The European Union has developed a range of instruments to promote democracy and human rights worldwide. However, the success of its democratisation efforts remains questionable in countries that lack an EU membership perspective. The case of post-soviet Central Asia, where the EU declares democracy promotion among its key priorities yet is confronted with unfavourable domestic conditions for democratisation and often fails to follow through, is an eye-opening example. Vera Axyonova's study offers the first comprehensive evaluation of the micro-level effects of the EU engagement in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and examines the factors that have made the EU efforts more or less successful in Central Asia.