External Democratization by the EU. How the European Neighbourhood Policy can shape Political Systems

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2018 im Fachbereich Politik - Thema: Internationale Beziehungen, Note: 1,3, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (Institut für Politikwissenschaften), Veranstaltung: Rule of Law and European Integration in Post-Soviet Societies, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: This paper will focus on the two parts of the promotion of democracy and the Rule of Law by the EU but also Russia as a counterpart to it. It is indispensable not to see a connection between both influences, the European one and the soviet or Russian one because of the soviet history of the country. We also should take into consideration the geopolitical aspect of this threefold relationship.The collapse of Communist systems in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) marked a fundamental turning point in their domestic development. The transformation of post-communist systems included not only the partly won democratization of the political systems, but also the transformation of virtually all social subsystems. Over the years, it soon became apparent that the former communist states were performing very differently in this task and achieved very different successes. While in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic States, functioning democratic systems and pluralistic societies have been established relatively quickly, many of the states that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union remained in stagnation and chaos or developed into authoritarian systems. On the other hand some states evolved from some fundamental steps towards democratization like for example Georgia where the so called Rose Revolution, a peaceful change of power, took place. This revolution allowed the country not only to transition to another political system but also towards a change of Rule of Law in an echo of the European thought. Important to know in this case is that during the Rose Revolution in 2003 and right after this event the European Union (EU) increasingly supported Georgia through a diverse set of measures - especially covering the financial aspect in order to develop a more independent judicial system. Therefore, this paper will focus on the lack of judicial independence as a long-standing problem in Georgia, dating back to Soviet times. The EU is trying to solve this problem with the help of projects and agreements. Georgia is (progressively) approaching the EU by signing an association agreement in 2014 "in which the country undertook to pursue comprehensive reforms, particularly in the areas of democracy, the Rule of Law, human rights and basic civil liberties, good governance, market economy and sustainable development."