Young People and Political Activism in Moldova: Why Online Mobilization is Not Enough for Democratic Consolidation

Abstract

The election of a socialist and pro-Russian candidate in December 2016 as president of Moldova marked a new turn in Moldovan politics. This election contrasts with the pro-Western attitudes of the previous government. Governing instability in Moldova and changing international orientations of many prominent political actors, as emphasized by this article, are partly due to political alternative victories of parties supported by different social groups. Focusing on young people activism, this article underlines the differentiation between the political success of pro-Western parties, made possible by the street protests of April 2009, and the political failure of December 2016. The findings of this research may add a new explanation to Moldova's permanent instability. The factor we emphasize here is the change in political values, attitudes and actions due to profound generational transformations. Since democracy is a life- long learning process, a continuous updating, changing of beliefs and action strategies responding to the varying political environment, different generations rely not only on different past experiences, but on different adapting capacities, on different meanings given to rights and freedoms, social standards and economic conditions.