ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the history, contents, and application of the EU conditionality' as a socialization mechanism. The standard of political performance' is largely based on the idea of democracy, which has emerged as the predominant form of political governance within the Westphalian international state system. Political conditionality' is also at the heart of the policies of global organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The standard of economic performance' is connected to the adoption of policies aiming at the restructuring of the domestic economies of the candidate states and as an extension, at market liberalization. The European Commission plays a significant role in determining whether applicant states meet democratic conditions. Among notions of international influences on democratization, conditionality' represents a deliberate effort to determine the process's outcome through external pressure.
