ABSTRACT
In this section we justify the case selection, including the focus on the EU and the US and provide an overview of the articles in this special issue. The EU and the US are among very few powers in the contemporary international system trying to export their own political regimes elsewhere. In addition, while individual states and international organizations such as the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or the Council of Europe also engage in democracy promotion, none currently matches the breadth of EU and US policies or their potential economic and political leverage on target countries and the international arena.
