The impact of dissident regions on European Union Rapprochement Master Thesis Gijs Houben Faculty of Humanities S1114581 Leiden University
[email protected] Prof.dr. A.W.M. Gerrits Words: 15638 Much has been written about dissident regions such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia or Transnistria. Unfortunately until today little attention is given to Gagauzia, a dissident region that rejected the current Moldovan rapprochement towards the EU in its local referendum, organized in 2014. In contemporary academic literature very little is known about the influence of dissident regions like Gagauzia, Transnistria or Abkhazia on the EU rapprochement of their sovereign nation. Along with interviews and other primary sources a model is provided to discover the influence of the three mentioned dissident regions on the EU rapprochement. This research, at least, enriches the current existing academic literature regarding Gagauzia, at the same time it deeply emphasises the limited influence of dissident regions on sovereign nations’ EU rapprochement. !1 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations 3 1. Introduction 4 1.1 Research question 4 1.2 Research contribution 5 2. Methodology 6 2.1 Concepts & variables 6 2.2 Case Selection 6 2.3 Data Collection & methods 7 2.4 Generalisation 8 3. Theoretical framework 10 3.1 Rapprochement towards the European Union 10 3.2 Dissentient regions 11 3.2.1 Influence of dissident regions 13 3.3 The dissident regions 15 3.3.1 Abkhazia 15 3.3.2 Transnistria 18 3.3.3 Gagauzia 23 3.4 Moldova and the European Union 28 3.5 Georgia and the European Union 32 4.