University of Tehran POLITICAL QUARTERLY 1735-9678 51 1 2021 03 21 European Neighborhood Policy and Its Impact on the Republic of Moldova’s Political Development European Neighborhood Policy and Its Impact on the Republic of Moldova’s Political Development 285 310 80405 10.22059/jpq.2021.304032.1007603 FA Roxana Niknami Assistant Professor, Department of Regional Studies, Faculty of Law & Political Science, University of Tehran 0000-0003-4694-4835 Journal Article 2017 05 07 Moldova is the eastern border between the European Union and the outside world, and this has increased the country's geopolitical importance. Cooperation between the European Union and Moldova began after the country's independence. Since 2009, Moldova has committed itself to complying with EU standards. This compliance was shown in the context of Europe's Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership. The bond between the two actors culminated in the conclusion of a cooperation agreement. Under these policies, Moldova undertook fundamental reforms in the structure of its institutions in order to reach the level of European standards. In fact, ENP seeks to stimulate members’ motivation to converge with Europe. The present study seeks to answer the question of what effect will the implementation of ENP and especially EaP have on the political development of this country. The author’s research hypothesis is that ENP, in the form of the principle of conditionality and the principle of socialization, has put pressure on the implementation of political reforms in Moldova, but the developmental impact of these policies has been superficial and unpredictable. To test this hypothesis, the theory of Europeanization of Frank Schimmelfenning has been used. This theory is a tool for understanding the internal changes of Moldavia and the process of its development. Moldova is the eastern border between the European Union and the outside world, and this has increased the country's geopolitical importance. Cooperation between the European Union and Moldova began after the country's independence. Since 2009, Moldova has committed itself to complying with EU standards. This compliance was shown in the context of Europe's Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership. The bond between the two actors culminated in the conclusion of a cooperation agreement. Under these policies, Moldova undertook fundamental reforms in the structure of its institutions in order to reach the level of European standards. In fact, ENP seeks to stimulate members’ motivation to converge with Europe. The present study seeks to answer the question of what effect will the implementation of ENP and especially EaP have on the political development of this country. The author’s research hypothesis is that ENP, in the form of the principle of conditionality and the principle of socialization, has put pressure on the implementation of political reforms in Moldova, but the developmental impact of these policies has been superficial and unpredictable. To test this hypothesis, the theory of Europeanization of Frank Schimmelfenning has been used. This theory is a tool for understanding the internal changes of Moldavia and the process of its development. https://jpq.ut.ac.ir/article_80405_e4cf328204d56c0bbca3a0fc5f30b41b.pdf