In this paper the guiding questions were the following: What Is the EU concept of democracy? Can this supposedly universal norm be promoted by and with the EU external governance scheme? What means are in stock? What has been used? What is used? What are the
results? What can be, what has to be changed? A working definition of democracy is the scale of success which can be applied to the objectives and means in the European Union's ‘foreign policy’. The strategies are depicted as well as the level of ambition in democracy promotion of the European Union. The means to realize this ambition are be shown in comparison to the the successes or failures in application. The conflict of priorities in the European Union concerning external relations of the last thirty years is depicted against the backcloth of the normative set of standards drawn from the treaty.
Table of Contents
1. Core Value: Democracy
a. The Rank of Democracy in the EU’s legal foundations
b. What is in the Name: Democracy
i. Liberal / Libertarian Democracy
ii. Communitarian Democracy
iii. Deliberative Democracy
c. European Democracy: A Working Title
2. Promotion of Democracy in EU External Action
a. Objectives
b. Strategies
i. Democracy Assistance
ii. Political Conditionality
iii. Incentives Conditionality
iv. Indirect Approach
v. Socialisation Dynamics
3. Cases and Outcomes
a. Tunisia
b. Middle East
c. Central Asia
Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the European Union's concept of democracy and its application within the context of external relations and foreign policy. The central research question explores whether the EU’s normative democratic standards are effectively promoted abroad or if they clash with realpolitik and regional specificities.
- Conceptualization of democracy within the EU's legal framework (Treaty of Lisbon).
- Analysis of democratic theories: Liberal, Communitarian, and Deliberative models.
- Examination of EU strategies for democracy promotion, including conditionality and socialization.
- Evaluation of practical case studies, specifically Tunisia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
- Investigation into the effectiveness of external democratization versus strategic foreign policy goals.
Excerpt from the Book
i. Liberal / Libertarian Democracy
It is merely taken for granted that whenever the European Union is concerned, “democracy” can be understood as meaning “liberal democracy”. But what makes a democracy liberal? The classical and most basic definition of liberal democracy is inspired by Karl Popper who put the main emphasis on the aspect of peaceful power transfer from one government to another: All citizens have the right to vote, the result of the election obtained by the proposal favoured by the majority of votes leads to a peaceful change of the government and the losing minority does not face bullying by the victors.
The liberal democracy model is in that sense a procedural concept enabling societal peace by means of de-confliction in providing a mechanism of governance for election of leading representatives, as Joseph Schumpeter tried to boil it down on a basic denominator. This concept deliberately avoids to find or define normative aspects of democracy for the sake of clarity and versatility. But pure democratic procedurals might and frequently do lead to illiberal policies (e. g. “guided democracy”). Therefore the concept of democracy and liberalism in the context of the European Union must refer to a standard including facets of culture and morality.
Individual rights limit the majority rule in a democracy for the perseverance of human dignity in maintaining freedom by liberty of person, thought and property. This is basically the negation of intrusion into personal freedom by society as defined in John Locke’s political philosophy. But this negative approach to values constituting society was amplified positively in the course of history in reference to the application and prioritization (Or again: De-confliction) of competing individual and aggregated concepts for the common good, as Cathleen Kantner pointed out in 2006:
“As a matter of fact, it is a central civilizing achievement of the liberal state of law and modern representative democracy to organize political life by procedures for conflict resolution without pressure to reach consensus on values. Citizens in a democracy have the right to be different and distant from each other. The pluralism of values and the search for political compromises are, in addition, important mechanisms for peaceful change and reform in modern democracies.”
Summary of Chapters
1. Core Value: Democracy: Discusses the significance of democracy in the EU's legal foundations, specifically the Treaty of Lisbon, and differentiates between liberal, communitarian, and deliberative democratic theories.
2. Promotion of Democracy in EU External Action: Analyzes the methods and strategies employed by the EU to export democratic values, ranging from democracy assistance to political conditionality and socialization.
3. Cases and Outcomes: Evaluates the practical application of EU democracy promotion by examining political developments and policy effectiveness in Tunisia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Keywords
European Union, Democracy Promotion, Liberal Democracy, External Relations, Treaty of Lisbon, Political Conditionality, Democracy Assistance, Socialisation, Tunisia, Middle East, Central Asia, Human Rights, Governance, Foreign Policy, Normative Power.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the European Union's conceptualization and promotion of democracy within its external relations framework, investigating how these normative values are operationalized abroad.
Which theoretical models of democracy are analyzed?
The author analyzes three main approaches: Liberal/Libertarian democracy, Communitarian democracy, and Deliberative democracy.
What is the main research question?
The research asks how the EU defines its concept of democracy and evaluates whether this norm can be effectively promoted through external governance mechanisms while balancing strategic policy interests.
What methodology does the author apply?
The paper utilizes a comparative analysis of institutional documents (the Treaty of Lisbon) combined with a critical review of academic literature and specific regional case studies to assess the effectiveness of EU policy.
What are the core components of the EU's external democracy strategy?
The EU utilizes various strategies including democracy assistance, political conditionality, economic incentives, indirect approaches, and socialization dynamics to influence third countries.
What are the key terms used to characterize this study?
Key terms include European Union, Democracy Promotion, Liberal Democracy, Political Conditionality, and Normative Power.
How does the author characterize the situation in Tunisia regarding democracy?
The author highlights the dilemma where the EU often prioritized stability and the countering of extremism over genuine democratization, particularly during the era of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Why is Central Asia a challenging region for EU democracy promotion?
The region is characterized by post-Soviet authoritarian regimes, and the author notes that Western "kits of rules" are often insufficient to grasp the local political dynamics, leading to ineffective policy outcomes.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the EU's approach?
The author suggests that the EU often suffers from a lack of coherence between its normative values and its strategic interests, recommending a more focused approach based on core liberal democratic principles.
- Quote paper
- Johannes Wiedemann (Author), 2011, The European Union as Promoter of Democracy, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/175483
