Synopses & Reviews
Review
“Democracy Assistance from the Third Wave examines Poland’s democracy assistance programs to the neighboring states of Ukraine and Belarus. It is based on Pospieszna’s thorough reading of the secondary literature, archival research, and interviews with several dozen state officials and NGO professionals. Its contribution and novelty lies in the fact that it delves deeply into something not examined before, a democracy assistance program by a new democracy.”
—Michael Bernhard, University of Florida
Review
“A valuable case study of how new actors in international democracy support are approaching their work. Systematically probing the motivations, methods, and results of Poland’s efforts to foster democracy in Belarus and Ukraine, Pospieszna not only illuminates Poland’s democracy assistance but also provides a framework for analyzing the work of other emerging actors in this domain.”
—Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Review
“An important book. . . . Well-written and readable, the book will appeal to specialists in foreign aid and in East European area studies.”
—Choice
Review
“A well-written and very informative book, which contributes not only to the field of Eastern European studies, but also to the entire body of research on democratization.”
—Europe-Asia Studies
Synopsis
The role of Western NGOs in the transition of postcommunist nations to democracy has been well documented. In this study, Paulina Pospieszna follows a different trajectory, examining the role of a former aid recipient (Poland), newly democratic itself, and its efforts to aid democratic transitions in the neighboring states of Belarus and Ukraine.
About the Author
Paulina Pospieszna is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Mannheim, Germany.