Assessing EU democracy promotion in Africa: the case of Ghana
In: Externe Demokratieförderung durch die Europäische Union, p. 71-91
"Through a case-study of Ghana, this chapter assesses EU democracy promotion policy in sub-Saharan Africa. The rhetorical vigour of the EU's stated policy is contrasted with the reality of meagre democracy support. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain this rhetoric-reality gap: (1) democracy assistance is at a low level where the EU has few economic or security interests; and (2) the EU is promoting a limited form of democracy, one compatible with neo-liberalism. Evidence from Ghana suggests that both have significant explanatory value. The low volume of assistance tends to confirm the first, while the content of (limited) democracy assistance provides support for the second. Conclusions are two-fold. One, the EU's motivation in promoting democracy in Africa is more instrumentally than normatively driven, and, two, democracy is narrowly conceived by the EU, more concerned with limiting state power than extending popular control." (author's abstract)