EU Democracy Promotion in Times of Crisis

This chapter, after analyzing how the EU institutionalized its democracy promotion activity in the post–Cold War context, shows how the different crises the EU had to face during the past two institutional cycles (2009–2014 and 2014–2019), which followed the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty, undermined the Union’s credibility and legitimacy as a democracy promoter and gradually led to a reformulation of an EU foreign policy that has prioritized its own interests rather than standing up for its values.