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Legislative Capture and Oligarchic Collusion: Two Pathways of Democratic Backsliding and Recovery in Moldova

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  • Ion Marandici

Abstract

I examine two pathways of democratic backsliding in Moldova and the ways in which the country was able to reverse the backsliding trends. The first episode (2001–2009) started with a political party gaining a supermajority in Parliament and setting up a semi-authoritarian system of governance. Prodemocracy protests and coercive attempts by the state to suppress them led to an institutional stalemate, culminating in snap elections that brought a victory for the political opposition. The second backsliding episode (2014–2019) was characterized by oligarchic collusion: Major oligarchs funded and controlled the ruling parties while engaging in grand corruption and contributing to a gradual democratic decline. Recovery from this backsliding episode was enabled by cross-ethnic, transideological protests against corruption, strategic institutional changes, and interoligarchic wars. The analysis underscores how contentious politics, electoral processes, and the empowerment of weakened political institutions can help generate democratic recovery.

Suggested Citation

  • Ion Marandici, 2024. "Legislative Capture and Oligarchic Collusion: Two Pathways of Democratic Backsliding and Recovery in Moldova," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 712(1), pages 93-108, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:712:y:2024:i:1:p:93-108
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162241307749
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