Face to face with conservative religious values: Assessing the EU's normative impact in the South Caucasus

Abstract

The article analyzes how Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia react to the EU’s soft power, which is mainly based on its human rights policy including the freedom of religion and the promotion of pluralism. The EU has limited soft power in the South Caucasus. It remains attractive but only to a relative degree. The EU’s normative power is challenged by conservative value orientations which are backed up by religious institutions and politicians seeking to maximize their political gains.