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The article is devoted to the study of political, legal and institutional aspects of the policy of diaspora management in the Republic of Moldova. The authors consider that the Moldovan authorities are trying to develop a coherent state policy on the Diaspora through an integrated approach. This is reflected in the legislative and institutional framework of the state policy in the field of Diaspora. As the results of sociological research, Moldovan migrants do not actively participate in the activity of Diaspora organizations. The authors note that in order to develop an effective management policy Diaspora in the Republic of Moldova, the creation of institutions is necessary to ensure the preservation and development of the Diaspora; development of a strategy of interaction with state institutions as the country of residence, and the "title" of the state; development of legal acts on the Diaspora, as well as laws and policies on management of the diaspora processes. These measures will provide creation and strengthening of a stable platform for cooperation between the state and the Moldovan diaspora, the active participation of the diaspora in the economic and political life of the Republic of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When democratic norms and principles are challenged by fraud and abuse, the role of electoral protests usually consists in expressing the civil discontent, reprimanding political authorities and nevertheless re-enacting the confidence into the democratic order. The most recent electoral uprisings from Romania in 2014 and Moldova in 2016 during the presidential elections made no exception. By using theoretical opportunity structure framework, this article seeks to provide a comparative analysis of these two episodes by focusing on the following aspects: a) the civil society's reaction to the tensioned political environment; b) the deficient organization of the elections and the accusations of fraud as incentives for the social mobilization both domestically and abroad, namely by the diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses within-case analysis to assess the security of the media space of the Republic of Moldova, one of the least-examined cases in the former Soviet Union, and now on the border with the EU and NATO. Moldova, a relatively new sovereign state with instable governmental institutions, a weak bank system, a high level of corruption, and a weak media market, is particularly vulnerable to aggressive external propaganda and manipulation. This article analyzes the five elements structuring Moldova's media landscape: society, media outlets, media professionals, media bodies, and international networks. It argues that the measures taken to counteract Russian propaganda at both the national and international levels have been ineffective and that it is imperative to take a systemic approach that encompasses legislation, economic possibilities, and civil society scrutiny, coupled with adequate international effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyse the phenomenon of devolution in Moldova and the features of political discourse regarding the reintegration of the country in the context of existing design models for solving the Transnistrian issue and optimizing relations with Gagauzia, which still leave much to be desired. To understand the specifics of the discourse on devolution models and the shaping of the territorial structure of the country, Gagauzia and Transnistria will be considered in a comparative perspective. The Gagauz gambit played out by foreign interests and the Transnistrian trophy make devolution process quite challenging in the Republic of Moldova, being vulnerable to various types of propaganda attacks and provocations from inside and outside the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of why individuals vote, the so-called “paradox of voting”, has been a crucial debate within political science, conceived deductively as an interaction between costs, benefits, and, as some argue, duties. This article situates the question of why individuals vote within the context of extra-territorial elections, focusing on how and why those who acquire citizenship kin-states participate in kin-state elections following citizenship acquisition, while continuing to reside outside of the kin-state. The article uses the case of newly acquired Romanian citizens in Moldova, who have never resided in nor intend to reside in Romania, to unpack whether, how, and why individuals acquiring Romanian citizenship in Moldova vote in Romanian elections. The article uses an interpretive and inductive approach to explore from the bottom up both the experiences of and motivations for political participation of extra-territorial citizens. The article finds, unexpectedly, how those acquiring Romanian citizenship in Moldova are motivated by a duty to participate. Overall, the article argues for a relational and reciprocal understanding of citizenship and voting, which focuses on the relationship between the kin-state, facilitating citizenship as a right, and the kin-citizen, performing their duty to vote. