Building bridges

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate why there is more trust of people of another nationality (TPAN) in southern Moldova (where there is more ethnic heterogeneity) than both northern and central Moldova (where there is more ethnic homogeneity), as current field literature suggests that the opposite should be true. The thesis supplies three theories: 1) higher incomes lead to higher TPAN, 2) Peace Corps Volunteers act as catalysts for TPAN in ethnically heterogeneous areas, resulting in higher TPAN, and 3) a residual imposed Soviet identity bridges trust between like-minded individuals, resulting in higher TPAN. The thesis rejects the income theory, as the country’s lowest average income is found in the south. The thesis accepts both the Peace Corps and Soviet identity theories, though it notes that the Soviet identity theory accounts for more of the TPAN found in the region.