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Overcoming Communism's Dysfunctional Legacy: The Romanian Case, Paul E. Michelson

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The paper develops the idea that post-communist societies are dysfunctional societies and applies this analysis to a study of contemporary Romania, 1989-2011. It looks at how the historical experiences of Romania both before and during communist rule created such a society, the development of Romania as a dysfunctional society between 1989 and 2002, and assesses the progress Romania has made in dealing with its legacy between 2002 and 2011 on the basis of several international indices.