DOCSLIB.ORG

The 2000 Elections in Romania Andreea Elena Cârstea (Bucharest)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The 2000 Elections in Romania Andreea Elena Cârstea (Bucharest) The young generation and the temptation of extremism The 2000 elections in Romania Andreea Elena Cârstea (Bucharest) Introduction. The facts It’s all about discourse… in its socio-political context Conclusions The young generation of 2000 • the 2000 general elections were preceded by a broad Corneliu Vadim Tudor 1. The ascension of extremism • disappointed by the political class atmosphere of social dissatisfaction and political • “court” poet during communism in 2000 Romania was favored by the • resentful confusion • extremist overlapping of two converging ‘layers’ of • affected by unemployment and • the first post-communist alternation in power (1996- • combining leftist ideas with discourse (protest - revolt discourse). small wages 2000) was perceived as a failure: right-nationalist elements • living in compromises; image mistakes Photo: www.cinemagia.ro 2. It was the ability of the political • models – national radical figures: Vlad the Impaler, communist blocks neighborhoods Photo: a1.ro/news/economic/ endless coalition conflicts actor to manipulate a dominant type of Marshal Ion Antonescu (Hitler’s ally), Nicolae Ceaușescu • coming in contact with different forms of subculture • Emil Constantinescu, the president in function, discourse (inside a social category) in (last Romanian communist leader) [especially national and foreign rap groups BUG Mafia, Parasites announced his retirement from the race in the summer his favor although the protest was also • “the country could be governed only with the help of a (Paraziții), Eminem] of 2000 against him (as a part of the system). machine gun” (1998) - appealing for their protest messages • the democratic parties threw into race two candidates of - perceived as something relatively new the same caliber: Mugur Isărescu and Theodor Stolojan Electoral slogan 3. An important strategy in the (after the communist censorship) • the final battle was fought between Ion Iliescu, former “Down the Mafia! Up the nation!” extremist Romanian discourse of 2000 president (perceived as neo-communist) and Corneliu (“Jos Mafia! Sus Patria!”) was to address the most vulnerable and “The bribe is the one that gets you out Vadim Tudor (the extremist leader of the Great Romania Purpose: “the salvation of our of s**t, / A policeman, a prosecutor, a resentful categories. Party) compatriots that live in the darkest senator and you are out. (...) • Tudor was elected by over 30% from the population pauperization”. Maybe the government thinks you are with ages between 18 and 44 years Photo: www.cinemagia.ro a whore, bro / From the money you [exit poll - IInd tour - Vadim’s voters: 39% 18-29 years make / If you get a half. (...) recontextualization and and 35% 30-44 years] (Jurnalul Național, December 11, 2000) appealing That we make all we can to be alright Cited Works • the results were especially shocking since, from 1989, the primal emotions: reconfiguration of Photo: hiphopforum.sk/news/forum/ (it’s normal) / Above the law, above sensitive themes: successive young generations were the main supporters anger, fear, pride BUG Mafia, Behind the blocks the mercy, above the hospital beds • Andreescu, Gabriel (2003), Extremismul de of the new democracy not reason fight against corruption (După blocuri), There are good days or bad days, but dreapta în România, Ethnocultural Diversity • Iliescu finally won (with 70%) after a huge mobilization communist past etc. released January 18, 2000 all stays the same…” Resource Center, Cluj-Napoca. of the press and of the civil society in his favor and • Gallagher, Tom (2005), Theft of a Nation. Romania since Communism, Hurst & Company, against extremism Strategies London. in Tudor’ discourse -----> it was no coincidence that Tudor obtained his success among • Tismăneanu, Vladimir (2001), Romania’s youngsters listening to rap groups, whose rather violent message First Post-Communist Decade: From Iliescu Sources to Iliescu (at http://www.wilsoncenter. suited the radical measures and colorful figures of speech used by inconsistence in declaration org/publication/225-romanias-first-post- • C.V. Tudor’s declarations and electoral program appealing human the candidate (Gallagher, 2005, p. 286) communist-decade-iliescu-to-iliescu, last (Revista România Mare - Great Romania Magazine) and national values: adaptation of statements: accessed 29 March 2014). • Lyrics of local rap groups compassion, solidarity, tempered and redirected Declarations of Tudor’s voters indicate 2 major tendencies: • Wodak, Ruth (2001), “The Discourse– • Newspapers articles Historical Approach”, in Wodak, Ruth & Meyer, patriotism xenophobic messages (Jurnalul Național - The National Journal; (Andreescu, 2003, p. 32) Michael (eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Evenimentul Zilei - The Daily Event, I. a need for radical solutions Analysis, Sage