Bonding Strategic Narratives in the EU Enlargement Discourse: Moldova's European Path in a Time of Geopolitical Uncertainty
Author
Petrov, Evelina
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
71
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan sprog om tilhørsforhold bruges strategisk i EU’s udvidelsesdebat med fokus på Moldovas vej mod medlemskab i skyggen af Ruslands fuldskala-invasion af Ukraine i 2022. Med udgangspunkt i rammeværket om bonding strategic narratives analyseres, hvordan henvisninger til fortid, nutid og fremtid legitimerer Moldovas europæiske kurs og skaber en forestilling om et fælles tilhørsforhold. Undersøgelsen bygger på en kvalitativ dokumentanalyse af tredive offentlige kommunikationer fra både EU-aktører og moldoviske aktører i perioden 2021–2025, kodet i NVivo efter Adams m.fl. (2024) samt supplerende temaer om sikkerhed og geopolitisk hastværk. Afhandlingen introducerer desuden begrebet tidslig blanding for at indfange, når flere tidsdimensioner sammenflettes i ét budskab. Resultaterne peger på, at tidsrammerne udfylder forskellige roller: fortidsnarrativer genkalder fælles hukommelse og identitet; nutidsnarrativer fremhæver reformer, sikkerhed, resiliens og geopolitisk tilpasning; fremtidsnarrativer angiver fælles retning og narrativ konsistens. Efter 2022 bliver henvisninger til nutid og fremtid mere fremtrædende og bevidst brugt, hvilket markerer en mere presserende tone og stærkere fokus på strategisk alignment. Samtidig får Moldova større narrativ agens ved ikke kun at spejle EU’s sprog, men også tilpasse det til nationale prioriteter. Afhandlingen bidrager til forståelsen af, hvordan EU og Moldova samskaber udvidelsesfortællingen over tid, og viser, at udvidelse ikke kun er institutionel, men også dybt narrativ. Tidslig blanding tilbyder et nyt blik på, hvordan institutionelt sprog fastholder sammenhæng i perioder med ustabilitet.
This thesis examines how language about belonging is used strategically in the EU’s enlargement debate, focusing on Moldova’s path to membership amid the geopolitical shock of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Using the bonding strategic narratives framework, it analyzes how references to the past, present, and future are mobilized to legitimize Moldova’s European trajectory and to build a sense of shared belonging. The study is based on a qualitative document analysis of thirty public communications by EU and Moldovan actors from 2021 to 2025, coded in NVivo following Adams et al. (2024) and complemented by themes of security and geopolitical urgency. It also introduces the concept of temporal blending to capture moments when multiple time frames are layered within a single message. The findings indicate that temporal frames play distinct roles: past-oriented narratives evoke shared memory and identity; present-oriented narratives emphasize reforms, security, resilience, and geopolitical alignment; future-oriented narratives set shared direction and narrative consistency. After 2022, present and future references become more prominent and deliberate, reflecting a heightened sense of urgency and stronger focus on strategic alignment. At the same time, Moldova exhibits greater narrative agency, moving beyond mirroring EU language to adapting it to national priorities. The thesis contributes to debates on enlargement discourse, strategic communication, and narrative agency by showing how the EU and Moldova co-construct the enlargement story over time, and by arguing that enlargement is not only institutional but also deeply narrative. Temporal blending offers a fresh lens on how institutional language maintains coherence in times of instability.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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