“The transformative power of Europe” beyond enlargement: the EU’s performance in promoting democracy in its neighbourhood

This paper argues that the European Union’s (EU) performance in promoting democracy in its neighbourhood is not only compromised by the lack of a membership perspective but the selective sanctioning of non-compliance with democracy standards caused by conflicting foreign policy objectives. We identify two conditions for the EU’s consistent application of democratic conditionality: the absence of a stability-democratisation dilemma and the presence of pro-democratic reform coalitions. If neither of these conditions is present, the EU is more likely to act as a status-quo than a transformative power prioritising (authoritarian) stability over uncertain (democratic) change.