School of Politics and International Studies

The European Union’s democracy promotion policy in Central Asia

Central Asian countries have only recently emerged as sovereign actors in the international system. For more than seventy years, these countries were tightly integrated with Russia, and have virtually no historical record of interaction with external powers in the twentieth century. In the twenty first century, Central Asian countries face an opportunity and a challenge to interact with numerous powers, all of whom aim to influence the political, economic and cultural development in Central Asia.

Out of these external powers, the EU promises to be an actor which might promote positive changes. In 2007, under the German presidency, the European Council issued a seminal document, ‘The European Union and Central Asia: strategy for a new partnership’, which listed seven priority areas of cooperation and assistance to Central Asia: human rights, rule of law, good governance and democratisation; youth and education; economic development, trade and investment; energy and transport links; environmental sustainability and water; common threats and challenges; and, intercultural dialogue.

My research will focus on the first priority area of the EU’s strategy: human rights, rule of law, good governance and democratisation. I will analyse the democracy promotion agenda of the EU’s strategy towards Central Asia, analyse its applicability to the region, and assess the responsiveness of local governments through a comparative case study of the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan.

For this aim, I will identify and discuss the EU’s democracy promotion agenda within the framework of its general strategy for the region; estimate the responsiveness of Central Asian governments to the EU’s efforts to promote its values in the region; and critically evaluate the underlying factors that undermine the EU’s democracy promotion policy in Central Asia.