---

By studying the influence of the two main external actors in post-Soviet space, the EU and Russia, this study contributes to the increasing body of literature that studies the causes of democratic recession and authoritarian backlash in post-Soviet states and the role of regional actors in these processes. Empirically, the study finds the EU to be both a democracy-promoting and democracy-hindering actor in post-Soviet states. Russia´s impact, on the other hand, is far more negative than the literature on democratization and autocracy promotion typically suggests. It negatively affects both the quality of democracy of post-Soviet states and limits the EU´s options for promoting democracy in its neighborhood.

---

Regime outcomes and degree of democracy in the post-Soviet states.- Domestic prerequisites for democratization.- Russia, EU and their vulnerable neighbors: Measuring the external leverage in the post-Soviet states.- Between neighborhood and colony: European and Russian strategies in the post-Soviet space.- Direct external influence: Elections in the post-Soviet states.

---

Bidzina Lebanidze is Research Associate at the University of Bremen and Associate Professor (of International Relations) at the Ilia State University.

---