Summary
André W.M. Gerrits
Tussen democratie en dictatuur in de voormalige Sovjet Unie: de transitie achter de rug?
André W.M. Gerrits analyses the state of democracy in the post-Soviet region. The most important successor states of the former Soviet Union, such as the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaidzjan, could be considered illiberal democracies’ as perceived by Zakaria, but Gerrits opt to refer to them as ‘hybrid regimes’. Typical for such regimes is that they combine democratic institutes with authoritarian methods. Although gradual liberalisation may not be excluded, it seems clear the hybrid political nature of those countries will not change in the short run.