<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id>1645-9199</journal-id>
<journal-title><![CDATA[Relações Internacionais (R:I)]]></journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title><![CDATA[Relações Internacionais]]></abbrev-journal-title>
<issn>1645-9199</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name><![CDATA[IPRI-UNL]]></publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id>S1645-91992025000400040</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.23906/ri2025.sia04</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[The shadow of the bear: the role of Russian interference and hybrid warfare in the 2024 elections in Georgia and Moldova and their impact on EU accession prospects]]></article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Pitaval]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Lucas]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="Af1">
<institution><![CDATA[,College of Europe  ]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[Warsaw ]]></addr-line>
<country>Poland</country>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="pub">
<day>00</day>
<month>12</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>00</day>
<month>12</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<numero>esp2025</numero>
<fpage>40</fpage>
<lpage>52</lpage>
<copyright-statement/>
<copyright-year/>
<self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S1645-91992025000400040&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&amp;pid=S1645-91992025000400040&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_pdf&amp;pid=S1645-91992025000400040&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="en"><p><![CDATA[Abstract This article examines the recent electoral developments in Georgia and Moldova, focusing on their implications for European Union integration and on the impact of Russian interference. The analysis highlights the role of Russian interference in shaping political discourse and electoral outcomes, particularly through social media platforms. It provides an analysis of the different hybrid warfare tactics used by Russia to maintain control over post-Soviet countries with pro-European Union ambitions. It also delves into the possible perspectives for Georgia and Moldova in terms of European integration and questions the ability of these countries to implement the necessary reforms to meet Union standards. The contrasting experiences of these states provide valuable insights for the European Union and other candidate countries navigating similar geopolitical challenges.]]></p></abstract>
<abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="pt"><p><![CDATA[Resumo Este artigo analisa os recentes desenvolvimentos eleitorais na Geórgia e na Moldova, centrando-se nas suas implicações para a adesão à União Europeia e no impacto da interferência russa, destacando o papel desta na formação do discurso político e dos resultados eleitorais, nomeadamente através das plataformas das redes sociais. Analisa as diferentes táticas de guerra híbrida utilizadas pela Rússia para manter o controlo sobre os países pós-soviéticos com ambições pró-União Europeia. Analisa igualmente as perspetivas possíveis para a Geórgia e a Moldova em termos de integração europeia e questiona a capacidade destes países para implementarem as reformas necessárias para cumprirem as normas da União. As experiências contrastantes destes Estados fornecem perspetivas oportunas para a União Europeia e outros países candidatos que enfrentam desafios geopolíticos semelhantes.]]></p></abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[interference]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[European Union enlargement]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[Georgia]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[Moldova]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="pt"><![CDATA[russa]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="pt"><![CDATA[alargamento da União Europeia]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="pt"><![CDATA[Geórgia]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="pt"><![CDATA[Moldova]]></kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
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