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In the Pursuit of Democracy: Support for Referendums in Moldova
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Abstract: Support for referendums has often been investigated in new and established democracies. However, we know very little about what drives support for referendums in transition countries. This article addresses that gap and aims to identify the determinants of support for referendums in the Republic of Moldova. The analysis uses individual-level data from a survey in November 2024 based on a nationally representative sample in the aftermath of a divisive popular vote on EU accession. The results indicate that support is rooted both in long-term attitudes, such as democratic satisfaction, democratic values, and high interest in politics, as well as in more immediate situational and strategic considerations. Compared to earlier evidence from democracies, people in Moldova attach more hope to referendums as a way to improve democracy and disconnect them from critiques against politicians.
Keywords: citizens; democracy; referendum; Republic of Moldova; support
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Vol 14 (2026): Consensus About the European Union? Understanding the Views of Citizens and Political Parties (In Progress)
© Sergiu Gherghina. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction of the work without further permission provided the original author(s) and source are credited.