8 - How External and Internal Informal Networks Shape Learning in Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine

Summary

The chapter is split into two major sections, with the first addressing Russian linkages in Moldova and Ukraine. By supporting authoritarian-minded elites in these two states, Russia can help its chosen allies gain and consolidate power. While this notion of bolstering authoritarians is outside the focus of this book, how Russia goes about doing it and the lessons drawn are very much part of the learning process, and so are included here. The next section of the chapter analyses the internal networks in all four case studies that help with learning. The chapter argues that internal networks are crucial to learning and that Russia plays a key role in supporting authoritarian-minded elites in Moldova and Ukraine.