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyzes the impact of the EU on reform outcomes in Moldova. It looks at the EU strategies in two sectors with varying outcomes in order to study how they reinforce or help to mitigate domestic problems. It focuses on the interplay of external and domestic factors and highlights the importance of empowerment of non-state domestic actors/civil society and flexibility in rule-making in order to prevent institutional monocropping and to level the playing field to limit the power of entrenched elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the main social, political, and economic reasons that explain Moldova's delay in its post-Soviet transition, after gaining its independence in August 1991. In comparison to the Baltic States, Republic of Moldova has had a different starting point in the "transition race". First, the independence of the former Soviet republic benefited of a much lesser support within the Moldovan society -- local population and political elites --, and on behalf of foreign states and international institutions. Moldova's agrarian economy and its strong dependence on Russian resources and post-Soviet economic system also disadvantaged its development. To this one could add state governors' low capacity to negotiate with foreign financial donors (mainly IMF and World Bank) in order to defend the local economic interests, but also to properly use the contracted credits. One of the main obstacles in Moldova's development path was the low quality of state governance and the advanced level of "state capture" (i.e. interference of vested interests into state governance) and thus its limited capacity to administrate a favorable transition based on existent economic resources and assets, not on their ruins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving broad representation of different ethnic groups has important implications for the stability and quality of democracy, especially for states in transition to democracy and emerging out of long periods of authoritarian rule. Withal, the way that ethnic minorities are included in the democratic process strongly influences the inter-ethnic relations at the state level and the creation of an inclusive society is an important task for any democratic government. An inclusive society is made up of citizens, acting (are able and empowered to act) as agents, people who feel represented by their government and have effective mechanisms to influence government decisions. His article addresses the issue of representation of ethnic minorities overall in multi-ethnic societies, but comes with specific details on strategies of representation of minorities in political life in Moldova, with the particular case Gagauz ethnic minority. The authors intend to carry out an overall policy of Moldova integration of ethnic minorities, through the electoral procedures or through political parties as a promoter of the interests of various ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since its independence in 1991, Moldova has been struggling to change its international status into a democratic country, with a functional market economy, worthy of being included in the EU ‘ring of friends’. The country’s economic heritage burdened the pathway to the EU approximation, whereas its corruption stigma still persists. However, efforts to improve the difficult economic situation revealed the country as a fighter for autonomy and progress. Moldova has been constantly appointed as one of the EU’s most obedient apprentices. Its inclusion in the European Neighbourhood Policy (2004) and, later on, in the Eastern dimension of this policy (the EaP) was reflected by steady growth. Nonetheless, false friends – such as remittances – have engaged Moldova on a road to provisional success. It is in the hands of the country if reform is to be adjusted to the long term needs of this tiny, yet strong EU partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, studies have documented how autocrats use elections as a way of legitimising and stabilising their regimes. Simultaneously, a literature on negative external actors (also known as 'black knights') has developed, emphasising how various international actors use anti-democracy promotion strategies to undergird authoritarian regimes. In this article, these two literatures are fused in an attempt to shed light on the external dimension of authoritarian elections and what is termed 'black knight election bolstering'. First, five mechanisms are elucidated, through which external assistance increases the chances of 'winning' elections in authoritarian settings (signaling invincibility, deterring elite defection, undermining opposition activities, dealing with popular protests, and countervailing pressure from foreign democracy promoters). Second, it is argued that external actors are most likely to offer election bolstering when they face a particularly acquiescent partner or when electoral defeat is perceived to lead to radical and undesired regime change. The relevance of both factors is augmented when uncertainty of the electoral outcome is high. Finally, four cases of Russian intervention during elections in three authoritarian neighbour countries ( Ukraine in 2004, Belarus in 2006, and Moldova in 2005 and 2009) are analysed. The case studies corroborate the theoretical arguments: not only does Russia engage in all five types of black knight election bolstering, but it does so only when one or more of the three explanatory factors are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In power since 2009, Moldova's pro-democracy and pro-European ruling coalition has been unable to implement effectively much-needed reforms. Presenting the details of recent key events and using quantitative assessments, this article argues that the main cause of Moldova's present problems is state capture. Cynical elites have engaged in a fierce competition for the capture of state institutions and for the control of policymaking in order to promote their own private economic interests. The ensuing delegitimation of state institutions and of the Moldovan state itself is highly detrimental to the country's democracy and sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, the author focuses on the significant steps and developments taken by the Republic of Moldova after the parliamentary elections held in November 2014. It mentions that the popular and elite discourses surrounding the elections claimed that the election was essentially about voters choosing between the European Union (EU) and Russian president Vladimir Putin. It also mentions that the It is important to remember that it was a pro-Russian Socialist Party which won the election.

