American analyst says Moldova is close to becoming an authoritarian regime

While in 1997 Moldova had rated a score on a par with ‘semi-consolidated democracies’ such as Bulgaria and Romania, in recent years it has fallen to the bottom rung among the hybrid regimes and is very close to joining the ‘Authoritarian grouping’. This is the finding of the U.S.-based analyst Adrian A. Basora, quoted by the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Moldova, which showed promise in the 1990s, has generally regressed in recent years, as have Ukraine, Georgia, and other intermediate-stage postcommunist countries, says Adrian Basora. According to the analyst, Moldova’s retardation since 1997 derives from several factors, including the Moscow-supported breakaway of its Transnistria region. Although the election in June 2007 of a young reformist as mayor of Chisinau introduced a ray of hope, it is hard to see reform succeeding at the national level as long as Russia continues to back the separatist regime of Tiraspol. With respect to these countries (Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia), the West should devote major attention and resources to encouraging and assisting the forces of democratic reform, the American analyst concludes. Adrian A. Basora, a former American Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, is now a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Director of the Project on Democratic Transitions.