Abstract
When, in October 2009, the European Parliament adopted its resolution on democracy building in the European Union’s (EU) external relations, it urged the EU ‘to publicly endorse the UN General Assembly’s 2005 definition of democracy as the reference point for its own democratisation work’ (European Parliament 2009: Art. 7). This call is remarkable because it exemplifies the thin conceptual basis of EU democracy promotion. At that time, it represented a further step in ongoing attempts to define the meaning of ‘democracy’ in EU external actions. Eventually, however, the call went unheard. To this day, the EU has not (yet) accepted a single definition of democracy that guides its democracy promotion activities. Scholars have recently come to the conclusion that the conceptual basis of EU democracy promotion can be summarized as ‘fuzzy liberalism’ (see the chapter by Milja Kurki in this edited volume).
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Anne Wetzel
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wetzel, A. (2015). The Substance of EU Democracy Promotion: Introduction and Conceptual Framework. In: Wetzel, A., Orbie, J. (eds) The Substance of EU Democracy Promotion. Governance and Limited Statehood. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137466327_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137466327_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49980-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-46632-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Intern. Relations & Development CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)