The present article follows the topic of the European option of the Republic of Moldova and attempts to shape the current questions on the path of European integration of the country. The author revealed obstacles that hinder the achievement of this goal (poverty, political instability, unresolved conflict in the eastern territory of the country) and further emphasizes that this result should be the effort of the entire society. Also, of great importance is acquiring and learning from the experience of other states, which are currently members of the European Union. In these circumstances the media plays a special role. At the same time, the media coverage of the topic of European integration it is not a simple and univocal question. In the journalistic circles, as in political ones, it is recognized the complexity of the problem. Accordingly, the pages of the press, the radio and the TV often submit a confused perception of many aspects of it, a superficial treatment of the issue, derived from insufficient knowledge concerning specific situations. It often operates with schemes and with clichés to which readers, listeners and viewers are familiar. Yet, journalists would not come to overthrow these schemes, but rather they adjust, maintain and perpetuate them. Most often the dilemma of "to reveal the essence of the phenomenon" and „look spectacular element” is resolved in favour of the second option. Talking about European integration on the media, means, quite frequently, to speak at the chapter of „funny”. Therefore, it is argued in the article, that a successful effort of European integration resides at the crossroads of the several issues that still need solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media coverage of the crisis is a dynamic phenomenon, marked by both stable development intra media tendencies and also by the extra media tendencies resulting from changes in conceptual and pragmatic variations of crises. Regardless of magnitude and duration, the impact of the crises may be diminished or magnified depending on how they are reflected. However, the information covering the crisis, media form a general perspective of the problem and of the environment where it happens, or which affects, influencing the general perception of the crisis by the consumers of the media product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small south-eastern European Republic of Moldova is often referred to as ‘the poorhouse of the continent’. During its transition from a communist to a market economy, inequality and poverty rose exponentially – with the latter reaching a peak of 70% in 1999. Thus, a new social contract between state and society had to be fabricated. The Soviet social protection system, designed around the needs of the workforce and specific groups, was unable to meet the challenges posed by transition. A reform seemed inevitable, re-targeting resources at the most needy. However, Western means-tested models could not be simply transferred; path-dependencies along with donor interventions shaped and altered the policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article seeks to realize a comparative analysis of the Moldova and Georgia way to Europe, by placing them initially in an historical political context. Moldova and Georgia are two post-soviet states that have a lot of common particularities inherited from the Soviet Union. In the present Georgia and Moldova are the only states as members of the Eastern Partnership that have decided firmly on their future European way. Having characterized the emergence of political transformation in Georgia and Moldova in the last years, the article goes to explore similarities and differences of countries expressing this quality in terms of reforms that made politically closer to the European Union. The paper argues that values have been an important factor to explain the EU's foreign policy towards Georgia and Moldova, but also attempts to explain how European are Georgian and Moldovan people, trough analyzing their perception on West and European aspiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Societal security" is the umbrella term for efforts to cope with modern security threats to society and the concept as such has been formulated to account for the phenomenon of societal identity and cohesion as sources of instability. The analysis of the issue of societal security in the case of the Republic of Moldova reveals the fact that the society has not yet overcome the stage of transition from a crumb of the "Soviet people" with a local specific character to the so-called "society of the Republic of Moldova". In other words, the approach to the issue of societal security in this country is impossible if the essence of the specific character of the transition period in the Republic is not taken into account. The present article is an attempt to outline the factors that obstruct the process of consolidating the Moldovan society taking in consideration the particularity of the process of post-Soviet transition in the Republic of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democratic movements, market mechanisms, and decentralization reforms have been at the heart of transformation of former USSR republics. Republic of Moldova was not an exception. The initial argument behind such fascination with these reforms stems from the idea that market mechanisms in an open and democratic society will facilitate the efficient and effective resources' allocation, compensating for interim distributive inequities and macro-economic challenges. Such a natural experiment has been in progress for more than 20 years in the Republic of Moldova. During these 20 years Moldova experienced democracy in its infancy, democratic return of communism, and once again return to democracy and its core ideas and values. Public administration system along with public finance and budgeting systems experienced comparably abrupt changes in their development. This qualitative study of Moldovan public administration and finance frameworks will provide an evaluative description of these three distinct, but interrelated periods in Moldovan history of independence and development of public administration and public budgeting systems. Such description will allow for evaluation of the public administration and public finance systems' developments in Moldova as well as reasons of success and failure of these reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview is presented with Evguéni Chevtchouk, the President of the independent State of Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (PMR or Transnistria). Chevtchouk comments on the annexation of Crimea (Ukraine) to Russia in early 2014 and Transnistria becoming part of Russia, its conflict with Moldova over its separation from it in the early 1990s, and its economic situation. The European Union's double standards and its position regarding PMR's conflict with Moldova are also mentioned.

