The Role of National Identity in the Trajectory of Romania's
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The Role of National Identity in the Trajectory of Romania’s Foreign Policy (1990-2007) Loretta Crina Salajan Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in International Politics Aberystwyth University October 2014 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed Date 22 October 2014 STATEMENT I This thesis is the result of my own research, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction are clearly marked in footnotes. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed Date 22 October 2014 STATEMENT II I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed Date 22 October 2014 STATEMENT III I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be deposited in the University’s Institutional Research Repository. Signed Date 22 October 2014 Abstract This thesis explores the significance of national identity in shaping the trajectory of Romania’s foreign policy between 1990 and 2007. It explains why and how Romania’s Euro-Atlantic national identity was subject to re- definitions and discursive dialogue prior to the European Union accession on 1 January 2007, as well as how and why these identity re-definitions influenced the state’s foreign policy decisions. The research employs a multi- dimensional framework of national identity, which draws from four academic literatures related to: constructivism, nationalism studies, collective memory and self-esteem and international recognition. National identity formation represents a two-way socio-psychological process that depends on both domestic and international factors. To identify the themes or self-images of national identity, the project has examined the discourses of elites as the primary actors of Romanian foreign policy. The three main self-images of Romania’s Euro-Atlantic national identity – ‘European’, ‘non-Balkan’ and ‘security provider’ – configured an ideational foundation that impacted on the state’s foreign policy throughout 1990 and 2007. Acknowledgements To my beloved grandmother and parents, who have always loved and supported me. I am also very grateful to my joint supervisors – Dr. Patrick Finney and Dr. Alistair Shepherd, whose diligence and encouragement have helped me complete this PhD dissertation. Acronyms CDR – the Democratic Convention of Romania (centre-right) DA alliance – the ‘Justice and Truth’ alliance of PNL and PD (centre-right) EU – the European Union IR – the academic discipline of International Relations NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization OSCE – the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PC – the Conservative Party (former PUR – centre-right) PD – the Democrat Party (centre-left) PDSR – the Social Democratic Party of Romania (centre-left) PNL - the National Liberal Party (centre-right) PNŢCD – the National Peasant and Christian Democratic Party (centre-right) PRM – the Great Romania Party (right-wing) PSD – the Social Democrat Party (former PDSR – centre-left) PUR – the Humanist Party (re-named PC) UDMR – the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (centre-right) UK – the United Kingdom of Great Britain US – the United States of America USSR – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Table of Contents Introduction: The General Foundations of the Thesis .............................. 1 Chapter I: The Context of Romanian Identity and Politics ...................... 23 Chapter II: Conceptualising National Identity in Romania’s Foreign Policy............................................................................................44 Chapter III: To Be or Not to Be ‘European’? (1990-1996) ........................ 85 Chapter IV: The Inherent Dilemmas of Acting as a ‘European’ Liberal Democracy and Security Provider (1996-1999) ......................... 139 Chapter V: To Be or Not to Be an ‘Atlantic’ Liberal Democracy? (2000-2004) ....................................................................................... 184 Chapter VI: Acting as an ‘Atlantic’ Liberal Democracy and Security Provider (2004-2007).................................................................228 Conclusions: Romania’s National Identity and Foreign Policy (1990-2007).............................................................................................271 P a g e | 1 Introduction: The General Foundations of the Thesis The key purpose of my thesis is to explore the importance of national identity in shaping the story of Romania’s foreign policy between 1990 and 2007. The project analyses an empirical puzzle that has preoccupied academics and practitioners alike - how does a state’s national identity influence its international relations? In this respect, the thesis explains why and how Romania’s Euro-Atlantic national identity was subject to re- definitions and discursive negotiation prior to the EU accession on 1 January 2007, as well as how and why these identity re-definitions impacted on the state’s foreign policy decisions. My project is only concerned with highlighting and elucidating the role of national identity in the configuration of Romania’s foreign policy, in order to balance the great attention given to pragmatic or material calculations. While I acknowledge the significance of Romanian economic interests in the state’s pursuit of Euro-Atlantic integration, they are included in the category of rational or material factors, together with realist interests such as physical security and gaining power. Romania’s post- communist foreign policy had two major goals that marked the evolution of national identity – membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and in the European Union (EU). Romania became an official NATO member in March 2004 and an EU one in January 2007. The state’s post- 1990 foreign policy has widely been examined through realist lenses and there is an ample scope for accounts that are not focused on material interests like power or economic and political benefits. The aim of this introductory chapter is to show the general foundation of my thesis, which will include the following: underlining the original contribution of my work, locating my arguments in the Romanian foreign policy literature and laying out the methodological underpinnings of the project. These individual components will be divided into three sections – literature review, methodology and thesis structure. P a g e | 2 The original contribution of my research to the Romanian foreign policy field derives from conceptual and empirical aspects. This thesis features a multi-dimensional framework of national identity which draws from four academic literatures: constructivism, nationalism studies, collective memory and self-esteem and international recognition. It is not intended to be a constructivist project, because the empirical material on Romanian identity and foreign policy during 1990-2007 brought to the surface some problematic issues that could not be entirely solved by using constructivist notions and instruments. The insights and lacunae of constructivism have been supplemented by the other literatures, which together help to understand the intricacies of a state’s national identity. The inter-disciplinary nature of my ideational framework offers a complex view of national identity that captures its internal and external dynamic. National identity formation represents a two-way socio-psychological process that depends on both domestic and international factors. The internal sources of national identity are the nation and collective memories about the historical past. The external dimension of national identity requires international recognition, which is intertwined with a state’s sense of self-esteem. Another original contribution of my thesis to the Romanian foreign policy literature is the application of national identity to a quite large time frame of the state’s post-communist international politics. The period 1990- 2007 was very significant for the re-articulation of Romanian identity and provides a series of interesting case studies or ‘formative moments’.1 These ‘formative moments’ are favourable times that allow new meanings to (re)appear and new identities to be (re)established.2 To identify the themes of Romania’s national identity, my project has examined the discourses of elites as the main actors of foreign policy. The seventeen years following the 1989 Romanian popular revolution against the communist dictatorship were particularly meaningful for Romania as a democratic state and its foreign 1 A notion taken from Erik Ringmar, Identity, Interest, and Action: A Cultural Explanation of Sweden’s Intervention in the Thirty Years War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 77. 2 Ibid, p. 83. P a g e | 3 affairs, since they constituted the opportunity for a new beginning. This time frame contains several key case studies that show the re-definitions of national identity and how the latter have influenced foreign policy actions: the 1991 Romanian-Soviet ‘Friendship Treaty’; the complicated Hungarian- Romanian relations that obstructed the signing of a bilateral cooperation treaty until mid-1996; Romania’s reactions to the escalating Kosovo crisis and eventual NATO intervention of 1999; the state’s support and