Exporting Revolution: Why Do Some Eastern E.U. Democracies Support Democracy Abroad? (Research Brief)

This study examines the democracy promotion efforts of new democracies – countries that used to be recipients of democracy assistance but have now become democracy promoters. The focus of this research is on the Eastern European members of the European Union (EU). and seeks to answer the question: Why do some of these countries but not others support democracy abroad? This question is answered by a comparison of two cases – Bulgaria and Slovakia. The transition trajectories and international context of these two countries are very similar. However, Slovakia is one of the most active democracy promoters among the Eastern EU countries, whereas Bulgaria has demonstrated little interest in supporting democracy abroad. The key preliminary finding of the study is that some of the same civic activists who prepared the democratic breakthrough in both countries subsequently worked to nurture democracy at home as well as abroad. Moreover, they advocated that their governments also support the diffusion of democratic norms and practices in the European neighborhood. However, only in the Slovak where case such norm entrepreneurs represented a strong lobby – a large and united contingent that articulated resonant arguments in favor of supporting democracy abroad – was democracy promotion incorporated into the foreign policy of this new post-communist democracy. In contrast, the weak Bulgarian lobby was less successful.

Tsveta Petrova, of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, was a 2011-12 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.