Between Norms and Interests

EU Democracy Promotion in the Mediterranean Neighbourhood

In ARENA Report 02/08, Nina Fredrikke Meyer Stensholt seeks to explain the emerging emphasis on democracy promotion in the Mediterranean region in relation to the launch of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)

ARENA Report 02/2008

Nina Fredrikke Meyer Stensholt

Democratic principles have traditionally not been an important aspect of the EU’s foreign policy in the Mediterranean region, however, with the launch of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), promotion of political reforms and norms appears to take on a more prominent role in the EU’s Mediterranean policy. This analysis seeks to explain this emerging emphasis on democracy promotion in the Mediterranean region. Based on an analytical distinction between pragmatic, ethical-political, and moral arguments, this study suggests that the EU’s democracy promotion is founded on more than utility considerations. In fact, it indicates that a sense of liaison-based duty to assist close neighbours is particularly important in understanding the focus on democratic principles in the ENP, and fi nally, that moral commitments appear to play a role, even if only an adjusting one. Hence, in light of the literature on the EU’s foreign policy, and in particular its so-called ‘normative’ dimension, these fi ndings present a nuanced picture and suggest that the EU’s democracy promotion is neither a purely interestbased nor norm-based policy, rather it has elements of both, yet, with emphasis upon the latter.

ARENA Report 02/2008 (pdf)

ISBN 978-82-93137-59-7 (online) 978-82-93137-09-2 (print)

Published Apr. 25, 2016 12:58 PM - Last modified Apr. 26, 2016 9:12 AM