Дискурс Пи (Mar 2021)
Moldovan Identity: Two Projects, Two Ways of State Development
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to identify the peculiarities of the national identity formation in the Republic of Moldova, as well as to study the socio-political realities preventing conceptualization of common guidelines in the public consciousness. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of consensus in Moldova on the issue of national identity. This issue has been one of the most serious challenges for state development since gaining its own statehood. A striking example is the fact that Moldovan politicians are increasingly using ethnicity and language in their party interests, thereby deepening the split and contradictions in society. In addition, on the eve of the 2021 parliamentary elections, against the backdrop of an acute economic crisis, in the absence of necessary resources to ensure large-scale economic projects in order to overcome the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is most likely that the issues of the identity and the foreign policy vector will become fundamental. The first part of the article outlines the most significant milestones and periods in the history of the formation of Moldovan identity in the context of the changing borders and geopolitical rivalry of neighboring states. The second part isfocused on the study of two major projects on building the national identity: one is based on the Romanian national identity, and the other - on the Moldovan nation. The third part presents the positions of the political parties promoting these two mutually exclusive projects. It is concluded that the political and cultural projects in the Republic of Moldova do not coincide. The consequence of this isthe weak political and institutional infrastructure to support the Romanian cultural project and, on the other hand, the inconsistency of the Moldovan project, lacking the necessary symbolic and cultural strength. Both relations with other states and the internal political course of the country depend on the future vector of development of the national-state identification of the Moldovan people.
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