Everyday Ethnicity and Popular Responses to Nation-Building Projects in Moldova After 1989

This introductory article highlights the main developments in the Republic of Moldova from the breakup of the Soviet Union to the present from the perspective of national sentiment and manifestations. Using Mark Beissinger’s concept of “tides of nationalism”, the article examines the bottom-up ethnic mobilisation between the “quiet” and the “noisy” phases of national projects in Moldova. With the persistence of the “quiet” phase of nationalism, in the last three decades, Moldova’s population transitioned from identification based on ethnicity to one focused on civic coexistence. However, Russia’s attack on Ukraine risks disrupting this balance, while contributing to the resurgence of ethnic sentiment at the expense of civic cohesion. Following an analysis of the literature in the field of “everyday nationalism”, the authors present the contributions to this thematic section, highlighting the relevance of the Republic of Moldova’s case within the regional and international context.