EU Democratic Rule of Law Promotion

This chapter analyzes the action of the European Union to promote democratic rule of law in Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. After a brief description of the origins of the EU's activity of democracy and rule of law promotion, I explain how the EU favors the adoption, implementation and internalization of norms concerning the five aspects of the democratic rule of law, i.e. civil and political rights, judicial system, institutional and administrative structures, anti-corruption policies and civilian control of the army. My explanation is based on the assumption that the EU's strategy to promote democratic rule of law is based on a supply of institutional ties and economic assistance to non-member countries, complemented by the demand to comply with certain political conditions. Finally the chapter compares the strategy of the EU to promote democratic rule of law with similar activities of other international actors, such as the United Agency for International Development, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations, and the World Bank.