Does Politics Need Foes? Three Focal Events that Explain Contemporary Moldovan Politics and the Risks for its Democracy
Does Politics Need Foes? Three Focal Events that Explain Contemporary Moldovan Politics and the Risks for its Democracy

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the transformative impact of two focal events, the 2014 $1 billion theft and the 2019 paper bag corruption scandal, on the 2019 and 2021 Moldovan electoral out-comes. Four factors, including 1) focal events, 2) public mobilisation, 3) the ascent of new uncompromised actors, and 4) external legitimisation allowed at first populist forces (the PSRM, DA, and PAS) and then the PAS alone to assume government in the country. The analysis will also focus on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as a third focal event that further consolidated political polarisation. While previously political competition was structured by mutual accusations of populism and corruption, the invasion enforced a dichotomy between “good” pro-European and “bad” pro-Russian forces, reinforcing identi-ty-based voting patterns.

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