ABSTRACT
This paper argues that the European Union’s (EU) performance in promoting democracy in its neighbourhood is not only compromised by the lack of a membership perspective but the selective sanctioning of non-compliance with democracy standards caused by conflicting foreign policy objectives. We identify two conditions for the EU’s consistent application of democratic conditionality: the absence of a stability-democratisation dilemma and the presence of pro-democratic reform coalitions. If neither of these conditions is present, the EU is more likely to act as a status-quo than a transformative power prioritising (authoritarian) stability over uncertain (democratic) change.
