EU democracy promotion in contemporary sub- Saharan Africa: the case study of South Sudan

Democracy promotion aims to force or encourage a foreign state to become more democratic. This includes direct democracy assistance, or direct financial aid or training to the electoral arena, government and civil society, but also rhetorical commitments, political gestures, information dissemination, sanctions, conditionality and through "soft power" - cultural ties and their significance in promoting European values. The Diploma Thesis EU democracy promotion in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa: the case study of South Sudan examines these strategies as they were used by EU actors in democracy promotion in South Sudan. South Sudan is the youngest country in the world, and the EU, both in terms of EU institutions and member states has aided the country in its uneasy development to become a democratic state. How EU actors attempted to accomplish this, and how have these strategies changed between 2011 and 2020 is the focus of the research. The thesis comes to the conclusion, that the EU used a top- down approach, engaging more with government and other state institutions than with civil society. It also focused on developing good governance and rule of law, together with enhancing socio-economic sectors. The EU also promoted democracy in South Sudan through regional organisations, the IGAD, and the..