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Paper abstract:

This paper analyzes the complexities of Gagauz ethnonationalist ideology in the contexts of political autonomy and nation-sate incongruence. I will analyze Moldovan law regarding the territorial and legislative status of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. Gagauz citizens and leaders often utilize the explicit stipulations of this legislation – the Constitution in particular – as justifications for establishing complete Gagauz independence. The Gagauz selectively accentuate their own cultural, linguistic, and political borders of interpellation with Turkic, European, Christian, and Russophone nations. Analyzing modern instances of Gagauz ethnonational rhetoric on EU membership, I will expound the implications of current Gagauz political alignments between the Russian Federation and the European Union. My research findings demonstrate that Gagauz view potential Moldovan EU membership as a threat to highly sensitive aspects of Gagauz ethnonational identity and political autonomy. From the Gagauz perspective, EU membership represents a violation of Moldovan constitutional pre-conditions regarding territorial sovereignty. My research contributes a nuanced approach toward the distinct forms of autonomy that Gagauz leaders articulate as optimal for their national future. I will demonstrate the necessity of understanding Gagauz identity as a modern paradigm of post-Soviet Turkic nationalism utilizing Moldovan legislative documents, Gagauz election data, and analysis of Gagauz leaders’ rhetoric on Russia-EU tensions. In light of the historical-cultural premises that have led to the war in Ukraine, evaluating the role of Turkic Christian Gagauz in supporting or hindering Moldovan EU integration provides a key to understanding the mutual effects between volatile political landscapes, nation-state incongruence, and ethnonationalist rhetoric.