Europeizacja jako instrument polityki zagranicznej Unii Europejskiej w zakresie promocji demokracji

The aim of the paper is to analyze how Europeanization is used as an instrument of the European Union’s foreign policy in the field of promoting democracy in the world . This first requires an indication that all EU activities, including its relations with the international environment, are based on specific normative foundations. They include the so-called European values regarding, generally speaking, the promotion of democracy and broadly understood human rights, as well as strengthening peace in international relations. “European values” are not only political and ideological guidelines, but also legal norms enshrined in EU treaties, so the promotion of democracy is one of the basic goals of the EU’s foreign policy. Analysis of the EU’s promotion of democracy requires the presentation of the main categories used to study this issue, i.e. showing what is understood by Europeanization, as well as by the associated concepts of democratization and socialization. Then mechanisms of Europeanization are examined, as well as its results and evaluation of its effectiveness is provided. In this respect the case study is very helpful, in that it examines the results of Europeanization in relation to the EU partner countries covered by the Eastern Partnership. The paper ends with final remarks constituting a summary of the studied issues.