Exploring the complex interplay between democracy and autocracy in Eastern Europe, the REDEMOS working paper by Madalina Dobrescu and Ragnar Weilandt, “Democratic progress, stasis, regression, and authoritarianisation in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood,” offers pivotal insights into the region’s political evolution over a span of 12 years. This paper critically evaluates the role of the EU and local dynamics in shaping the democratic and autocratic paths in six countries.
In detail, this working paper provides an in-depth stocktaking of democracy building efforts and failures in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine between 2010 and 2022. The democratic and autocratic trajectories of the six eastern neighbourhood countries examined point to the critical role of the demos in bringing about democratic change, sustaining democratic progress and deterring or reverting democratic regression, in particular when these processes are simultaneously supported by political elites and organised civil societies.
