Polarization of civil society in the Republic of Moldova between East and West in shaping perceptions and loyalties
Abstract
The present research aims to provide the theoretical and methodological framework able to contribute to a better understanding of the polarization phenomenon in Republic of Moldova (RM) and the role of civil society within these processes. At the momentum of gaining its independence, RM was inexperienced in terms of self-governance, having in mind the inherited legacy and influence for almost two centuries of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union. These influences led to a heterogeneous society which had to assume and adapt within a new geopolitical context, where the main challenge was to strengthen and confirm its statehood so they can clearly choose, define and follow a coherent path in their geopolitical orientation. Although independent and sovereign, RM has found itself caught within two contradictory geopolitical vectors of development: toward the West (the path of European integration) and toward East (within the gravity of Moscow’s interests and toward the Russian led project Eurasian integration). These opposing vectors engaged and used political, economic, social, cultural and psychological resources, which led to polarization of RM. From state structures and societal actors, up to individuals, they were all caught in these dynamics, which were easier to be observed within the electoral processes and the alternation in power, public opinion pools, sociological and political analysis. In this context, as a distinct category of actorness, the developments of civil society has been engaged, in various forms, to participateand to be affected and/or to affect, within the general phenomenon of polarization. This observation generates the main hypothesis of our research: the polarization of civil society can be analyzed by identifying the factors on how each entity belonging to civil society is positioning itself, directly or indirectly, more or less explicit, based on the discursive actions which can be associated with particular interests related to one of the two polarizing vectors. As variables to follow we will use the perception of civilizational positioning (core values of East or West), the issue of identity (national, ethnic, linguistic and religious) and how these are engaged within public agenda of securitization/desecuritization of loyalties and support for each vector.
References
Benkler, Yochai; Robert Farris and Hal Roberts (2018). Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190923624.001.0001.
Brie, Mircea (2021): Comparative Conceptual Perspectives on Identity Borders in the Republic of Moldova. In EUROPOLITY, Continuity and Change in European Governance: Vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 5-29.
Brie, Mircea–Horga, Ioan (2014): The European Borders - Expressions of Identity. In Transylvanian Review, vol. XXIII, supplement no.1, pp. 202-216.
Brie, Mircea – Putină, Natalia (2023): The Development and Role of Civil Society in the Republic of Moldova in the Framework of the Eastern Partnership (2009–2021). In Civil Szemle, vol. XX, Budapest, 4, pp. 167-185.
Brie, Mircea; Costea, Ana Maria and Laurențiu Petrila (2023): Perceptions of civil society in Armenia and Azerbaijan in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In Civil Szemle, XX, no. 2, pp. 99-118.
Brie, Mircea; Islam, Jusufi and Polgar Istvan (2023): North Macedonia’s Internal and External Identity Disputes. Role and Implication for the Civil Society. In Civil Szemle, XX, no. 2, pp. 69-98.
Brie, Mircea; Jusufi Islam and Polgár István (2022): Is Inclusivity Necessary for Legitimacy of New Regionalism? Unpacking Open Balkan Initiative Negotiations. In Transylvanian Review, Vol. 31, Supplement No. 2, pp. 185-208.
Brighidin Andrei; Godea Mihai; Ostaf Sergiu; Trombiţki Ilia; Ţarelunga Tatiana and Vacaru Angela (2007): Studiu privind dezvoltarea organizaţiilor neguvernamentale din Republica Moldova, PNUD Moldova, avalable at: https://www.undp.org/ro/moldova/publications/studiu-privind-dezvoltarea-organizatiilor-neguvernamentale-din-republica-moldova
Burkhardt, Fabian (2020). Moldova - Key Challenges and Political Developments. Südosteuropa Mitteilungen, 60(01-02), pp.147-159. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-70278-4
Budurina – Goreachi (2019): Evoluţia instituţiilor societăţii civile moldoveneşti în contextul schimbărilor democratice. In Revista Militară. Studii de Securitate şi Apărare, nr. 2 (22), pp. 96-110, available online at: https://ibn.idsi.md/sites/default/files/imag_file/96-110.pdf
Chifu Iulian – Nantoi Oazu (2016): Război informational. Tipizarea agresiunii informaţionale a Federaţiei Ruse, Institutul de Şiinţe Politice şi Relaţii Internaţionale “Ion. I. C. Brătianu”
Chinn, Jeff – Roper, Steven D. (1993): Nation-Building and Ethnic Mobilization in the Soviet Successor States: The Case of Moldova". UMSL Global. 2. Available at: https://irl.umsl.edu/cis/2
Cimpoeşu Dorin (2010): Republica Moldova între România şi Rusia. 1989-2009. Casa Limbii Române
Crowther William (1993): The politics of ethnic confrontation in Moldova (online), The University of North Carolina, available at: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/1993-806-20-2-Crowther.pdf
Doroftei Cristian (2019): Religia ca factor de mobilizare politică în Republica Moldova. In Sprânceană Vitalie, Nemescu Lilia, Bejenari Sergiu (2019): Religie şi societate în Republica Moldova, Platszforma, Chişinău, pp. 135-154.
