In: Analele Universității București: Annals of the University of Bucharest = Les Annales de l'Université de Bucarest. Științe politice = Political science series = Série Sciences politiques, Band 2, S. 3-19
In: Analele Universității București: Annals of the University of Bucharest = Les Annales de l'Université de Bucarest. Științe politice = Political science series = Série Sciences politiques, Band 7, S. 45-64
The Church-State relationships in EU Member States are in a process of a radical transformation. This is the result of a rapid political integration and also of the major transformations of the modernity. Religion is still part of the European public space even if, according to modernity premises, it should be only a private matter. According to Max Weber and other authors, secularization diminishes the role of the religion in society. However, these theories are being contested in recent years, due to the interpretation of statistical data and to the emergence of fundamentalist religious movements spreading around the world. Consequently, secularization is a tendency and not an "iron law". As regards the current role of the religion, Silvio Ferrari developed the theory according to which there is a common European model. This model does not exist yet, but certainly we live in an era defined by the continuous searching of such a model. There is no European identity without common values. Some of these values, like toleration, do have a profound religious foundation. European integration is based on the action of different actors, including interest groups located in Brussels. The Churches and the religious organizations are also part of this category of actors and they try to be part of a process by which a common space for consultation will emerge.
This study aims to answer the question whether Christian Orthodoxy can inspire political movements. In so doing we start from the political theories of modernity where the link between Christianity and democracy is central. Our result sounds unexpected: interaction between Orthodoxy and democracy seems to not have a perspective. It is too late for it since most political movements in post-communism do not have the religious identity of their members as criterion. The situation was not different before. As an example the effort of the orthodox theologians and laymen in Romania before the outbreak of the Second World War is quoted here. Almost without an exception all focused and restricted their interest on the question of the nation. Therein we see the principal reason for the above postulated perspective of an orthodox political doctrine until now. On the European level the situation looks also no better. Even the parties, which attribute themselves the Christian values, have at present large difficulties to convey their message. It remains only to hope that the political actors rediscover the social and actively support the Christian ethics in the public area. Only so can democracy be regarded as one of the most important binding forces also under the Christians.
The report is based on the study focused on particularities of regional development în the Republic of Moldovafrom the perspective of the European Union model of economic, social and territorial cohesion.The research defines regional development în terms of a new development paradigm,methodically cultivated în European states with the support of the European Unionand emphasizes establishment of this policy în the Republic of Moldova.Several findings and recommendations of the study are included în the NSRD Evaluation Report 2010-2012 and NSRD 2013-2015, în whose elaboration the author participated under the coordination of GIZ Moldova.Also, a range of general and sector recommendations are formulated, whose implementation would redefine regional development policy în the Republic of Moldova and boost territorial growth and development în an external periphery of the European Union.
In this study, we analyse the manner of developing a particular system of coordination of European affairs at national level, as well as its efficiency, the aim being to provide suggestions for improving it. The introductory section highlights the need for such a study, given the current political and institutional context of Romania, and it states the objectives of the study. Special attention is given to presenting the theoretical approach (expressing, on the one hand, the authors' vision that European affairs - distinctly from foreign affairs - are part of the complex governance process specific for the European Union (EU) and, on the other hand, operationalizing the idea of efficiency within a national system for coordinating European affairs, etc.) and the research methodology (reasons for choosing a comparative research design to support the presented arguments, as well as the qualitative research performed). In the first part, the paper also provides information on the legislative and institutional configuration of the EU, following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, because the novelties and reforms brought by this regulatory framework (supperior to the one of the Nice Treaty, but inferior to the proposals stipulated within the Constitutional Treaty) have a direct impact on designing the structure for coordinating European affairs in the Member States. Given that in Romania the European affairs coordination system was initially inspired by the French model, while later suffering a series of institutional changes (some inspired by models from other EU states), an important part of the study addresses the need to know, from a comparative perspective, the best practices in European affairs coordination and cooperation mechanisms in other EU Member States. [.]
One of the essential objectives of this work is to change the optical approach of the local power phenomenon, opting for the approach of the territorial organization of local power from the perspective of the realities of the contemporary world. Within the thematic framework of the paper, I have pursued that the territorial organization of local power to be treated from the perspective of political and administrative sciences, referring to the Moldovan realities, but also to the influences of the integration in the European space. In order to solve the theoretical and practical problems related to the efficient territorial organization of the public power, I have used the paradigm of the territorial organization of the public power as the basis of the phenomenon investigation. The key idea of the paradigm is that the phenomenon of public power in the contemporary democratic state must be tackled not only in relation to the state but more broadly in the aspect of the existence of both the public power of the people and the existence and functioning of the local collectivities' public power as a power that has the same social nature but is different as form and content from the state one. These communities have their own public power, based on two essential elements: the local population and the local electoral system through which its representative bodies (decision-making and executive) are elected. The chapters of the papers imply complex researches regarding the territorial organization of the local power, in the idea that they would allow to identify a model of territorial organization of the local power in terms of the interests and needs of local collectivities in the Republic of Moldova. The final objective of the paper was to develop a theoretical vision of the reform of the territorial organization system of local power in accordance with the new realities and that would meet the political, social and economic challenges facing the Republic of Moldova. Reforming the territorial organization of the local public power on the basis of the recommendations made in the paper will help to overcome the negative tendencies that occur in the processes taking place in the society. Searching solutions to solve or identifying possible ways to resolve a problem does not necessarily mean finding an undoubtedly mean to solve the problem or a definite answer to the existing issue. In many cases, scientific researches does not put the end point in a scientific dispute or in a contradictory approach of a phenomenon, they only develop it, broaden the knowledge space and update it, providing research space to other researchers concerned about that issues and opportunities of choice and documentation for political decision-makers.