Publications, London, Thousand Adevărul - The Truth) “We voted for him because he’s crazy”. Oaks & New Delhi, pp. 63-95. Tudor’s 2000 electoral discourse “Only a crazy man can take us out from this situation”. - conspirational, building upon issues like disunity, (Evenimentul Zilei, November, 27, 2000) poverty and frustrations; II. a sense of revolt taken to the extreme (‘After Method Further Information - crafted as to represent the voice of the anonymous, us, the deluge’ type of revolt) Case study poor people (Tismăneanu, 2001, online), revolting “We voted for him because we want to ask for political asylum”. The starting point of this study resides in Interdisciplinary, the critical discourse analysis made for my PhD against the system and the corrupted political class; (Evenimentul Zilei, November, 27, 2000) Thesis: „Legitimation Strategies in the Romanian Qualitative approach - a protest against corruption, Mafia, criminality Electoral Discourse. Campaign Themes in the ---> Historical Discourse Analysis (Wodak, 2001) Presidential Elections between 1990 and 2000”..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Archives and Human Rights
    12 Truth, memory, and reconciliation in post- communist societies The Romanian experience and the Securitate archives Marius Stan and Vladimir Tismaneanu Introduction Coming to terms with the past, confronting its legacies and burden, was the inevitable starting point for the new democracies of Eastern Europe. Thirty years after the fall of communism, both public intellectuals and scholars face a fundamental question: how can truth and justice be rein- stated in a post-totalitarian community without the emergence of what Nietzsche called the “reek of cruelty”? In 2006, for the first time in Roma- nia’s contemporary history, the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania (PCACDR) rejected outright the practices of institutionalized forgetfulness and generated a national debate about long-denied and concealed moments of the communist past (includ- ing instances of collaboration, complicity, etc.). One of these authors (VT) had the honor of being appointed Chair of this state-body. He was one of the co- coordinators of its Final Report.1 Generally speaking, decommuni- zation is, in its essence, a moral, political, and intellectual process.2 The PCACDR Report answered a fundamental necessity, characteristic of the post-authoritarian world, that of moral clarity. Only memory and history can furnish responsibility, justice, retribution, and repentance. Reconcilia- tion and the healing of a nation plagued by the traumatic quagmire of Evil depend on the recognition and non-negotiability of human dignity as a pri- mordial moral truth of the new society. Context In January 2007, Romania acceded to the European Union, a few years after having entered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
    [Show full text]
  • Communism and Post-Communism in Romania : Challenges to Democratic Transition
    TITLE : COMMUNISM AND POST-COMMUNISM IN ROMANIA : CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AUTHOR : VLADIMIR TISMANEANU, University of Marylan d THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FO R EURASIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE VIII PROGRA M 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D .C . 20036 LEGAL NOTICE The Government of the District of Columbia has certified an amendment of th e Articles of Incorporation of the National Council for Soviet and East European Research changing the name of the Corporation to THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR EURASIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARCH, effective on June 9, 1997. Grants, contracts and all other legal engagements of and with the Corporation made unde r its former name are unaffected and remain in force unless/until modified in writin g by the parties thereto . PROJECT INFORMATION : 1 CONTRACTOR : University of Marylan d PR1NCIPAL 1NVEST1GATOR : Vladimir Tismanean u COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 81 1-2 3 DATE : March 26, 1998 COPYRIGHT INFORMATIO N Individual researchers retain the copyright on their work products derived from research funded by contract with the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research . However, the Council and the United States Government have the right to duplicate an d disseminate, in written and electronic form, this Report submitted to the Council under thi s Contract, as follows : Such dissemination may be made by the Council solely (a) for its ow n internal use, and (b) to the United States Government (1) for its own internal use ; (2) for further dissemination to domestic, international and foreign governments, entities an d individuals to serve official United States Government purposes ; and (3) for dissemination i n accordance with the Freedom of Information Act or other law or policy of the United State s Government granting the public rights of access to documents held by the United State s Government.
