Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
The year 1995 was momentous for the Gagauz people located primarily in the towns and villages of southern Moldova in the area known as Gagauzia. The Gagauz leadership in Comrat and the Moldovan government in Chişinău reached agreement in December 1994 on autonomy for Gagauzia, ending a five-year secessionist movement involving both a war of words and sporadic conflict. For Chişinău, this agreement settled the lesser, but nonetheless important, of two secessionist movements that threatened the Moldovan state's viability. For Gagauzia, the agreement set the terms for extensive cultural, political, and social autonomy within Moldova. For Europe, this agreement broke new ground in granting a small nation control of its affairs within a larger state.
* The authors wish to thank Hülya Demirdirek, Michael Hamm, Pål Kølsto, and Stuart Kaufman for their helpful suggestions on the first draft of this article, the Moldovan Central Election Commission and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems for making observation of the June 1995 Gagauz election possible, and Charles King and Trevor R. W. Waters for facilitating the 1996 research.Google Scholar
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