May 2012

Democracy in Central Asia

Sowing in Unfertile Fields?

This policy brief offers an overview of the state of democracy in Central Asia and seeks to explain why its development has been so disappointing in the region. The EU is active in urging Central Asian regimes to respect human rights, has set up a regional Rule of Law Initiative and runs several projects focusing on good governance, but so far has not been able to advance in any substantial way on several other aspects of democratisation, such as parliamentary reform or capacity-building for political parties. The paper concludes with a few recommendations on how the EU could support the democracy agenda.

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