Katharina Sophia Burlafinger explores what European foundations can achieve to enhance the European Union's influence in its neighborhood. To this end, the author analyzes the lives and thoughts of civil society activists in the Middle East and North Africa region. This shift in perspective to the grassroots level provides particularly authentic data and insights into a previously underexplored area. The analysis clearly highlights both problems and progress in European democracy promotion and concludes that conventional tools for rule and norm transfer should increasingly be complemented by softer instruments such as those provided by foundations in the future.