Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Imagine This: An Object Starting A Revolution: The Radio, Exiled Voice, And The Mute Poet In Communist Romania, Irina Popescu Apr 2012

Imagine This: An Object Starting A Revolution: The Radio, Exiled Voice, And The Mute Poet In Communist Romania, Irina Popescu

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper analyzes the role played by Radio Free Europe in redistributing sound inside Romania, a country which experienced one of the most repressive communist regimes in Eastern Europe. By following the work of Monica Lovinescu, a cultural critic and writer, and Ana Blandiana, a poet, and leaning heavily on the theoretical framework provided by Giorgio Agamben, this paper uncovers the potential of disembodied voices. Voice, therefore, drives the revolution, providing the Romanian population with a means of escape, a means with which to reclaim their words and thus begin making demands for change. Two types of sounds/voices will be …


State Weakness In Post-Communist Romania And The Legacy Of Communism, Marian Negoita Apr 2012

State Weakness In Post-Communist Romania And The Legacy Of Communism, Marian Negoita

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper examines the, effect of communist regimes on postcommunist state weakness through a detailed case study of the Romanian political system. The central claim is that the totalitarian, NeoStalinist communist Romanian regime was responsible for the postcommunist state weakness. Through such measures as cadre rotation, the "blending" of state and Party structures, and planning, the Romanian state apparatus was transformed into a servile conveyor belt for Nicolae Ceausescu's orders and ensured the hollowing-out of the state. This proved a major factor during the post-communist transformation, paving the way to post-communist patronage networks linking politicians, enterprise managers, and the state.


Latent Crusaders: Narrative Strategies Of Survival In Early Modern Danubian Principalities, 1550-1750, Caius Dobrescu, Sorin Adam Matei Apr 2012

Latent Crusaders: Narrative Strategies Of Survival In Early Modern Danubian Principalities, 1550-1750, Caius Dobrescu, Sorin Adam Matei

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The essay concentrates on a master narrative strategy presiding over the early emergence of modernity in the area in which contemporary Romania is situated. This narrative strategy richly illustrates the neoByzantine survival strategies of the Greek elites who ruled the Danubian Principalities (Moldova and Valahia) during the earlier stages of Romanian modernization (18th century). Early modem Romanian political and intellectual elites borrowed from the post-Byzantine political theology a set of Gnostic-inflected narrative strategies to explain their subordination to alien powers (Turkish, Ottoman, Russian, Austrian, or Hungarian). These strategies operated a reversal of "real" and "unreal" or of "essential" and "fleeting" …


Manipulation And Counter-Framing: A Content Analysis Of Media's Response To The Anti-Communist Movements In 1990 Romania, Adrian Popan Apr 2012

Manipulation And Counter-Framing: A Content Analysis Of Media's Response To The Anti-Communist Movements In 1990 Romania, Adrian Popan

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The purpose of the present article is to demonstrate the importance of counter-framing for the outcome of social movements. To do so, I focus on a particular case, namely Romanian society during the first half of 1990. The research identifies some strategies of the ruling group to create and impose their own framework and to align it with the interests of the people. It is based on content analysis of a Romanian daily newspaper faithful to the government, employing grounded theory as the method of research. The analysis highlights several relevant categories, grouped under two main subsections: creating an unfavorable …


Religion And Politics In Romania: From Public Affairs To Church-State Relations, Lavinia Stan, Lucian Turescu Apr 2012

Religion And Politics In Romania: From Public Affairs To Church-State Relations, Lavinia Stan, Lucian Turescu

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In November 2010, Romanian legislator Liviu Campanu, representing the governing coalition, proposed Daniel Ciobotea as Prime Minister of a cabinet of "national union." The suggestion was surprising because Ciobotea is leader of the Orthodox Church, accounting for 86.8% of the country's population (International Religious Freedom Report, 2009). It would not be the first time when the Orthodox Patriarch assumed such a political role - Miron Cristea headed the government from 1938 to 1939. While Ciobotea quietly ignored it, the proposal reflected not only deep dissatisfaction with the government, but also the respect the Orthodox Church enjoys among Romanians. The Church …