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“Moldova may be the testing ground. But Europe is the target.” Examining Presidential Hybrid Talk in Moldova in the Wake of Russian Aggression

The médialab seminar will welcome Eleanor Knott for a presentation on how Moldova’s presidents perceive the hybrid war waged by Russia over time, and its effects on democracy.

Event, Research Seminar

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Salle K.008, 1 Place St-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris

Abstract

Since its foundation as a state, Moldova has experienced a contentious relationship with Russia. This relationship has deteriorated even further as Moldova has moved closer to EU accession and Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Moldova’s incumbent regime, Moldova is on the “frontline” of a “second war” with Russia. This “hybrid” war targets many Western states too. However, Moldova conceives of itself as the “blueprint” of experience of and resistance to Russian subversion that targets states’ vulnerabilities, from the democratic system, the informational and cyber space, to states’ and citizens’ security.

In this talk, I examine how Moldova’s presidents talk about democracy over time and how they frame it as a target of hybrid war. Analytically, I draw on both quantitative text analysis, primarily word embeddings, and qualitative text analysis to analyse this “hybrid” talk. Doing so, helps us to understand how Russian aggression is experienced and conceived from within and interrogate the work this framing does within political systems over time. The talk will also reflect on how and why to integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and the mutually reinforcing strengths of each when working on critical issues in liminal and often overlooked cases, like Moldova.

Biography

Eleanor Knott (she/her) is a political scientist and Associate Professor in Qualitative Methodology in the Department of Methodology, LSE. Her substantive research interests include the politics of identity, citizenship, and democracy in Moldova and Ukraine. She also has research interests in qualitative research methods, primarily ethics of research. She has published in the American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, Qualitative Research, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Citizenship Studies and Democratization, among others. Her first book—Kin Majorities: Identity and Citizenship in Crimea and Moldova—was published with McGill University Press in 2022.

Practical informations

Date: October 27th, 2026

Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Location: room K.008, 1 Place Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris

Language: English

Registration is mandatory via this link.