Stratégies de légitimation des États de facto : l’industrie touristique en « République moldave de Pridnestrovie »
This paper is interested in the study of tourism and its industry as a strategy for internal and external legitimization in de facto states. Using the particular case of Transnistria, we used a mixed analysis based on official data and policies as well as photographic observations obtained directly on the field. Tourism industry provides a "two-in-one" strategy, serving both identity and state formation and is aimed at both internal and external audiences. Our results highlight the usefulness of this strategy for legitimization purposes while establishing the existence of close links between the public and private tourism sectors. While the public sector is mainly focused on justifying the existence of the de facto state and its distinct identity, the private sector acts as a liaison with the outside world, and according to financial and economical gain. Despite the existence of some opposition between both sectors of the tourism industry, we argue that they are complementary and that they serve the Transnistrian state in its quest for internal and external legitimization.
De facto states Transnistria Tourism Nation-building Legitimization National holidays Symbolic public space