EUROPEANIZATION VERSUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN GEORGIA, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION

There is a growing disconnect between Europeanization and democratization in the immediate neighborhood of the European Union. Often overlooked by euro-centric academic research, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are a litmus test for the challenges facing democratic consolidation in a geopolitically contested region. The study dissects the relationship between Europeanization and Democratization processes in the three countries; scrutinizes the internal and external challenges to democratic consolidation and critically assesses the effectiveness of EU’s normative power projection in the region. In the process, the author challenges Huntington’s concept of ‘snowballing’, disconfirming his one directional democratic cascade theory in the specific condition of the countries comprising the case study. The unique condition of these countries is epitomized by the European Union’s facilitation of democracy, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, Russia’s facilitation of the status quo, while also encouraging undemocratic practices. This challenges the neofunctionalist democratic spillover expectation and accredits a path-dependent neo-institutionalist account of democratization in the region. Moreover, the author finds robust evidence in support of the modernization theory of democracy, while also confirming the negative effects of active geopolitical competition on the battleground countries. The study questions the efficacy of EU’s democracy promotion efforts and argues in favor of anchoring the three countries on the European integration track as an imperative mechanism for boosting the chances of democratic consolidation.