2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The events of 1989 are widely seen as having ushered in new all-encompassing reforms in almost all areas of life. In few other places were reforms more contested and divisive than in Romania, a country that suffered greatly under the sultanistic-cum-totalitarian dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, faced the region's only bloody anti-communist revolt, and as such had the longest to travel on the road from communism to democracy. We now have a generation's worth of experience with these wrenching reforms that have deeply affected Romania's political institutions and political culture, and ultimately allowed it to become a member of the coveted European Union club. This volume gathers key lessons for democratic theory and practice from Romania's first twenty-five years of post-communist transformation. Written by leading experts in the field of Romanian Studies, the chapters focus on the most important factors that have shaped the country's political transformation during the first 25 years of post-communism.
Table of Content Preface - Paul E. Sum Introduction - Lavinia Stan Part I. Expectations for a Democratic Future and Worries about the Communist Past Chapter 1. The Start of a New Era? Romanians React to Ceausescu's Fall - Katherine Verdery Chapter 2. Coming to Terms with the Communist Past: Democracy and Memory in Romania -Marius Stan and Vladimir Tismaneanu Chapter 3. Public Space and the Material Legacies of Communism in Bucharest - Duncan Light and Craig Young Part II. Politics from Below: Identity, Civil Society, and the Media Chapter 4. Ethnicity, Nationalism and the 'Minority Regime' - Levente Salat and Csaba Zoltan Novak Chapter 5. On Women, Feminism and Democracy - Mihaela Miroiu Chapter 6. Political Culture and Participation: Between Enthusiasm and Indifference - Radu Cinpoes Chapter 7. Spectacular Alterations, Few Changes in Romania's Media - Peter Gross Part III. Politics from Above: Representation, Parties, and Presidents Chapter 8. Representation, Incumbency and the Quality of Romanian Democracy - Ronald F. King and Cosmin Gabriel Marian Chapter 9. Unsocial Democrats: The PSD's Negative Role in Romania's Democracy - Tom Gallagher Chapter 10. House of Cards: The Presidency from Iliescu to Basescu - Lavinia Stan and Diane Vancea Part IV. The EU Factor: Accession, Rule of Law, and Human Rights Chapter 11. Romania's Commitment to the Rule of Law? - Dennis Deletant Chapter 12. Environmental Network Governance in Romania - Cristina E. Parau Conclusion - Monica Ciobanu
