The Visegrad Group and democracy promotion: transition experience and beyond

This book explores the substance and strategies of democracy promotion conducted by the Visegrad Group states (V4) – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. As these states are currently deemed to face democratic backsliding over thirty years after their own democratic transformations, the book discusses how democracy promotion is related to the four countries' understanding of liberalism and democracy and to their political cultures. It also addresses the question of what motivates the V4 states to engage in the politically sensitive activities of democracy assistance and how they intend to share their own experience and know-how of the democratic transformation process. The book concludes by discussing the possible future developments in the respective states' democracy promotion agendas. Examining the strategies, substance, and the domestic discourse related to the Visegrad states' democracy promotion policies, the book presents a much-needed reflection on a niche subject in the foreign policy agendas of these post-communist states for academics and practitioners alike. Jan Hornat is Head of the Department of North American Studies at Charles University, Czech Republic. He previously served as a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and as Head of Unit at the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic.

Intro -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Introduction -- A Visegrad Group Political Culture? -- Vestiges of Communism and Troubles with Liberalism -- 2 Democracy Promotion by the V4 States: Origins and Motives -- Democratic Identity -- Europeanization -- Return to the "West" and Status -- Geopolitics and Geostrategy -- Solidarity and Epistemic Communities -- 3 The Democracy Assistance Infrastructure of the Visegrad States -- The Czech Republic: A Determined Promotor -- Hungary: A Reluctant Promotor -- Poland: Engaging in the Name of Solidarity -- Slovakia: Joining Democracy Promotion Efforts with a Time-Lag -- 4 The Target States of Visegrad Countries' Democracy Assistance -- 5 The Substance of Visegrad States' Democracy Assistance -- Conceptualizing Democracy -- Transition Experience-"De-ideologizing" Democracy Assistance -- Educating and Mobilizing the Youth -- Training and Expertise Sharing -- Civil Society Support -- Rules-Based Market Economy -- 6 External and Internal Factors Shaping the Substance of Visegrad States' Democracy Assistance -- Downloading and Uploading the Rationale for Conducting Democracy Assistance -- Gender and the Empowerment of Women -- Windows of Opportunity, Domestic Discourses and Rhetoric -- 7 The International Visegrad Fund as a Democracy Promotion Instrument -- A Theoretical Perspective on the IVF -- The Structure and Procedures of the IVF -- Substance of the IVF's Activities -- 8 Conclusion -- Index.