The article is part of the discussion on women’s political participation, their involvement in social movements and protests which are concentrated on the power shift and democratisation of the political system. The text focuses on the case study of Belarusian women’s participation in anti-regime and pro-democracy protests following the rigged presidential election of 9 August 2020.The aim of the article is to answer questions about the reasons for women’s involvement in the 2020 protests in Belarus and the methods of action used by them. The article also analyses the differences and similarities between the women’s protests in Belarus and pro-democracy protests oriented towards power change in other countries.

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Despite the three decades that have passed since the collapse of the USSR, the rivalry in the post-Soviet area continues. It is also going on in Central and Eastern Europe. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, followed by the Russian Federation’s open invasion of Ukraine eight years later, indicates that the intensity of the rivalry has intensified. The purpose of the article is to identify elements of continuity and change in this rivalry and to answer questions about the causes and prospects of the competition between states and non-state actors in the area. No less important is the question of whether the involvement of the superpowers in Central and Eastern Europe should still be considered a rivalry or rather a conflict. Elements of continuity can be found, among other things, in the involvement of the same actors, the reasons for involvement, and the persistence or even strengthening of conflicting interests. Also, some of the means and methods used remain the same. Among the elements of change are the unprecedented unity of the West and the increase in EU activity in the military sphere, the reduction of Russia’s ability to use some of its means and methods, and the loss of some of the advantages it had until recently.

Contestation remains a signifi cant factor in the EU neighbourhood. The aim of this article is to elaborate on the role of external actors – namely the European Union and the Russian Federation – in managing local and regional contestation. The latter is defined as incompatibilities between two or more competing views about how political, economic, social, and territorial order should be established and/or sustained. Competing interests between the EU and Russia concern many issues; the model of political system in the neighbourhood (democracy vs. authoritarianism), the model and direction of the economic integration of these countries (European or Eurasia integration), and the infrastructure and availability of gas and oil (energy disputes). The common neighbourhood, which concerns EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine), has become an area of rivalry rather than cooperation between the EU and Russia. The first seeks to stabilise the post-Soviet area, while Russia exploits local destabilisations and conflicts to maintain its influence there.

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