External Influence and Democratization: The Revenge of Geopolitics

Abstract: Discussion of democracy promotion is usually isolated from that of geopolitics. It is seen as an affair between democratic countries on the one hand and governments or civil societies of autocratic and semi-autocratic states on the other. The recent crisis in Ukraine has demonstrated the inseparability of democracy promotion and power politics, especially in faultline regions where democratic and autocratic states and political cultures compete for influence. While a political choice in favor of democratic world and organizations like the European Union does not guarantee democratic consolidation, it positively correlates with the level of political freedom within a given country.