ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Moldovans profiles of longstanding democracies and of the European Union, and provides essential detail on history, electoral system, political parties and cleavages, and governments. Moldovans are not an historic people of Europe but rather a post-Soviet nation of Romanian-speakers. Moldova encompasses the territory of the pre-1940 Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic which was joined to all but the northern and southern portions of the territory of Bessarabia upon the latter’s detachment from Romania in 1940 as part of the Nazi-Soviet pact. In Moldova there has existed an overlaying reform/anti-reform cleavage, a weak communist/anti-communist cleavage, but also early on a strong set of divisions based on nationality. The party advocated the transformation of Moldova into a presidential form of government as opposed to a parliamentary system. The 1998 election saw the emergence of a new pro-government centrist alliance, the Movement for a democratic and prosperous Moldova. The conservative liberal democratic party of Moldova was formed in 2007.