    [Show full text]
  • Romania Redivivus
    alexander clapp ROMANIA REDIVIVUS nce the badlands of neoliberal Europe, Romania has become its bustling frontier. A post-communist mafia state that was cast to the bottom of the European heap by opinion- makers sixteen years ago is now billed as the success story Oof eu expansion.1 Its growth rate at nearly 6 per cent is the highest on the continent, albeit boosted by fiscal largesse.2 In Bucharest more politicians have been put in jail for corruption over the past decade than have been convicted in the rest of Eastern Europe put together. Romania causes Brussels and Berlin almost none of the headaches inflicted by the Visegrád Group—Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia— which in 1993 declined to accept Romania as a peer and collectively entered the European Union three years before it. Romanians con- sistently rank among the most Europhile people in the Union.3 An anti-eu party has never appeared on a Romanian ballot, much less in the parliament. Scattered political appeals to unsavoury interwar traditions—Legionnairism, Greater Romanianism—attract fewer voters than do far-right movements across most of Western Europe. The two million Magyars of Transylvania, one of Europe’s largest minorities, have become a model for inter-ethnic relations after a time when the park benches of Cluj were gilded in the Romanian tricolore to remind every- one where they were. Indeed, perhaps the aptest symbol of Romania’s place in Europe today is the man who sits in the Presidential Palace of Cotroceni in Bucharest. Klaus Iohannis—a former physics teacher at a high school in Sibiu, once Hermannstadt—is an ethnic German head- ing a state that, a generation ago, was shipping hundreds of thousands of its ‘Saxons’ ‘back’ to Bonn at 4,000–10,000 Deutschmarks a head.
    [Show full text]
  • The Extreme Right in Contemporary Romania
    INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS The Extreme Right in Contemporary Romania RADU CINPOEª October 2012 n In contrast to the recent past of the country, there is a low presence of extreme right groups in the electoral competition of today’s Romania. A visible surge in the politi- cal success of such parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections of December 2012 seems to be unlikely. This signals a difference from the current trend in other European countries, but there is still potential for the growth of extremism in Roma- nia aligning it with the general direction in Europe. n Racist, discriminatory and intolerant attitudes are present within society. Casual intol- erance is widespread and racist or discriminatory statements often go unpunished. In the absence of a desire by politicians to lead by example, it is left to civil society organisations to pursue an educative agenda without much state-driven support. n Several prominent members of extreme right parties found refuge in other political forces in the last years. These cases of party migration make it hard to believe that the extreme views held by some of these ex-leaders of right-wing extremism have not found support in the political parties where they currently operate. The fact that some of these individuals manage to rally electoral support may in fact suggest that this happens precisely because of their original views and attitudes, rather than in spite of them. RADU CINPOEª | THE EXTREME RIGHT IN CONTEMPORARY ROMANIA Contents 1. Introduction. 3 2. Extreme Right Actors ...................................................4 2.1 The Greater Romania Party ..............................................4 2.2 The New Generation Party – Christian Democratic (PNG-CD) .....................6 2.3 The Party »Everything for the Country« (TPŢ) ................................7 2.4 The New Right (ND) Movement and the Nationalist Party .......................8 2.5 The Influence of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the Extreme Right Discourse .....8 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Absurdistan Refacut Cu Headere Ultimul.P65
