The European Union’s Democracy Promotion Approach in Central Asia: On the Right Track?

Abstract: This article examines the adequacy of the EU’s tool kit and overall strategy for the promotion of democracy in Central Asia by drawing on two generic social mechanisms: strategic calculation and normative suasion. First, the analysis will show that several interrelated conditions, above all cultural idiosyncrasies, properties of interaction between socializees and socializing agents, as well as the nature of the political system, are not sufficiently allowed for by the EU’s policy approach, rendering bleak the prospects for moving the region towards a democratic trajectory. Second, building on identified problems in the EU’s socialization efforts, the paper presents policy recommendations on how to improve the EU’s democratizing impact.

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