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The commercial TV station Jurnal TV's broadcasting policy is to showcase the former soviet republic of Moldova as an ideological combat zone. Conflicting political and aesthetical paradigms are both delineated and actually employed for the use of a pro-European, Romanian-speaking audience. Particularly, the TV show Ora de Râs is a case in point example. The broadcast is Moldovan infotainment at its best, targeting issues of civic commitments and, generally, public ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of radical transformation of contemporaneous society the all social and political structure has modified, all political and social institutes inclusively family has modified, too. Family, as an integral part of social system, reflects all the process, which take place in society. Because the family is the basic institute which is accountable for political socialization process, in the Republic of Moldova a special attention is given to family. In the family young people receive those emotional conditions, that knowledge and formation of abilities, that far are on the base of process of socialization and political socialization, as a process of formation political culture and general human culture. The family, which ensures affective circumstances where social relations are established, is the base of these processes. In the family ensure social identity of person which contributes to formation basic behavior acquirement of the person in society. Thanks to emotional-affective factor, the family is institution where the children has better conditions for assimilation of useful acquirement for life, and for integration in political domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

History is one of the many instruments available for the persuasive construction of a nation. In Moldova, the Party of the Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), in office from 2001 to 2009, advocated for a Soviet-based version of the Moldovan nation. This "Moldovanism" boasted of the existence of a "Moldovan People" and was relied upon to justify the independence of the former Romanian province. Vladimir Voronin, the party's leader and president of the Republic during this period, promoted this "civic" Moldovan nation and created what seemed to be a coherent and ad hoc construction of an independent Moldovan nation. This paper focuses on communist political discourse during this eight year period. Through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper focuses on the discursive construction of the Moldovan nation. It is based on Voronin's official speeches and messages from key occasions such as Independence Day and Victory Day. This paper demonstrates the varied use of history in these speeches which improves understanding of the process of the construction of a nation. Moreover, it demonstrates that this construction, far from being coherent, was also sometimes contradictory. Indeed, discourse was adapted to the immediate context and audience. Finally, the paper explains how an explicitly "civic" discourse can be implicitly and, sometimes even explicitly, "ethnic" and "exclusive". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Eurovision helps us see how "we" and "them" are constructed in a country, this signing contest has never been studied from this viewpoint. The Republic of Moldavia, independent since 1991, is torn by an ongoing struggle for defining its nationhood. This article applies a method drawn from critical discourse analysis to three local Moldavian newspapers to show how Eurovision and, along with it, politics take part in constructing a "we", the "Other" and, ultimately, the "nation" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence and the effective utilization of opportunity structures by the Gagauz and Pridnestrovian elites between 1989 and 1991 enabled them to successfully mobilize wide parts of the population, take control of the administration and build parallel state structures out of the control of both Chisinäu and Moscow. The Pridnestrovian elites were more successful in the effective utilization of such opportunity structures than their Gagauz counterparts. Access to vast economic and political resources, political unity, and strong organizational skills combined with a creative interpretation of the right to selfdetermination enabled the former to pursue their secession policy with greater efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article employs a method of discourse analysis from a social constructivist perspective to evidence the emergence and stabilisation of a discourse of sovereignty in Moldova over the last decades. Within this context, it also explores the meaning of Transnistria and energy security for Moldova's political ontology. The argument builds on the premise that the discourse of sovereignty signals a collective Moldovan subjectivity expressing its standing in the regional context. The main hypothesis tested is that, if determined to opt decisively between East and West, Moldova may choose the path of European integration even at the expense of renouncing sovereignty over Transnistria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the political issues in Moldova, which has had no president for two years, caused by a politically polarized parliament. It highlights issues including ethnic pluralism and politics, an unfit constitutional system, and presidential elections. It features candidates including Igor Dodon of the PCRM party and Dorin Chirtoacã of the Liberal Party (LP).

The article discusses the political leadership of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) and the possible integration of Moldova with the European Union (EU). The article also examines the role of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) in the European Union and the Moldovan government. The article states that the EaP has offered Moldova opportunities for developing relations with the EU and examines the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).