This book considers the role of the EU in the consolidation of democracy in Slovakia during the 1990s. The first chapter explores the concept of Europe in Slovak politics, which was used by all political forces as a rhetorical tool. The relationship between Slovakia and the EU institutions and member states is analyzed in the second chapter. Within the EU there was initially great insecurity about the development of Slovakia. But the disastrous results in democritization and rule of the Meciar government made the 1997 decision not to commence accession negotiations largely uncontroversial. The last chapter deals with the part the EU played in Slovakia's democratic consolidation. EU integration was a hotly discussed topic in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in 1998. The country's failure in the integration process fueled growing concerns that Slovakia might not be able to catch up with the West. Among the sources used are documents from the diplomatic archives of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the author's own interviews with some of the persons involved. The author argues that the EU, thanks to its huge prestige in Slovakia, helped significantly to rid it of authoritarian tendencies.

Autorentext
Dr. Simon Gruber, geboren 1979 in Innsbruck, ist seit 2008 Referent an der österreichischen Botschaft in Bratislava sowie seit 2009 Lecturer an der Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts.

Leseprobe
The aim of the book is to identify the role of the EU in the consolidation of democracy in Slovakia during the 1990s. The first chapter explores the concept of "Europe" in Slovak politics. In Slovakia, Europe was used as a rhetorical tool by all political forces. The relationship between Slovakia and the EU institutions and member states is analyzed in the second chapter. Inside the EU, initially there was much insecurity about the development of Slovakia. But the disastrous results in terms of democracy and rule of law of the Meciar government made the decision of 1997 not to start the accession negotiations largely uncontroversial. The last chapter deals with the EU's part in Slovakia's democratic consolidation. EU integration was a hotly discussed topic in the run-up of the 1998's parliamentary elections. Slovakia's failing in the integration process fueled growing concerns that Slovakia might not be able to catch up with the West. Among the used sources are documents from the diplomatic archive of the Slovak ministry of foreign affairs and the author's own interviews with some of the involved persons. The author argues that the EU, thanks to its huge prestige in Slovakia, helped significantly to get rid of the authoritarian tendencies.