Vol. 24 No. 1 (2024): Romanian Political Science Review
The end of the Cold War, and the extinction of communism both as an ideology and a practice of government, not only have made possible an unparalleled experiment in building a democratic order in Central and Eastern Europe, but have opened up a most extraordinary intellectual opportunity: to understand, compare and eventually appraise what had previously been neither understandable nor comparable. Studia Politica.
Romanian Political Science Review was established in the realization that the problems and concerns of both new and old democracies are beginning to converge. The journal fosters the work of the first generations of Romanian political scientists permeated by a sense of critical engagement with European and American intellectual and political traditions that inspired and explained the modern notions of democracy, pluralism, political liberty, individual freedom, and civil rights. Believing that ideas do matter, the Editors share a common commitment as intellectuals and scholars to try to shed light on the major political problems facing Romania, a country that has recently undergone
unprecedented political and social changes. They think of Studia Politica. Romanian Political Science Review as a challenge and a mandate to be involved in scholarly issues of fundamental importance, related not only to the democratization of Romanian polity and politics, to the “great transformation” that is taking place in Central and Eastern Europe, but also to the make-over of the assumptions and prospects of their discipline. They hope to be joined in by those scholars in other countries who feel that the demise of communism calls for a new political science able to reassess the very foundations of democratic ideals and procedures.
Full Issue
Articles
-
WHO HOLDS THE POWER IN DIGITAL PARTIES? THE CASE OF THE CZECH PIRATE PARTY
Abstract
Digital platforms play a dominant role in shaping (part of) the public sphere and are increasingly being adopted by political parties. These platforms connect people to various services, such as taxis and food delivery, by utilizing social media and Big Data to personalize their offerings. Political parties have embraced a similar approach, leading to the digitalization of political movements in two distinct forms: the gradual adaptation of existing parties, and the emergence of new (digital) parties. Most existing research on digital parties has primarily focused on movements in Western Europe, such as the Spanish Podemos, the Italian Five Star Movement, and the German Pirate Party.
Shifting the focus to Eastern Europe and examining the case of the Czech Republic provides a unique opportunity. This paper specifically delves into the Czech Pirate Party, offering a comprehensive analysis of its intra-party democracy and power relations within the digital landscape. The analysis draws upon seven interviews
conducted with party members, and an examination of party documents and websites. By addressing the question of who wields power in Czech Pirate Party, this study aims
to contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding digital parties. -
THE CONTINUED CHALLENGES OF THE BOSNIAK RETURNEES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AND THE THREAT OF SECESSIONISM
Abstract
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) had two notable consequences. The first is the complex institutional structure, and the second is the war-induced displacement. The article’s exclusive emphasis is on the latter consequence. The violent ethnic homogenization and territorialization between 1992 and 1995 permanently altered and severely damaged the ethnic composition of the country. Even though the non-Serbs were forcibly displaced and then returned voluntarily to their home of origin, the
returnees are confronted with the secessionist threat and the continuous challenge of life in Republika Srpska (RS). The article aims to address the continuing challenges faced by Bosniak returnees in the RS, with particular emphasis on the connections between returnee experiences and the unresolved threat of secession. To explore the social, political, and economic challenges faced by returnees and the impact of increasing separatist agitation and tendencies in the RS on Bosniak returnees, a field study was carried out in six municipalities located in East Bosnia: Zvornik, Bratunac, Vlasenica, Milići, Srebrenica, and Višegrad. -
AT THE BORDER: ILLEGAL REMOVAL OF HERITAGE ASSETS FROM THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA (1969-1989)
Abstract
The article analyzes the practices and methods of some of the thousands of people who tried to flee Romania with art objects, especially after the introduction of the Heritage Law (Law No. 63/1974), which considerably limited the rights of citizens to possess goods of heritage value, including precious metals. The Nicolae Ceaușescu regime was interested in acquiring gold, in order to pay the loan guarantees for the external debts that the Romanian state had at that time. Therefore, numerous individuals or groups attempted to leave Romania through the western border with heritage assets hidden in their luggage or other methods that often were discovered by the Securitate, which prompted extremely harsh measures. It is no coincidence that the border of communist Romania has been declared by many historians “the bloodiest border in postwar Europe.” However, many heritage objects have disappeared without a trace, and confiscations were generally made without an inventory of the property taken. Using provenance research, the study also demonstrates the active role of the Securitate, documenting scattered elements of the collections and – ideally – bringing them together. Finally, the article presents several cases relevant to the phenomenon of illegal crossing of the border with objects of patrimonial value, and how the baggage control was performed by the Securitate, while also examining why the citizens risked losing their freedom in order to be able to pass these goods outside the Communist state.
