Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 12/2013

A More Pluralist Approach to European Democracy Support

Richard Youngs, Kateryna Pishchikova

October 2013

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

European support for democracy is at a crucial juncture. Just as the eurozone crisis complicates the European Union’s (EU’s) efforts to support democratic reform around the world, new forms of political transition are confounding the EU’s traditional approach to democracy building. The EU must embrace a wider variety of tactics, models, actors, and strategies, or it risks losing credibility and traction in the field of democracy support.