Bulletin n. 3/2011
February 2012
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • De Ridder Eline, Kochenov Dimitry
    Democratic Conditionality in the Eastern Enlargement: Ambitious Window Dressing
    in European Foreign Affairs Review , vol. 16, issue 5 ,  2011 ,  589-605
    ABSTRACT: This article addresses the promotion of democracy in the enlargement process of the central and eastern European countries (CEECs). We start by outlining EU democracy promotion during accession, with a particular focus on political conditionality. In a subsequent part, we argue that the European Commission did not make a clear substantive distinction between the concepts of rule of law and democracy. In addition, various drawbacks are identified, which demonstrate the vagueness and inconsistencies that characterize the EU's application of democratic conditionality. A final part illustrates these points by focusing on the EU's democratic conditionality towards the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The conclusion reads that the EU did not have a well-defined view and approach to the promotion of democracy and the rule of law in the eastern enlargement.
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