‘It’s about implementation’ EU democracy promotion in Armenia and its influence on electoral policies

Abstract

The EU tries to influence policy developments outside its own borders through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and in Armenia’s case, the Eastern Partnership. In this research, the extent to which the EU been successful in influencing developments in Armenian electoral policies through these named external governance instruments has been elaborated upon. As it turns out, the EU cannot be perceived as the only party influencing the developments of Armenian electoral policies. The influence of other external actors such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE as well as internal (f)actors has also been elaborated upon within this research and provided a partial explanation for the developments of Armenian electoral policies.