Brussels made democracy human rights the rule of law and good governance its top
co-operation priorities in the EU Strategy Framework towards Central Asia for 2007-2013. This
book examines two interrelated questions: To what extent has EU democracy promotion in Central
Asia been successful? And to the extent that it was successful why was it so?The book
presents a comprehensive analytical framework for the evaluation of democracy promotion
including factors which may facilitate or hinder democratic development in Central Asia. It
demonstrates the validity of a holistic approach to analyzing impediments of democracy
promotion meaning that external pro-democratic support is affected by a variety of diverse
factors whose impact can vary as international regional and domestic conditions change.The
stable and rich authoritarian state of Kazakhstan is different from the much poorer
Kyrgyzstan-a state prone to political instability but also to democratic openings. By
contrasting the success of democracy promotion in these two countries which have different
strategic importance for the EU this study provides valuable insights into how non-normative
interests interfere with normatively driven policies.
