Ambitions for the Future of EU Democracy Support
This paper examines the analytical design, ambitions, implementation and envisioned impact of the SHAPEDEM-EU project. SHAPEDEM-EU sets out to rethink, reshape and review the EU’s democracy support policies in its Eastern & Southern Neighbourhoods. Amidst the increasing contestation of the EU and the weakening impact of its policies in the Neighbourhoods, SHAPEDEM-EU applies an entirely novel approach to democracy support. Its integrated analytical design is based on four conceptual pillars: democracy as a social practice based on democratic knowledge; democracy as a social practice of interaction; the practice of multi-layered contestation within the EU’s democracy support toolkit; and the Democracy Learning Loop for an improved EU policy toolkit.
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Details
SHAPEDEM-EU Publications, No. 1 (January 2024), 29 p.
1 Introduction
2 Core SHAPEDEM-EU Ambitions
3 The EU in the Global Order
4 Three Phases of SHAPEDEM-EU’s Work
5 SHAPEDEM-EU’s Integrated Analytical Design
5.1 Four Conceptual Pillars
5.2 SHAPEDEM-EU’s Methodological Approach
6 Implementing SHAPEDEM-EU’s Three Phases
6.1 Phase I: Conceptualising democracy & democracy support as social practices
6.2 Phase II: Empirical mapping of democracy support practices in the European neighbourhood
6.2.1 Practices of democratic politics in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods
6.2.2 Comprehensive mapping of the EU’s democratic practices and practices of democracy support in its neighbourhoods
6.2.3 Mapping of selected EU member states’ democracy support practices in the EU neighbourhoods
6.2.4 Impact of non-EU actors on democracy support practices in the EU’s neighbourhoods
6.3 Phase III: Fostering Action – Synthesis & policy recommendations
7 Two Cross-Cutting Challenges
7.1 Gender Equality
7.2 Digital Transformations
8 Envisioned Impact of the SHAPEDEM-EU Project
8.1 SHAPEDEM-EU’s unique contribution
8.2 SHAPEDEM-EU’s wider impact
8.2.1 Scientific impact
8.2.2 Policy impact
8.2.3 Societal impact
9 Conclusion
10 References