| Summary: | The post-Soviet state of Moldova has struggled with the challenges of economic and political development since its declaration of independence in 1991. Following a wider trend in eastern Europe, the Communist party, once discredited and even outlawed for three years, has seen its popularity soar from a 10% voter support in 1996 to 50% in the 2001 elections and has now returned to power. Peculiarities in the electoral law translated this 50% support at the polls into a 70% share of the seats in parliament, an overwhelming majority that allows them to govern without compromising and to change the Constitution at will. In any new democracy, this kind of concentration of power is a worrisome development; in Moldova, it is particularly worrisome because of the well-known authoritarian tendencies of hardliners within the Communist Party. This thesis seeks to determine the reasons that the Communist Party returned to power in Moldova and to examine the implications of this return to power on Moldovagass democratic transition and democratic future and on U.S. and international efforts to assist its democratic transition.
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