ABSTRACT The trend of expansion of democracy around the globe has been largely increased in the post-Cold War era due to the domestic struggles and dynamics of international system. Not only international conditions, but also democracy promotion activities of international community have influenced this trend. These activities include assistance, guidance and advice provided by the international players. In this regard, this thesis aims to highlight international dimension of democratization. This thesis analyzes the role of the European Union (EU) in the democratization process of Georgia. The EU has become an international actor, promoting democracy and human rights since the 1990s. The EU&rsquo / s contribution to the consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe through enlargement policy has been regarded valuable in the literature of democratization. In this context, this thesis chooses Georgia as a case study since Georgia / an ex-Soviet country has successfully managed to consolidate its regime change with the Rose Revolution. Besides, the Revolution has trigged the inclusion of the country and South Caucasus to the new Neighborhood Policy of the EU (ENP). This policy has welcomed in Georgia and has overlapped with the EU&rsquo / s increasing interest in the region and European orientation of Georgia. This study seeks to find out the extent to which EU can contribute democratic consolidation in Georgia within the ENP. The basic conclusion of this thesis is that the success of the ENP will depend on the limitations and deficiencies of the ENP together with the peculiarities of the region and the ability of the EU.

La tesi analizza le politiche di promozione della democrazia messe in atto dall'Unione Europea, al fine di inquadrare queste ultime nell'ambito del dibattito sulla dimensione internazionale dei processi di democratizzazione. L'opera si divide in due parti. La prima parte, teorica, pone le basi per la comprensione dei concetti di democrazia, democratizzazione, e dell'influenza del sistema internazionale sui processi di democratizzazione. La seconda parte, empirica, applica tali nozioni, e la definizione di politiche di promozione della democrazia, al caso specifico. Obiettivo della tesi è quello di mostrare la peculiarità dell'azione dell'UE nell'ambito delle politiche di promozione della democrazia. / The thesis analyses EU's democracy promotion policies in order to put these latter in relation to the wider debate on the international dimension of democratization. It is divided into two parts. The first, mainly theoretical draws the foundations for the understanding of the concepts of democracy, democratization, and the international dimension of democratization. The second part, empirical, apply these notions and the definition of democracy promotion policies, to the specific case of the EU. The goal is to show the peculiarity of EU's action in this field.

Thesis (doctoral)--Phil.-Theol. Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt (Main), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-256).

Thesis (doctoral)--Phil.-Theol. Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt (Main), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-256).