Dughin, Aleksandr (2014): Teoria lumii multipolare, Universitatea Populară.
Dughin Aleksandr (2014): A patra teorie politică: Rusia şi ideile politice ale secolului XXI, Universitatea Populară.
Dungaciu, Dan (2017), Recensământul din Republica Moldova ca război informațional identitar, (online), (3 April 2017) https://larics.ro/recensamantul-din-republica-moldova-ca-razboi-informational-identitar/ (accessed 12 January 2024)
Eady, Gregory; Tom Paskhalis; Jan Zilinsky; Richard Bonneau; Jonathan Nagler and Joshua A. Tucker. 2023. “Exposure to the Russian Internet Research Agency Foreign Influence Campaign on Twitter in the 2016 US Election and Its Relationship to Attitudes and Voting Behavior.” Nature Communications 14 (1): 62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35576-9.
Eur-Lex. n.d. “Civil Society Organisation.” Accessed September 12, 2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/civil-society-organisation.html.
Euro-atlantic Resilience Centre (2023): “The most recent Russian influence campaign in the Republic of Moldova: an aggressive iteration of active measures and reflexive control - Centrul Euro-Atlantic pentru Reziliență - E-ARC.” (2023): https://e-arc.ro/2023/04/08/the-most-recent-russian-influence-campaign-in-the-republic-of-moldova-an-aggressive-iteration-of-active-measures-and-reflexive-control-2/.
Euronews (2023): “Facebook Used in Operation to ‘destabilise’ Moldova Government.” Euronews. February 28, 2023. https://www.euronews.com/2023/02/28/facebook-used-in-operation-to-destabilise-moldova-government.
European Commission (2023): “Commission Staff Working Document. Republic of Moldova 2023 Report. Accompanying the Document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy.” 2023. https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/SWD_2023_698%20Moldova%20report.pdf.
Ferrari Silvio (2011): Religion and the development of civil society, International Journal for Religious Freedom, Vol. 4 (2): pp. 29-36 available at: https://www.ijrf.org/index.php/home/article/view/195/230
Fiorina P. Morris (2017): Unstable Majorities. Polarization, Party Sorting and Political Stalemate, Hoover Institution Press
Fisher, Max (2022): The Chaos Machine. Little Brown and Company. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/max-fisher/the-chaos-machine/9780316703314/.
Fung, Brian. 2019. “Mark Zuckerberg Gives Speech Depicting Facebook as at the Center of Struggle for Free Expression | CNN Business.” CNN. October 17, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/17/tech/mark-zuckerberg-free-expression-speech-georgetown/index.html.
Græger Nina; Heurlin Bertel; Wæver Ole and Wivel Anders (2022): Polarity in International Relations Past, Present, Future, Palgrave Macmillan.
Huntington, Samuel, P. (1996): The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Simon &Schuster.
González-Bailón, Sandra; David Lazer; Pablo Barberá; Meiqing Zhang; Hunt Allcott; Taylor Brown and Adriana Crespo-Tenorio, et al. (2023): “Asymmetric Ideological Segregation in Exposure to Political News on Facebook.” Science 381 (6656): 392–98. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade7138.
Hao, Karen (2021): “The Facebook Whistleblower Says Its Algorithms Are Dangerous. Here’s Why.” MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/10/05/1036519/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-algorithms/.
Institutul de Politici Publice (2018): “Propaganda Rusească Pe Odnoklassniki. Cazul Republicii Moldova.” 2018. https://ipp.md/2018-02/english-propaganda-ruseasca-pe-odnoklassniki-cazul-republicii-moldova/.
Internews (2023): “Assessment of Public Perception of Media and Media Skills in the Republic of Moldova.” 2023. https://internews.md/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Report_In-depth-analysis-of-the-3-surveys-to-evaluate-media-perceptions-and-skills-among-Moldovan-citizens_ENG_final.pdf.
