Informal States and (Inter)national Communities

Abstract

‘It wasn’t quite the ecstatic reception that George W. Bush received when he went to Albania and promised instant independence for Kosovo. But it was close’, was the comment of an English-language newspaper, Tiraspol Times, on the visit by the US ambassador in Moldova, Michael Kirby, to Transdniestria in July 2007.1 Not only is the visit itself of significance but also the organization which welcomed the US ambassador. He met, namely, with Proriv activists at the Che Guevara School of Political Leadership. The ambassador was greeted with flowers and presented a yellow scarf, a symbol of this organization. Afterwards, he posed for one photo in front of Transdniestria’s flag and another in front of the group’s headquarters ‘under the gazing eye of “El Che”’, while surrounded by members of Proriv. During the meeting, Kirby was keen to highlight US opposition to Transdniestria’s independence and support of Moldova’s territorial integrity. Yet, as the coverage in Tiraspol Times suggested, the meeting was considered ‘a success for American public diplomacy’, and that ‘youth activists now hope to engage the United States and other nations in a meaningful debate over how to improve human rights and democracy in the new and emerging country’. How such moments or representations of recognition are achieved is the focus of this chapter.