Narratives of external norm contenders across the EU's eastern neighbourhood

This paper focuses on narratives of contested democracy by third-country actors — notably Russia and China — in the European Union’s (EU) eastern neighbourhood. It is important to understand the anti-democracy narratives of these two authoritarian powers as part of the broader geopolitical context of the EU’s democracy support efforts in the region. In this paper, narratives are understood as sets of meanings that organise events and experiences and make sense of them. The paper draws on six case studies conducted by researchers in each country, and these case studies include qualitative content analysis of some of the most popular digital media outlets in each country, as well as expert interviews. The timeframe focuses on the pivotal years of 2013-14 and 2021-22.