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The European Neighborhood in the East is still an area of high political fragility – characterized by frozen secession conflicts, autocratic systems, democratic backsliding and state capture. Obviously, the end of the Cold War has not resulted in stable democracies there. Thus, promotion democracy is a cornerstone of many European organizations, such as the European Union or the Council of Europe. This seminar tackles the issue of democracy promotion both from a conceptual as well as empirical ankle. It intends to not only transfer substantial knowledge on the theoretical underpinnings of democracy and democracy promotion and the region of Eastern Europe, but also to teach skills for policy analysis and policy making. In the first block we will explore the concept of democracy and democracy promotion including inherent dilemmas and discuss the question of effectiveness and legitimacy. The second block will look at different instruments of democracy promotion and compare the European Union with other European organizations, notably the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In the third block we will apply this knowledge to different countries in the Eastern Neighborhood, especially some difficult cases such Kosovo and Ukraine. Based on one prominent actual case (e.g. Belarus) we will conclude the seminar with a short simulation on the question, if and with what kind of instruments the EU can and should intervene for fostering democracy. It is intended to teach this class in hybrid mode, which means in parallel in classroom and online with alternating but fixed groups of students in class.