Synthesis Report: Comparative findings on EU democracy promotion
Grimm, Sonja, Stolzenberger, Roman and Solander, Nea (2025).
This comprehensive synthesis paper consolidates three years of research by the EMBRACE consortium, examining obstacles to democratisation and the effectiveness of EU democracy promotion (EUDP) across 23 countries in the European neighbourhood through both quantitative analysis and qualitative investigation in 12 case studies spanning Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, the Western Balkans, and the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on over 200 interviews, stakeholder consultations, and multi-method empirical work, the report identifies obstacles and facilitators operating across three dimensions – institutions, actors, and structures – at domestic, EU, and international levels, revealing how EUDP effectiveness is undermined by EU-internal divisions (including member-state backsliding, competing strategic interests prioritising stability over democracy, and bureaucratic inefficiencies), entrenched authoritarian elites employing sophisticated repression and co-optation toolkits, and geopolitical competition from Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia that provides alternative resources and legitimacy without democratic conditions. The analysis demonstrates that EUDP produces incremental gains primarily when EU internal consensus prioritises democratisation, bottom-up support to civil society is sustained and timed to political openings, and leverage is sharpened through credible conditionality, while effects remain muted or regressive when stability-first logic prevails, engagement remains elite-centric, and authoritarian counter-pressure goes unchallenged. The paper concludes with seven key lessons and practical policy recommendations, emphasising the need for the EU to overcome internal obstacles, strengthen flexible core funding for diverse grassroots actors beyond professionalised NGOs, integrate local perspectives including marginalised voices, develop rapid-response mechanisms to capitalise on democratic openings, and adopt three innovative tools—a digital platform for activists, an interactive mapping tool, and a dynamic adaptive toolkit—that together support more context-sensitive, coherent, and effective democracy promotion aligned with the Union’s normative foundations.
EMBRACE Synthesis Report