Few Europeans had heard of Moldova, a tiny state on the EU’s eastern flank, before seeing images of the strife that broke out there in early April 2009 after the Communist Party (PCRM) won reelection in a landslide. Except for their international context, the events in Moldova did not differ substantially from those that sparked the color revolutions in Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine, but this difference in context led to a different outcome. What was missing in Moldova? The short answer is a unified opposition that could put itself in the driver’s seat.
About the Authors
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi is professor of democratization and policy analysis at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Her latest book, The Quest for Good Governance: How Societies Develop Control of Corruption, has just been published by Cambridge University Press.
Igor Munteanu is the executive director of the Viitorul Institute for Development and Social Initiatives, Moldova, a member of the Pasos network of independent think tanks, on whose board he serves.
The share of Ukrainians who endorse democracy as the best form of government has risen fast in short order, standing now at more than three-quarters. New data reveal a surprising…
Vladimir Putin’s reputation as a skillful leader was buoyed by years of economic good fortune. But when his regime faltered, his rule quickly descended into the fearful, repressive, and paranoid…
Does the election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president represent a fundamental turn away from democracy or merely a temporary setback? Although Putin’s apparent indifference to democracy is worrisome, it…