Introduction: One-of-what-kind? Comparative Perspectives on the Substance of EU Democracy Promotion

Book Title: 
Comparative Perspectives on the Substance of EU Democracy Promotion
Publication Year: 
2017
Publication Place: 
Abingdon
Publisher: 
Routledge
Pages: 
1-14
Abstract: 

If democracy promotion is a ‘fashionable international art’ (Burnell 2000, 339), then there are many artists involved in it. It is impressive to observe, for instance, how the voices that offered assistance in the course of the Arab Spring appeared to sing from the same hymn sheet: However, rather than singing from the same hymn sheet, international democracy promoters are soloists. While apparently singing the same melody, they sing it with different lyrics and intonation. The international stage is home to a wide group of actors engaged in emocracy promotion, each pursuing their own democratization agenda (Burnell 2008, 416; Merkel 2010, 154-159).