Modern Romania : The End of Communism, the Failure of Democratic Reform, and the Theft of a Nation

by Gallagher, Tom

• ISBN13: 9780814731727
• ISBN10: 0814731724
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

Since the 1989 fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, Romania, arguably the most regimented of states in the Soviet bloc, has struggled with the transition from totalitarian state to democratic nation. In this insightful examination of modern Romania, Tom Gallagher provides an overview of Romania's unique political and social history, focusing on both its national identity as well as the legacy of Soviet rule. Gallagher provides an in-depth look at Romania since 1989, focusing on the government's attempts at economic reform, engagement with democracy, problems with corruption among the ruling elite, as well as the weakness of civil society and the resilience of implacable expressions of nationalism. Ultimately, Gallagher argues that thus far democracy has essentially failed in Romania. In fact, he warns that Romania is on its way to becoming one of the most unequal states in Europe and quite possibly a future trouble-spot unless efforts to resume much-needed reforms are undertaken.

Author Biography

Tom Gallagher holds the Chair of Ethnic Conflict and Peace at Bradford University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
Biographies	xiii
Acronyms	xix
Maps	xxii
Introduction	1	(307)
1. Democracy constrained by Backwardness, 1866-1945	18	(26)
A legacy of backwardness	18	(2)
The road to independence	20	(2)
A promising début: constitutional monarchy	22	(2)
Oligarchy and the masses	24	(2)
Reformist stirrings and peasant rage	26	(2)
The First World War and the onset of Greater Romania	28	(1)
Old habits undermine the new Romania	29	(2)
Absence of consensus	31	(2)
Romania's intellectuals: foes of liberty	33	(2)
The rise of the Iron Guard	35	(1)
The road to dictatorship and war	36	(8)
2. Return to Underdevelopment: the Imposition and Consequences of Communist Rule, 1945-1989	44	(26)
Romanian Communism: from sect to ruling force	44	(2)
Sovietization	46	(2)
Aspects of political culture conducive to takeover	48	(3)
Dej and the emergence of a Romanian brand of communism	51	(2)
Moving out of the Soviet orbit	53	(2)
Guarded openings to the West	55	(1)
The triumph of the Biggest Zero	56	(2)
Deceiving gullible democracies	58	(1)
Communist pharaoh on the Danube	59	(1)
Family power and catastrophic policy errors	60	(2)
Playing the ethnic card	62	(1)
Socialism in one family, totalitarianism at all levels	62	(3)
Orthodox Church compliance	65	(1)
Party regulars challenge Ceausescu	66	(4)
3. Comrades Discard the Ideology but Conserve the Power, 1990-1992	70	(40)
The fall of the Ceausescus	70	(1)
Enter the FSN	71	(4)
Minority rights overshadows the agenda for change	75	(3)
The FSN becomes a contender for power	78	(4)
Manufacturing inter-ethnic conflict	82	(2)
The violence in Tirgu Mures and its aftermath	84	(5)
Romania's stormy electoral début	89	(3)
A broken-backed opposition	92	(2)
The FSN's poll triumph	94	(1)
Post-electoral violence and international isolation	95	(2)
The authoritarian spirit persists	97	(1)
The September 1991 crisis and the fall of Roman	98	(1)
The imperative of unity	99	(1)
The 1991 constitution and the collapse of FSN unity	100	(1)
Nationalist advances	101	(3)
The September 1992 elections and a new political balance	104	(6)
4. Romania Adrift, 1992-1996	110	(32)
Iliescu's management style	110	(1)
The men around Iliescu	110	(3)
Virgil Maagureanu-man of secrets	113	(1)
Hostility to reform at the top	114	(2)
The new oligarchy	116	(3)
The PDSR and the nationalists	119	(2)
Slow emergence from international isolation	121	(4)
The strengthening of Romanian democracy	125	(2)
Normalisation of Romanian-Hungarian relations and Euro-Atlantic integration	127	(3)
Nationalists rebel as social hardships increase	130	(2)
The taint of corruption	132	(3)
Electoral defeat	135	(4)
Anatomy of Romania's 1996 electoral shift	139	(3)
5. 'In Office but not in Power': Constantinescu's Honeymoon, 1996-1998	142	(36)
The CDR makes itself electable	142	(2)
The coalition takes shape	144	(1)
Ciorbea and Constantinescu	145	(3)
Reconciliation is the watchword	148	(2)
Slaying the dragon of corruption	150	(2)
Bringing the Hungarians in from the cold	152	(3)
The alogorithim principle	155	(3)
The NATO chimera	158	(4)
Introspection and dissension	162	(2)
Capitulation before vested interests	164	(4)
Death agonies of the Ciorbea government	168	(2)
Radu Vasile	170	(2)
Quis custodet custodes? Tigareta II	172	(6)
6. A Broken-backed Coalition	178	(34)
External disillusionment	178	(1)
An unyielding IMF	179	(2)
Who governs Romania? The case of Renel	181	(1)
Slow-motion privatization	182	(1)
Government adrift	183	(2)
A judiciary ambivalent about a law-based state	185	(2)
Confronting totalitarian legacies	187	(5)
The UDMR: a constructive force in government	192	(2)
The PD: Trojan horse of the coalition	194	(2)
Society loses patience with the coalition	196	(3)
The mishandling of the Jiu Valley miners	199	(3)
The fifth mineriada	202	(3)
Post-mineriada anxieties	205	(7)
7. Staggering to the Finishing Line	212	(27)
No fresh start after the Mineriada	212	(1)
Romania and the Kosovo conflict: the coalition's finest hour?	213	(3)
Romania and Kosovo: a missed opportunity	216	(3)
The Stability Pact: less than meets the eye?	219	(1)
Kosovo prompts a PDSR comeback	220	(2)
Constantinescu at bay	222	(1)
The IMF adds to Romania's woes	222	(3)
Privatisation's new lease of life	225	(1)
Deposing Vasile	226	(1)
Mugur Isaarescu and Romania's EU application	227	(2)
EU pressure for reform bears fruit	229	(3)
Isarescu's approach to government	232	(2)
Isarescu at bay: the FNI scandal	234	(1)
Iliescu shrugs off the Costea affair	235	(4)
8. Taking Things to Extremes: the 2000 Elections and their Outcome	239	(28)
The June 2000 local elections	239	(1)
Constantinescu's bombshell	240	(2)
Suicide of the centre	242	(2)
Grassroots alienation at danger level	244	(6)
The new look PDSR	250	(2)
The PRM taps into mass alienation	252	(4)
Romania's new electoral landscape	256	(3)
Stopping Vadim	259	(2)
Romania draws back from the brink	261	(6)
9. A Messiah for Romania? Corneliu Vadim Tudor and the Greater Romania Party	267	(41)
Vadim in the gallery of European extremism	268	(4)
The PRM and the communist heritage	272	(3)
A world full of anti-Romanian conspiracies	275	(2)
Grievances to be exploited	277	(3)
Irresolute opponents and ruthless allies	280	(3)
Vadim escapes from his sponsors' control	283	(3)
Recurring anti-Semitism	286	(2)
România Mare: the formula for success	288	(3)
Vadim and Iliescu	291	(3)
Vadim's Achilles Heel	294	(6)
Post-2000 successes and controversies	300	(8)
10. Looters of the State by Appointment of Brussels: Return of the Social Democrats, 2001-2003	308	(23)
11. Conclusion: the Crucial Role of the E.U.	331	(26)
Notes	357	(46)
Bibliography	403	(13)
Index	416