Abstract Regional organizations sometimes intervene to preserve democracy in one of their Member States. When a regional organization has developed a democratic identity, non-intervention in case of violation of democratic principles would damage its credibility domestically and internationally. Nonetheless, violations of democratic principles sometimes go unsanctioned. Building on case studies of (non-)interventions by the EU, Mercosur and SADC, we show that the ideational costs of pressure by third parties and the interests of the regional leading powers can explain the enforcement of democracy by regional organizations. Third party pressure remains ineffective, however, when there is a clash between regional identities.