Performing the (Contested) State: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Transnistria’s Political Elites
Journal: The International Spectator
Year: 2025

Existing literature insufficiently ascribes agency to contested states: most studies have predominantly focused on the binary distinction of ‘recognised’ vs ‘unrecognised’ and, in most cases, have treated them as static entities, failing to explain how statehood is (re)constructed by different discourses and political performances. By adopting a performative understanding of the processes of state-building, we argue instead that political performances lie at the foundation of the ‘state’, shapin