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

Ion Marandici

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science2024https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241307749article
ABDC B
Weight
0.73

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.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241307749

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@article{ion2024,
  title        = {{Legislative Capture and Oligarchic Collusion: Two Pathways of Democratic Backsliding and Recovery in Moldova}},
  author       = {Ion Marandici},
  journal      = {Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science},
  year         = {2024},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241307749},
}

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

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Evidence weight

0.73

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact1.00 × 0.4 = 0.40
M · momentum0.68 × 0.15 = 0.10
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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