Strategic Partnership of Romanian and Moldavian Political Parties in the New Political Realities

Abstract

The article examines the features and main directions of interaction between political parties of the Republic of Romania and the Republic of Moldova from the early 1990s to the present day. Analyzing the historical prerequisites for stable ties between political parties of the two countries, the authors draw attention to the fact that they are based on the shared ideas of unionism and formation of a single political and cultural space between Romania and Moldova. The authors also examine conditions for close cooperation between the parties such as Moldova’s choice of the European path of development, strengthening strategic partnership with Romania and the EU countries and ensuring security in the region. This research demonstrates that the high degree of Romania’s involvement in the Moldovan political processes creates special conditions for inter-party interaction, which covers different spheres of real politics. Considering political parties as important actors in the communication process that can influence political decisionmaking, the authors identify several areas of cooperation, including educational projects, youth initiatives, inter-party dialogue at various levels, activities of representative offices of Romanian parties on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, inclusion of Moldovan politicians in the electoral process in Romania. As a result, the research categorizes political parties of Moldova and Romania on the basis of their attitude to the ideas of unionism and main ideological priorities, into three groups. The authors emphasize that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the agenda of cooperation between Chisinau and Bucharest is reduced to the points of Romania supporting Moldova’s European path and the latter ensuring its own security and sovereignty. Under these circumstances, cooperation between political stakeholders of the two states is intensifying. This kind of interaction mainly covers the right flank of Moldovan parties. The multidimensional nature of political interdependence between the two sides of the Prut demonstrates the high degree of mutual involvement of parties of the two states in each other’s internal affairs. The basic principle in political programs of Romanian and Moldovan parties is the idea of Uniri. This idea of building a single state has become the leitmotif of establishing communication channels between the main actors of the political process in Romania and Moldova, who are committed to a common European future.