Regionalization in the Republic of Moldova: the essence and form of the manifestation

Abstract

With the emergence and beginning of the consolidation of the contemporary Moldovan state, serious premises for spontaneous regionalization are created, by virtue of political actions initiated by the intelligentsia and part of the bureaucracy of the administrative system in the southern and eastern districts of the MSSR/Republic of Moldova. The process of spontaneous or „bottom-up” regionalization, which at that time was characterized by an open conflict between the „Political Center” and the „hotbeds” of the political movements in the respective areas, directed by the regional leaders in the bed of the autarchic movements, basically represented a strong „devolution” of the state of the Republic of Moldova, the consequences of which are felt until now. Apart from the manifestations of regionalization „from below”, starting from the second half of the 2010s, the process of regionalization from „above” is starting in the Republic of Moldova - through conscious political actions and the adoption of normative acts that also reflect the course of European integration. As a result of these actions undertaken by the Republic of Moldova and supported by representatives of civil society and the expert community, the territory of the Republic of Moldova was delimited into six „development regions”, which correspond to the European criteria set out in the Common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). The first results of regionalization policies in the Republic of Moldova are measurable and promising. Government of the Republic of Moldova and supported by representatives of civil society and the expert community, the territory of the Republic of Moldova was delimited into six „development regions”, which correspond to the European criteria set out in the Common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). The first results of regionalization policies in the Republic of Moldova are measurable and promising.