A Nation of United Villages? Demographics and Identity in Moldova since Independence

This paper considers some of the factors that led to the "village" being considered an important social and political actor in the early years of Moldova's independence from the Soviet Union and questions the probable impact of the high rates of labor migration and other factors of demographic change during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It concludes that despite change, the village seems to have retained its core identity as a conservative and traditional space within the nation.