence of the Belarusian state ideology is revealed.