Another election, another geopolitical crisis.
Moldovans go to the polls this weekend to elect a new parliament in a critical vote that will determine whether this small eastern European nation will continue its path toward European integration or slide back under Russian influence.
And as one would expect, the Kremlin is deploying everything from unprecedented and sophisticated disinformation campaigns, to sabotage, to cryptocurrency scams, and a weaponized Orthodox Church to influence the outcome.
So what should we expect? And what should we be looking for?
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Laura Thornton, senior director for global democracy programs at the McCain Institute who just returned from a pre-election monitoring mission to Moldova, David Smith, President of the Moldova Small Enterprise Alliance and author of the must-read Moldova Matters Newsletter on Substack, and Corina Rebegia, a non-resident fellow with Accountability Lab and a democratic governance and foreign policy expert who served as a senior advisor at the National Democratic Institute from 2021-25.
Enjoy…
Please follow Brian Whitmore and The Power Vertical on Bluesky @powervertical.bsky.social
SHOW NOTES
Laura Thornton’s pre-election analysis for the McCain Institute, which was referenced throughout the podcast, can be accessed here. Her article for Foreign Policy on Russia’s “multi-vector war” on Moldova’s election can be accessed here. Other recently published work by Laura Thornton can be accessed here and here.
Corina Rebegia’s recently published work can be accessed here, here, here, here, here, and here.
David Smith’s Moldova Matters Newsletter can be accessed here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, here, and here. Please follow Brian Whitmore and The Power Vertical on Bluesky@powervertical.bsky.social