Comparing EU and US Democracy Promotion in the Mediterranean and the Newly Independent States

Hüllen, Vera van; Stahn, Andreas

doi:10.1057/9780230244528_5

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…A third matter of contention is to commit to instruments and their strategic and timely use. Instruments to promote democracy can be differentiated according to their varying intrusiveness, from moderately to highly intrusive: (1) dialogue, in which the main mode of influence is role modelling and persuasion; (2) democracy assistance, in which influence is primarily exerted by the provision of financial assistance (through nonprofit grants) and technical assistance (through consultancy to contribute to democratic capacity building); (3) (membership or policy) conditionality, which influences by means of the implementation of positive and negative incentives to change the preferences of the targeted actors; and (4) democracy enforcement, in which democratic rule is imposed through military means and externally controlled regime change is coerced (Grimm, ; Van Hüllen and Stahn, ). All options represent instruments of top‐down democratization through cooperation with the domestic political elites; additionally, options (1) and (2) include the possibility for bottom‐up democracy assistance through the promotion of civil society actors (Carothers, ).…”

Section: Explanation: Why Is Democracy Promotion Not Effective?mentioning

confidence: 99%

European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External–Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash

Grimm

2015

Global Policy

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Democracy promotion is an integral component of European foreign policy. However, the 1990s' rosy proliberalization rhetoric faded with the failed interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the bumpy integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and the persistence of authoritarianism in the Arab world despite the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring. This article suggests four explanations for the observed lack of effectiveness of European democracy promotion: (1) the absence of a consensus among democracy promoters about policy objectives, and the interference of hidden agendas; (2) the neglect of rational interests of domestic actors and the dynamics of the external-domestic interplay in democracy promotion; (3) the adaption of authoritarian incumbents to the domestic and international threats to democratize, and (4) the existence of negative external actors interested in promoting autocracy and undermining democratic transition.

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Section: Explanation: Why Is Democracy Promotion Not Effective?mentioning

confidence: 99%

European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External–Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash

Grimm

2015

Global Policy

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“…13 Hüllen and Stahn (2007), however, criticize that the cooperative approach of the EU limits its scope of action in democracy promotion. 14 Interview with American expert, July 2006.…”

Section: Us and Eu Assistance In The Middle East And North Africa 57mentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracy Assistance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Comparison of US and EU Policies

Huber

2008

Mediterranean Politics

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This article compares US and EU efforts at democracy assistance in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the substantive content of what the US and the EU view as the type of democratic institutions to promote does not differ greatly, some puzzling variations are found in the area of funding party development and decentralization, a balanced top-down/bottom-up versus a top-down approach and slightly different thematic foci. The actors use similar implementation methods, but have differing approaches to partnership.

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“…Babayev (2014) analyzes the different approaches of Germany (as a proxy for the EU Eastern policy) and the United States towards Belarus. On the US democracy promotion in Belarus see also, for example, Carothers (2007: 10, 14, 22) and van Hüllen and Stahn (2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

The good, the bad, and the ambitious: democracy and autocracy promoters competing in Belarus

Yakouchyk

2015

Eur. Pol. Sci. Rev.

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How do China, Russia, and the European Union (EU) facilitate or hinder political liberalization in Belarus? In this paper, using the qualitative case study method, I primarily highlight the competition that the EU faces with the Russian active autocracy promotion in Belarus. The EU provides aid only in exchange for promise of democratic and economic reforms, which might be very costly and danger the persistence of ruling elites. Russia, at the same time, offers economic and diplomatic support to Belarus, which is, however, conditioned by privatization of the Belarusian strategic assets in favor of Russian stakeholders. I also claim that China, with growing international ambitions, passively supports autocracy in Belarus, by providing financial aid without interfering with internal political affairs. For Belarus, whose leadership still enjoys legitimation by a large part of the population due to the economic stability, losing major state enterprises might weaken sovereignty. Thus, diversification of economic partners is of crucial importance for Belarus. I argue that Belarusian ruling elites may have found an escape away from democratic and autocratic pushes from the EU and Russia, respectively, by increasing linkages with China. To promote effectively democracy in its neighborhood, the EU ought to reconsider interactions with external non-democratic actors. The paper concludes by providing some policy recommendations for the EU.

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Comparing EU and US Democracy Promotion in the Mediterranean and the Newly Independent States

Cited by 6 publications

References 15 publications

European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External–Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash

European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External–Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash

Democracy Assistance in the Middle East and North Africa: A Comparison of US and EU Policies

The good, the bad, and the ambitious: democracy and autocracy promoters competing in Belarus

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