    Dorin Tudoran (n. 30 iunie 1945, Timi[oara). Absolvent al Facult\]ii de Limb\ [i Literatur\ Român\ a Universit\]ii din Bucure[ti, pro- mo]ia 1968. Este Senior Director, pentru Comunicare [i Cercetare, membru al conducerii executive a Funda]iei Interna]ionale IFES, Washington D.C., Statele Unite, [i redactor-[ef al revistei democracy at large. C\r]i de poezie: Mic tratat de glorie (1973), C`ntec de trecut Akheronul (1975), O zi `n natur\ (1977), Uneori, plutirea (1977), Respira]ie artificial\ (1978), Pasaj de pietoni (1978), Semne particulare (antologie, 1979), De bun\ voie, autobiografia mea (1986), Ultimul turnir (antologie, 1992), Optional Future (1988), Viitorul Facultativ/Optional Future (1999), T`n\rul Ulise (antologie, 2000). C\r]i de publicistic\: Martori oculari (`n colaborare cu Eugen Seceleanu, 1976), Biografia debuturilor (1978), Nostalgii intacte (1982), Adaptarea la realitate (1982), Frost or Fear? On the Condition of the Romanian Intelectual (traducere [i prefa]\ de Vladimir Tism\neanu, 1988), Onoarea de a `n]elege (antologie, 1998), Kakistokra]ia (1998). Pentru unele dintre c\r]ile sale, autorul a primit Premiul Uniunii Scriitorilor (1973, 1977, 1998), Marele Premiu al Asocia]iilor Scriitorilor Profesioni[ti ASPRO (1998), Premiul Uniunii Scriitorilor din Republica Moldova (1998), Premiul revistei Cuv`ntul Superlativele anului (1998). I s-a decernat un Premiu Special al Uniunii Scriitorilor (1992) [i este laureatul Premiului ALA pe anul 2001. www.polirom.ro © 2006 by Editura POLIROM Editura POLIROM Ia[i, B-dul Carol I nr. 4, P.O. BOX 266, 700506 Bucure[ti, B-dul I.C. Br\tianu nr. 6, et.
    [Show full text]
  • Endc Proceedings 12/2009
    ENDC PROCEEDINGS 12/2009 ■ ENGLISH SUMMARIES 3 ESTONIAN NATIONAL DEFENCE COLLEGE CULTURAL, PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES SERIES ■ SERIES EDITORS: ANDRES SAUMETS AND ALAR KILP VOLUME 1: RELIGION AND POLITICS IN MULTICULTURAL EUROPE: PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES Alar Kilp and Andres Saumets Proceedings 12/2009 EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Andres Saumets (Estonia) EDITORIAL BOARD: Ken Kalling (Estonia) Alar Kilp (Estonia) Peeter Kukk (Estonia) Rain Liivoja (Finland) Enno Mõts (Estonia) Erik Männik (Estonia) Andreas Pawlas (Germany) Claus Freiherr von Rosen (Germany) Volker Stümke (Germany) LANGUAGE EDITORS: Reet Hendrikson (Estonia) Karen Kuldnokk (Estonia) Epp Leete (Estonia) Roy Lowthian (United Kingdom) EDITORIAL COUNCIL: Aarne Ermus (Estonia) Wilfried Gerhard (Germany) Rudolf Hamann (Germany) Jakob Kübarsepp (Estonia) Ants Laaneots (Estonia) Raul Mälk (Estonia) Ago Pajur (Estonia) Eric Allan Sibul (USA) Villu Tamul (Estonia) Peeter Tulviste (Estonia) Matti Turtola (Finland) ISSN 1736–0242 ISBN 978–9985–9513–7–8 Copyright: Estonian National Defence College, 2009 Tartu University Press www.tyk.ee CONTENTS ■ FOREWORD ............................................................................................ 9 RELIGION AND POLITICS IN MULTICULTURAL EUROPE Alar Kilp and Andres Saumets ................................................................ 13 1. Theoretical Considerations .................................................................. 18 1.1. Culture .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Full Document About Romania
    About Romania Romania (Romanian: România, IPA: [ro.mɨni.a]) is a country in Southeastern Europe sited in a historic region that dates back to antiquity. It shares border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania has a stretch of sea coast along the Black Sea. It is located roughly in the lower basin of the Danube and almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory. Romania is a parliamentary unitary state. As a nation-state, the country was formed by the merging of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its independence in 1878. Later, in 1918, they were joined by Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia. At the end of World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Moldova) were occupied by USSR and Romania became a member of Warsaw Pact. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms that peaked with Romania joining the European Union. Romania has been a member of the European Union since January 1, 2007, and has the ninth largest territory in the EU and with 22 million people [1] it has the 7th largest population among the EU member states. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti /bu.kureʃtʲ/ (help·info)), the sixth largest city in the EU with almost 2 million people. In 2007, Sibiu, a large city in Transylvania, was chosen as European Capital of Culture.[2] Romania joined NATO on March 29, 2004, and is also a member of the Latin Union, of the Francophonie and of OSCE.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Ideology and Fiscal Policy. the Case of Romania
    POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND FISCAL POLICY. THE CASE OF ROMANIA Tudor CIUMARA, PhD* Abstract The main question asked in this paper regards the possible influence of political ideology on the fiscal policy measures proposed and implemented by the Romanian government. We observe the political affiliation of the ministers of finance and the positioning of their parties on the left-right axis. We find there is a certain equilibrium in terms of the duration the Ministry of Finance portfolio was occupied by a representative of the centre-left versus centre-right parties. The analysis of the influence of ideology on policy is complicated by external facts such as political, social and economic context. Keywords: government, finance, political party JEL Classification: D72, E62, G18 The easiest way of segmenting the political spectrum is to use the left-right axis. A preferred field of displaying the ideological orientation of the politicians is the economic one, largely the fiscal area. Normally, we can expect a “left-wing” government to be more interventionist, to promote a fiscal policy relying on larger deficits, while the “right-wing” government is expected to promote a policy of state withdrawal from the economy and to reduce the budget deficits. Theoretically, the left-wing governments might be expected to direct their fiscal policy in a counter-cyclical manner, more restrictive during the periods with low unemployment rates, and in a stimulative manner during the periods with high unemployment rates. Similarly, the right- wing governments might be inclined towards a pro-cyclical approach, in which the fiscal policy stimulates during the periods of boom and restricts during the periods of crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • Programme Energy Union – Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Energy in Central and South East Europe
    In cooperation with With the support of Programme Energy Union – Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Energy in Central and South East Europe Romania ENERGY DAY 2015 At the European Parliament in Brussels Date: Tuesday 26 May 2015: 10:00 – 15:30 Venue: European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, B-1000 Brussels, Entrance 10 – JAN, Room 6Q1 (a.m.) and 3G3 (p.m.) Mesaje de deschidere la 10:00 Opening messages at 10:00 HIGH LEVEL OPENING KEYNOTES 9:30 – 10:00 Welcome Coffee Bun Venit si Introducere Welcome and Introduction Corneliu BODEA Corneliu BODEA Presedinte President Centrul Roman al Energiei Romanian Energy Center Theodor STOLOJAN Theodor STOLOJAN Comitetul Economic si Afaceri Monetare Committee on Economic and Monetary Affair Parlamentul European European Parliament Jerzy BUZEK Jerzy BUZEK - Video Presentation Comitetul pentru Industrie, Cercetare si Energie Committee on Industry, Research & Energy Parlamentul European European Parliament Victor NEGRESCU Victor NEGRESCU Comitetul Pentru Bugete Committee on Budgets Parlamentul European European Parliament E.S. Dl. Mihnea Ioan MOTOC H.E. Mr. Mihnea Ioan MOTOC Ambasador Extraordinar si Plenipotentiar, Reprezentanta Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Permanenta a Romaniei pe langa Uniunea Europeana Representative of Romania to the European Union Reprezentant al Cabinetului Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ Representing the Cabinet of Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ Vicepresedinte Energy Union Vicepresident Energy Union Comisia Europeana European Commission Catharina SIKOW-MAGNY Catharina SIKOW-MAGNY Sef de Unitate Head of Unit DGE Piata Interna I: Retele si Initiative Regionale EDG Energy Internal Market I: Networks and Regional initiatives Comisia Europeana European Commission Dan GHEORGHIU Dan GHEORGHIU Consilier Energie Senior Adviser on Energy Cabinetul Primimului Ministru Victor PONTA Cabinet of Prime Minister Victor PONTA Guvernul Romaniei Government of Romania Romanian Energy Center – CRE • Rue Montoyer 23 • B-1050 Bruxelles•www.crenerg.org Centrul Român al Energiei – CRE • Str.
