EU's Policy of Democracy Promotion: Strategies and Impact in Central Asia and the South Caucasus

Cover -- 1 Introduction -- Choice and mode of EU democracy promoting instruments in the countries of Southern Caucasus and Central Asia -- Explaining EU's democracy promotion in the countries of Southern Caucasus and Central Asia -- Impact of EU's democracy promotion on the democratic quality of the countries of Southern Caucasus and Central Asia -- Explaining the impact of the EU's democracy promotion in the countries of Southern Caucasus and Central Asia -- 2 Muddling Through: The European Union's external democracy promotion in the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia -- 1. Analytical framework and hypotheses -- 2. Assessing the EU's external democracy promotion in the South Caucasus and Central Asia -- 3. Explaining the EU's external democracy promotion in the South Caucasus and Central Asia -- 3.1 Strength of norm violations by a third country -- 3.2 Degree of public perception in the EU of norm violations in a third country -- 3.3 Security interests of the EU/EU's member states, including the presence/absence of alternative interested actors -- 3.4 Economic interests of the EU/EU's member states, including the presence/absence of alternative interested actors -- 4. Conclusion -- 3 The EU's effectiveness as a democracy promotion actor: Three divergent cases in the South Caucasus -- 1. The South Caucasus as a "failing region": Divided and diverse -- 2. Positioning the South Caucasus vis-à-vis Europe: A comparison with the Balkans and Central Asia -- 3. 1991-2004: The EU as a benevolent but weak player in the South Caucasus -- 4. 2004-2009: ENP enhancing the status of the South Caucasus within EU policies -- 5. European Partnership: The EU as an emergent but reluctant actor in South Caucasus geopolitics -- 6. Democracy promotion, the politics of identity, and competition for power -- 7. Georgia: Identity and pro-Western policies