The Promotion of Democracy as a Foreign Policy Goal of the European Union

Promidžba demokracije temeljni je cilj vanjske politike EU-a, a ujedno i međunarodna dimenzija demokratizacije kao temeljnog i ključnog političkog ishoda proširenja unija na države Istočne, Srednje i Jugoistočne Europe. U svjetlu relevantnosti te tematike ovaj rad nastoji definirati pojam, doseg i primjenu promidžbe demokracije u međunarodnim odnosima, posebice prema postkomunističkim državama u posthladnoratovskom razdoblju, instrumente, ciljeve, strategije, ograničenja, evolutivni okvir promidžbe demokracije, kao i njezinu primjenu na primjeru Europske Unije, posebice u odnosu na bivše komunističke države, gdje je zamijećeno da vanjski akteri ne mogu potaknuti demokratizaciju i dovesti do stabilnih političkih poredaka ukoliko snažni unutarnji politički akteri ne budu „upravljali“ elementima državnosti i modernizacijeDemocracy promotion is a crucial objective of the EU foreign policy; at the same time it is also the international dimension of democratization as a fundamental and crucial political outcome of the EU enlargement to Eastern, Central and Southeastern Europe. In light of the relevance of that topic, this paper attempts to define the concept, scope and application of democracy promotion in international relations, especially in the post-communist countries in the post-Cold War period. It will also examine instruments, objectives, strategies, constraints and evaluation framework of democracy promotion, as well as its implication on the case study of the European Union, particularly regarding former communist countries. In these cases it was observed that external actors can encourage democratization and lead to a stable political order if elements ofstatehood and state modernization are not discouragely “managed” by influential internal political actors