    [Show full text]
  • 00 Obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 1
    00 obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 1 Central European Parliaments: First Decade of Democratic Experience and the Future Prospective 00 obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 2 This publication was supported by the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic under the research project „Documentary Center for Parliamentary Research“ registration number S7028003. This publication was supported by the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic under the research program „ The Program of Development of Basic Research in the Key Areas of Science “ registration number K9058117. Published by Institute of Sociology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague 2004. First edition © Zdenka Mansfeldová, David M. Olson, Petra Raku‰anová (editors.) ISBN 80-7330-067-2 00 obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 3 Central European Parliaments: First Decade of Democratic Experience and the Future Prospective 00 obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 4 ContentsContents Preface Zdenka Mansfeldová, David M. Olson, Petra Raku‰anová . 6 Section I. Parliamentary Research Agenda Members of the German Bundestag in Perspective: Recruitment, Representation, and European Integration across Time and Countries Bernhard Wessels . 10 The Politics between Parliament and Government – the Institutional Framework and the Reality within the Czech Parliament Zdenka Mansfeldová . 28 Section II. Parliaments and the Processes of Globalization and Europeaniazation Parliaments of Central and Eastern European Candidate Countries and the EU Enlargement Jindfii‰ka Syllová, Petr Koláfi. 48 Changing Functions of National Parliaments Drago Zajc. 60 Measuring and Comparing the Powers of Legislatures Edward Schneier. 76 4 00 obsah 15.3.2005 8:25 Page 5 Section III.
    [Show full text]
  • Italian Historical Migration and Investments in Modern-Day Romania
    CA' FOSCARI UNIVERSITY OF VENICE UNIVERSITY OF HOHENHEIM Double Degree Laurea Magistrale in Economia e gestione delle aziende Master of Science in International Business and Economics Department of Management Associate Professor Dr. Giovanni Favero Master-Thesis Italian Historical Migration and Investments in Modern-day Romania Liviu Constantin Jakob 848196 / 425517 [email protected] [email protected] Venice, October 9th 2014 1 Executive Summary The present master thesis analyses the common historical and economic relationship between Italy and Romania, two countries of Latin origin that have been both founded by the middle of the 19th century, through the unification of different former states of same roots, language, culture and history. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter covers the middle ages and then the period from the 19th century until 1945, when Italian craftsmen, especially from the provinces of North-Eastern Italy, came to the newly established Romanian Kingdom, laying the foundation for the nowadays officially recognized Italian minority in Romania. The second chapter presents the economic and social relationships between Italy and Romania during the time of the communist regime, which was imposed to Romania by the Soviet Union after World War 2 and lasted until the end of 1989. Chapter three presents the status of the Italian minority after the revolution of 1989 and until today. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the markets of the former communist states in Eastern Europe were opened to western products and investments. Also Romania opened its economy step by step during the transitional period from communism to capitalism and free market.
    [Show full text]
  • Continuities and Changes of Europe in Romanian National Discourse
    Lund UniversityLund University STMV 23, 2017 PoliticalPolitical Science Science Department Department Superviser: Magnus Jerneck MasterMaster of European Of European Affairs Affairs Superviser: STVM 23, Magnus 2017 Jerneck Continuities and Changes of Europe in Romanian National Discourse A thematic analysis of Romania`s chiefs of state speeches, between 1931 and 2016 Mihail Nejneru Lund University Political Science Department Superviser: Magnus Jerneck Master of European Affairs STVM 23, 2017 Abstract There are several problems when studying, as this thesis, the interplay between the concepts of Europe and of nation, in an official discourse of a state. One is that these concepts are largely seen as being in a dichotomous position. This research argues about the importance of changing the perception about the various way the concepts can relate to each other. The study considers the representations of the nation and of Europe as correlated. Consequently, the idea of Europe is modified over time according to the political culture type. The peculiarities of the case selection: Romania, as two violent regime changes, amplifies the effects of this multi faced process of conferring meanings to Europe. First, the communist regime crafted its own national narrative by mixing soviet supranational elements with a strong nationalistic rhetoric. This was done also with the use of Protochronism, a Romanian term, describing the process to ascribe, with the use of questionable data and by questionable interpretations, an idealised past to the country. Second, the post-communist elites could not decide what stance should be adopted towards pre-communist and communist regimes. The implications for the concept of Europe were discovered using a thematic analysis on 25 New Year’s Eve messages of Romanians chiefs of the state, transmitted from 1931 to 2016.
    [Show full text]