The Republic of Moldova's civil society and democratic resilience in the context of the EU integration process

The present study intends to explore both the shortcomings and the achievements of the Republic of Moldova in the fields of civil society and democratic resilience in the context of EU accession process. The first hypothesis of the study asserts that there is a strong correlation between the evolution of Republic of Moldova’s civil society and the democratization of the state. A more specific hypothesis of the study investigates the impact of EU’s support and recommendations for strengthening the sustainability of democracy and civil society. The first hypothesis is discussed in the first two sections of the present study. The investigation of the second hypothesis forms the content of the next two sections, as follows: section three of the study consists in the interpretative analysis of the last three European Action Plans (EUAP) in order to assess the impact of EU’s incentives and conditionalities for the consolidation of democracy and the enhancement of civil society in Moldova; section four of the study focuses on exploring the transformative role of the EU regarding Moldova’s civil society and democratic consolidation in the framework of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). A concluding section reflects upon the main gaps between the EU’s norms and values and the Moldovan civil society and democratic occurrences, respectively, and inquires on the EU’s strategic switch from democratic to geopolitical resilience. Methodologically, the study utilizes qualitative research instruments (descriptive and interpretative content analysis) and data collected on reports of implementation of EUAPs and EaP agendas, recommendations concerning the implementation of policies and reforms, second data extracted from scientific literature on the subject.