-
WHO HOLDS THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE? THE EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE, 1990-2023
Abstract
This article maps the biographical characteristics of European presidents elected in direct elections after 1989. The author focuses on the structure of age, education, previous political experience, and gender. The article aims to describe the original dataset and to examine it in the context of the theoretical framework of descriptive representation and concepts of presidential power. Although only a partial relationship has been found between age structure and presidential power, and between gender structure and the Woman Political Participation Index, the general applicability of these findings to Europe is problematic. The effect of other factors was not shown at all, which indicates the specificity of the presidential election. The shape of the electoral system, the particularity of each case, and the current political situation determine who is elected president, and these findings cannot be generalized to the entire analyzed area.
-
RUSSIA’S AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE AS A TURNING POINT: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION INTO A SECURITY ACTOR IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE EUROPEAN SECURITY ORDER
Abstract
The process which started with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 has caused a deep stress in the European security order. Russia has not only threatened the European security architecture, but for the first time, Russia has openly challenged it through its actions. As such, the war in Ukraine was a turning point in both international relations and European security policy. Accordingly, the European Union (EU) has altered its foreign and security policy. Until then, the EU had acted within the framework of its responsibility to protect the security of its members through a normative structure and peaceful methods, representing a multilateral world order as a peace project. However, post-February 2022, it has adopted a power-oriented policy. Increased cooperation with NATO, the will to break all kinds of existing dependencies, strict sanctions ranging from economy to energy policy, and the increase in the use of military force have been indicators that Europe has entered a transformation. After 2022, its attempt to influence
international relations and the international system with more solid means has demonstrated that the EU is an actor that does not completely abandon its liberal and constructivist identity but reacts realistically. This article analyzes how Russia’s attack on Ukraine entailed a change for Europe within the debate of the realism and constructivism frameworks. In this context, the authors attempt to reveal the transformation of the EU after 2022, which has now been accepted as a turning point, and how the process of building a common foreign and security policy has shaped the future of Europe.
Book Reviews
-
EUGENE M. AVRUTIN Racism in Modern Russia. From the Romanovs to Putin (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022), 161 pp.
Abstract
Eugene M. Avrutin is an essayist and professor at the University of Illinois. His book Racism in Modern Russia provides a chronological overview of racism and xenophobic manifestations that connect the Tsar period, the Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia under Vladimir Putin.
The book is included in “Russian Shorts,” a collection of specialized publications on Russian historical and cultural studies. This volume traces a clear trajectory of racism in key periods of Russian history, especially in the post-Soviet period. The analysis is divided into four short and easily readable chapters. -
DORU LIXANDRU Carol al II-lea, carlismul și carliștii în România anilor 1930 (Bucharest: Corint, 2023), 640 pp.
Abstract
Among the various national projects that emerged in Romania throughout the twentieth century, invariably sharing a politically charged posthumous reception, the case of Carol II’s regime appears particularly contentious regarding both historiography and memory. Following decades of idiosyncratic representations, it is only fitting that a period of such consequence is revisited from a proper critical angle, precisely the undertaking of Doru Lixandru’s in the reviewed book. As a historian of Romania’s political
modernity, the author has a solid background in intellectual history, including a PhD in social sciences obtained at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and the University of Bucharest.