Juc Victor (2018): Tranziția de la sistemul cu partid unic la pluripartidism în Republica Moldova: oprtunități și deficiențe. Republica Moldova în contextul necesităţilor de modernizare, Institutul de Cercetări Juridice, Politice şi Sociologice, Chişinău. Avalable at: https://ibn.idsi.md/sites/default/files/imag_file/RM_in_contextul_necesitatilor-_de_modernizare_2018.pdf
Klein Ezra (2020): Why we’re polarized? Avid Reader Press
Mârzac Elena – Marin Danu (2016): Război informaţional: practici, instrumente şi impact asupra securităţii naţionale a Republicii Moldova in: Chifu Iulian, Nantoi Oazu: Război informational. Tipizarea agresiunii informaţionale a Federaţiei Ruse, Institutul de Şiinţe Politice şi Relaţii Internaţionale “Ion. I. C. Brătianu”, pp. 444-466.
McCoy, J., Rahman, T., & Somer, M. (2018). Polarization and the global crisis of democracy: Common patterns, dynamics, and pernicious consequences for democratic polities. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(1), 16–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218759576
Moldovanu Gheorghe (2010): Limbă şi identitate în Republica Moldova: o problemă controversată cu un potenţial ridicat de conflict, in Filologia modernă realizări şi perspective în context european. Limbă, limbaj, vorbire, pp. 305-320. Available at: https://ibn.idsi.md/ro/collection_view/839
Morgenthau, H. J. (1954): Politics among nations: The struggle for power and peace. Alfred Knopf
Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina, and Igor Munteanu. 2009. “Moldova’s ‘Twitter Revolution.’” Journal of Democracy. 2009. https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/moldovas-twitter-revolution/.
Nye, J. S., Jr. (2019): The rise and fall of American hegemony from Wilson to Trump. International Affairs, 95(1), 63–80.
Petrila Laurentiu – Tepelea Marius (2022): The Church as civil society, Civil Szemle 2022/3, pp.61-76
Pharr, Susan – Putnam Robert D. (2000): Dissafected Democracies. What’s troubling the trilateral countries? Princeton University Press
Putină Natalia – Brie Mircea (2023): Civil society development and democratization in the Republic of Moldova, Civil Szemle 2023/4, pp. 79-107.
Sillanpaa, A.; Gogu N.; Munteanu I.; Bunduchi I.; Parvan V. and Cepoi M., (2016): The Moldovan Information Environment, Hostile Narratives, and Other Ramifications. Riga: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence. Available at: https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/the-moldovan-information-environment-hostile-narratives-and-other-ramifications/185
Simionov, L. M. (2023): Shifting attitudes towards identity, borders and geopolitical choices: The case of Moldova. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 15(1), 200–221.
Sprânceană Vitalie; Nemescu Lilia and Bejenari Sergiu (2019): Religie şi societate în Republica Moldova, Platszforma, Chişinău.
Start.io. n.d. “Tiktok Users in Moldova Audience.”: https://www.start.io/audience/tiktok-users-in-moldova. Accessed February 13, 2024
Statista (2023): “Most Popular Social Media Moldova 2022.” Statista. 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1346976/most-popular-social-media-moldova/.
Tâcu, Octavian (2022): Rusia şi separatismul transnistrean în Republica Moldova. Implicări geopolitice, militare şi energetice, Litera
Tâcu, Octavian (2018): Homo Moldovanus Sovietic. Teorii şi practici identitare în R(A)SSM 1924-1989, Arc
Ţugui Eduard (2013): Organizaţiile neguvernamentale din Republica Moldova: evoluţie, activităţi şi perspectivele dezvoltării, Chişinău, Available online at: http://www.viitorul.org/files/4183299_md_ong_site.pdf
Van Prooijen – Jan-Willem (2021): The Psychology of Political Polarization , Routledge
Vozian, Natalia. n.d. “How Social Media Fuels Echo Chambering Phenomenon in Moldova and How to Address It?”
Waltz, K. N. (1964). The stability of a bipolar world. Daedalus, 93(3), 881–909.
Zabarah, Dareg A. (2012). Opportunity structures and group building processes: An institutional analysis of the secession processes in Pridnestrovie and Gagauzia between 1989 and 1991. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 45(1-2), pp.183–192.
