Suchergebnisse

Preface / Paul E. Sum -- Introduction / Lavinia Stan -- The start of a new era? : Romanians react to Ceaucescu's fall / Katherine Verdery -- Coming to terms with the communist past : democracy and memory in Romania / Marius Stan and Vladimir Tismaneanu -- Public space and the material legacies of communism in Bucharest / Duncan Light and Craig Young -- Ethnicity, nationalism and the "minority regime" / Levente Salat and Csaba Zoltán Novak -- On women, feminism and democracy / Mihaela Miroiu -- Political culture and participation : between enthusiasm and indifference / Radu Cinpoes -- Spectacular alterations, few changes in Romania's media / Peter Gross -- Representation, incumbency and the quality of Romanian democracy / Ronald F. King and Cosmin Gabriel Marian -- Unsocial democrats : the PSD's negative role in Romania's democracy / Tom Gallagher -- House of cards : the presidency from Iliescu to Basescu / Lavinia Stan and Diane Vancea -- Romania's commitment to the rule of law? / Dennis Deletant -- Environmental network governance in Romania / Cristina E. Parau -- Conclusion / Monica Ciobanu

Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu examine the relationship between religion and politics in ten former communist Eastern European countries, showing church-state relations in the new EU member states through study of political representation for church leaders, governmental subsidies, registration of religions by the state, and religious instruction in public schools

Stan and Turcescu examine the complex relationship between church and state in the new Romania, providing analysis in key areas: church collaboration with communist authorities post-communist electoral politics, nationalism and ethno-politics, and religious education, among other areas

AbstractNo elections or referenda were organized in Romania in 2022. The government was preoccupied primarily with the economic, social, and political consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which borders Romania. The ruling coalition, supported by the Social Democrats and the Liberals, was politically stable but undermined by an inability to adequately address social and economic problems (reforming the pension system, reducing inflation, and improving living standards), as well as by frequent disputes between its main political parties, and numerous revelations that prominent government members had engaged in plagiarism during their doctoral studies.

AbstractRomania was affected by Cabinet instability, an energy crisis and the Covid‐19 pandemic in 2021, a year when no elections or referenda were held. Its self‐interested political elite, rocked by scandals related to plagiarism and preoccupied almost exclusively with the distribution of positions, was unable to address the oil and gas crisis affecting every household, and unwilling to help an underfunded healthcare system.

The informal economy is a reality that influences the lives of people directly at the planetary level.The term "informal economy" is used to include all workers and businesses in rural or urban areas working in the informal environment. It is emphasized that informal employees are not able to be recognized and defended by the legal regulations in force.The global changes in the field of information and communication technologies have generated increased labor market competitiveness. Under these circumstances, there has been a more flexible relationship between employees and employers. The main purpose of the article is to examine the pros and cons of the informal economy. Knowing these arguments can be a source of effective measures aimed at counteracting the negative effects that such activities may have.Simultaneously encompasses a theoretical approach to the informal economy, describing areas where it is highlighted, the factors that generate it, its dimensions, the theories put forward by the various economically-specific schools describing this concept, research methods.

Since 1989, reforms have sought to align the Romanian post-communist intelligence community with its counterparts in established democracies. Enacted reluctantly and belatedly at the pressure of civil society actors eager to curb the mass surveillance of communist times and international partners wishing to rein in Romania's foreign espionage and cut its ties to intelligence services of non-NATO countries, these reforms have revamped legislation on state security, retrained secret agents, and allowed for participation in NATO operations, but paid less attention to oversight and respect for human rights. Drawing on democratization, transitional justice, and security studies, this article evaluates the capacity of the Romanian post-communist intelligence reforms to break with communist security practices of unchecked surveillance and repression and to adopt democratic values of oversight and respect for human rights. We discuss the presence of communist traits after 1989 (seen as continuity) and their absence (seen as discontinuity) by offering a wealth of examples. The article is the first to evaluate security reforms in post-communist Romania in terms of their capacity to not only overhaul the personnel and operations inherited from the Securitate and strengthen oversight by elected officials, but also make intelligence services respectful of basic human rights.