Grants as a foreign policy instrument to promote democratic values in Central Europe: The case of EEA and Norway Grants

Abstract

This thesis looks at how a nation outside the EU, but inside EFTA, reacts to the illiberal changes and democratic backlashes in Poland and Hungary. To do so, it has looked at how particularly Norway positions itself in response to the said developments. The work undergone in this paper aims at contributing to the very scarcely covered topic of EEA and Norway Grants, which until this day continues to receive very little attention academically. The paper's research question is "How does Norway, through the EEA and Norway Grants, attempt to promote liberal democratic values in Central Europe?" To find evidence of how Norway aims at promoting liberal democratic values abroad, case studies on the EEA and Norway Grants in Poland and Hungary have been conducted. These two were chosen for several reasons but mainly summarised due to being objects of harsh critique both by the EU and by EFTA. Data and information were largely collected through a qualitative literature review of official reports and articles, and through talks with respective advisors. This thesis finds that Norway is attempting to promote liberal democratic values in Central Europe and that negotiations and signed agreements between Norway and Poland and Hungary serve more as an effective foreign policy tool to promote the liberal...