EU Development Policy and Dissensus over Liberal Democracy
(2026) The Palgrave Handbook of Dissensus over Liberal Democracy in Europe — ISBN: [9783032224804], 673-690, published
Files
Brogna V. 2026. EU Development Policy and DIssensus over Liberal Democracy.pdf
Chapitre
Open Access - Adobe PDF
- 200.37 KB
Details
- Authors
- Abstract
- EU development policy, as part of external action, has contributed to positioning the bloc as a global normative power promoting democracy, human rights, and governance standards. This policy has faced internal and external dissensus: internally, member states such as Hungary and Poland have created donor profiles that challenge the EU’s liberal agenda. Externally, recipient countries, particularly in Africa, increasingly question the EU’s normative legitimacy in a multipolar world. The chapter identifies three manifestations of dissensus: in democracy promotion, where EU’s focus on liberal democracy meets resistance from advocates of contextualised approaches recognising local values; in EU–Africa relations, where international negotiations like those leading to the Samoa Agreement have revealed tensions over sexual rights, migration policies, and sovereignty concerns; and in some member states’ strategies, where illiberal governments have used development policy as an instrument to challenge EU authority. These challenges reveal a fundamental tension between the EU’s normative ambitions and geopolitical pragmatism. The rise of populist governments, competition from powers like China and Russia, and recipient countries’ assertiveness may pressure the EU to reconsider its liberal value-based approach.
- Affiliations
Citations
Brogna, V. (2026). EU Development Policy and Dissensus over Liberal Democracy. In Coman R., Badulescu C., Christiansen T., and M. Simoncini (eds) (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Dissensus over Liberal Democracy in Europe (1 ed., pp. 673-690). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22481-1_37