The book “Social Contracts in Contemporary Belarus” has been published in January 2010. The volume summarizes the results of the study of social contracts conducted by BISS in 2008-2009. It is available in printed and PDF format in Russian. The English version of the book will be released in the PDF format soon.

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In-depth interviews conducted with various representatives of the key institutions of the state government of Belarus have identified the following major deficiencies of the state service as mentioned by state employees themselves: material ones, expressed in officials’ dissatisfaction with their revenues (with the exception of top level officials and law enforcers); psychological, connected with constant stress, the inability to take the initiative, creativity and professional growth; system, manifested in the inefficiency of the formal organizational structure and bureaucratic processes of the state service. All respondents mentioned the existence of bureaucracy as a basic shortcoming of the state service using highly emotive expressions (cretinism, idiocy, insanity).

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The social contract between government and business in Belarus is characterized by a strong degree of mutual distrust and indifference of counterparties to each other. The state has broad authority to influence business, and entrepreneurs do not perceive the state as an actor with whom they can negotiate a social contract. In the perception of entrepreneurs the state is a given environment, which they can accept or not accept, choosing an «exit» of the contract, because the opportunities for «voice» are strictly limited.

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Conditions for minimization of protest actions by workes have been established in Belarus by means of stick and carrots, the latter being the support of the public sector of the economy, relatively guaranteed employment, as well as by the provision of legal, mostly institutionalized, voice options (trust hotlines, registration of complaints, debureaucratization of local authorities work, etc.) In this situation, the push for reforms 'from below' is possible only if there is a dramatic worsening of the economic situation.

This policy-paper describes relations between the state and young people and unemployed. With the decrease of social transfers, as well as worsening of labor market conditions, young people face deterioration of their prospects. This group is more inclined towards individual adaptation ("exit", emigration), rather than to collective action. At the same time, this social group is least likely to have an active social contract with the government.