Weilandt, Ragnar (2020) Enacting democracy promotion : Tunisian civil society and the European Union. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis is motivated and informed by three observations on the literature that studies EU democracy promotion. First of all, this literature tends to be methodologically Eurocentric in that it does not sufficiently consider the experiences, perceptions and attitudes of those who are at the receiving end of EU policy. Second, the EU and civil society as actors promoting democracy in transitioning countries are often framed as rather monolithic political entities and interaction between the two is often analysed under that premise. Third, and partly as a result of this, less attention is devoted to what individuals and groups engaged in democracy promotion actually do in practice as well as how their practices interact with each other. This motivates the overarching research question of this thesis: How do EU democracy promotion practices shape civil society in transitioning countries?

Using Tunisian civil society as a case study, the thesis has two main objectives: First, it aims at identifying, mapping and examining the practices appearing at the nexus of EU and civil society engagement in the context of democracy promotion. On that basis, it seeks to understand how these practices relate and react to each other. It does so by extensively drawing upon the accounts of Tunisian civil society activists interacting with the EU.

While scholars of democracy promotion tend to focus on either the formulation of policies or their impact, this thesis demonstrates the centrality of the practices employed in their context. It shows that in order to understand democracy promotion and its outcomes, we need to revisit the repertoires of practices of those enacting it within countries in transition. This includes both internal actors such as civil society as well as external actors such as the European Union, both of which can be conceived of as democracy promoters. The thesis shows that the practices, through which the EU and Tunisian civil society promote democracy in Tunisia, are informed by the different backgrounds, interests, views and dispositions of those enacting them. However, they also constitute themselves in reaction to the respective others’ practices.

The thesis’ main finding is that EU practices contribute to producing and reproducing certain practices within Tunisian civil society and thus also certain types of civil society actors. In doing so, the EU has both a transformative effect on the nature of civil society in Tunisia and contributes to further widening existing divisions within it.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) J Political Science > JQ Political institutions (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Democracy -- Tunísia, European Union countries -- Foreign relations -- Tunísia, Democratization -- Government policy -- European Union countries, Civil society -- Tunísia, Tunisia -- Foreign relations -- European Union countries, Tunisia -- Politics and government
Official Date:	2020
Dates:	Date Event 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies ; Recherche et Études en Politique Internationale
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Christou, George ; Pratt, Nicola Christine ; Jeandesboz, Julien
Sponsors:	University association for contemporary European studies ; Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik ; Fondation De Meurs ; ANTERO Jean Monnet Network
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	xvi, 244 leaves
Language:	eng

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