Vera Axyonova Book order

This timely book seeks to contribute to the debate on the transfer of values, rules, and practices by European actors to former soviet countries. The actors in focus include multilateral organizations, such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as European governments and non-governmental organizations. The contributions in this collection address different aspects of the export or transfer of values, such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as well as rules and practices in the fields of education and migration management, examining motives, mechanisms, and effects of the European engagement.

EU relations with the five Central Asian countries were upgraded in 2007 through the establishment of the {OCLCbr#D0}‘EU and Central Asia : Strategy for New Partnership{OCLCbr#D0}’. This brought about hope for a meaningful and coherent EU engagement in the region. One of the EU{OCLCbr#D0}’s main priorities in Central Asia is to advance and promote human rights, good governance, the rule of law, and democratisation. This objective has been supported by various policy and financial instruments. While the overall financial assistance, and in particular funding for democracy- and human rights-related projects, remains limited, the existing support has mostly sought to tackle technical problems in the judicial sector, including prison reform, leaving deeper shortcomings in the promotion and protection of human rights untouched. So far, the EU has had little impact on Central Asia{OCLCbr#D0}’s human rights record, due to the region{OCLCbr#D0}’s deeply embedded authoritarian rule, as well as the EU{OCLCbr#D0}’s limited leverage and its own inconsistencies and inadequate follow-up in implementing values-related policies and projects.

The European Union has developed a range of instruments to promote democracy and human rights worldwide. However, the success of its democratization efforts remains questionable in countries that lack an EU membership perspective. The case of post-soviet Central Asia, where the EU declares democracy promotion among its key priorities yet is confronted with unfavorable domestic conditions for democratization and often fails to follow through, is an eye-opening example. Vera Axyonova’s study offers the first comprehensive evaluation of the micro-level effects of the EU engagement in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and examines the factors that have made the EU efforts more or less successful in Central Asia.