Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- About the author -- Preface and acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Democracy promotion and democratization: the hybrid -- Democratic transformation: the analytical framework -- Sectoral democratic transformation: the argument -- Case studies and the organization of the book -- PART I Democracy promotion, democratization, transformation -- 1 The hybridism of democratic transformation -- Democracy and democratization -- Democracy promotion -- Democracy promotion through international socialization. Variables and arguments of international socialization framework2 Conditions of democratic transformation, cases, and methods -- Democratic transformation -- Factors influencing democratic transformation -- Democracy promoters -- Targets of democracy promotion -- PART II Local ingredients of the global democratic recipe -- 3 The South Caucasus: the road to democracy or a blind alley? -- The haunting nightmares of protracted conflicts and international involvement -- The democracy blocker: Russia in the South Caucasus -- Conclusions -- 4 The EU and the US: confusion, ambitions, and the reality. The European Union: slowly but surely?The United States: business as usual -- Conclusions -- PART III Sectoral democratic transformation -- 5 Elections in the South Caucasus: a Potemkin village rather than a solid construction -- Election projects -- Presidential elections in the South Caucasus -- Supporting elections in the South Caucasus: ticking boxes, changing laws -- 6 Parties in the South Caucasus: do they really matter? -- Party development projects -- Party politics in the South Caucasus: a tribute to democratic fashion -- Party development: campaigning, recruiting, but not controlling. 7 Media in the South Caucasus: the watchdog may bark but rarely biteMedia development -- Media freedom in the South Caucasus: plurality of voices versus legal shackles -- Developing media: can knowledge help to watchdog? -- Conclusions to Part III -- Conclusions: the damsel in distress and the bully in the sandbox -- Democratic transformation -- Global trends and what to do? -- Bibliography -- Index.