Democratization and Securitization International Comparative Social Studies
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Democratization and Securitization International Comparative Social Studies Editor-in-Chief Mehdi P. Amineh Amsterdam School for Social Sciences Research (ASSR)— University of Amsterdam and International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)—University of Leiden Editorial Board Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Th e Netherlands Simon Bromley, Open University, UK Harald Fuhr, University of Potsdam, Germany Gerd Junne, University of Amsterdam, Th e Netherlands Ngo Tak-Wing, University of Leiden, Th e Netherlands Mario Rutten, University of Amsterdam, Th e Netherlands Advisory Board W.A. Arts, University College Utrecht, Th e Netherlands Chan Kwok-bun, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong S.N. Eisenstadt, Jerusalem, Israel L. Hantrais, Loughborough University, UK G.C.M. Lieten, University of Amsterdam, Th e Netherlands L. Visano, York University, Canada VOLUME 20 Democratization and Securitization Th e Case of Romania By Adina Marina Stefan LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 On the cover: “Stairs” by Peter van Es Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stefan, Adina Marina. Democratization and securitization : the case of Romania / by Adina Marina Stefan. p. cm. — (International comparative social studies, ISSN 1568-4474 ; v. 20) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17739-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Democratization—Romania. 2. Post-communism—Romania. 3. National security—Romania. 4. Romania— Politics and government—21st century. 5. Romania—Social conditions—21st century. 6. Romania—Economic conditions—21st century. I. Title. II. Series. JN9636.S74 2009b 320.9498—dc22 2009016393 ISSN 1568-4474 ISBN 978 90 04 17739 0 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands To my family CONTENTS Map and Tables .................................................................................. ix Foreword ............................................................................................. xi Acknowledgements ............................................................................ xiii Abbreviations ...................................................................................... xv Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Chapter One Th e New Security Concept and the Democratization of Post-communist Societies ......................... 9 Chapter Two Th e Political Sector ................................................. 67 Chapter Th ree Th e Societal Sector ............................................... 169 Chapter Four Th e Environmental Sector .................................... 245 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................... 297 Appendices .......................................................................................... 307 References ........................................................................................... 311 Index .................................................................................................... 329 MAP Map of Romania ................................................................................ xviii Source: United Nations, Cartographic Section, Maps and Geographic Information Resourceshttp://www.un.org/Depts/ Cartographic/map/profi le/romania.pdf TABLES Table 1.1: Types of states and vulnerabilities ................................ 24 Table 1.2: Congruence between political culture and structure ...... 37 Table 1.3: Elements that characterize majoritarian and consensus democracies ................................................................. 57 Table 2.1: Relevant parties in Poland and Romania and their main ethnic basis ................................................................. 73 Table 2.2: Romanian internet users aft er 2000 ............................. 87 Table 2.3: Attitudes towards politics and authority ...................... 90 Table 4.1: Th e distribution of contaminated sites according to the polluting agent .................................................................... 258 Table A.1: Key ‘Investment-Heavy’ Directives .............................. 307 Table A.2: Presidents, Majorities, and Prime Ministers in Romania 1990—March 2008 .................................................. 310 FOREWORD 1999 was a critical year for Romania. For almost three weeks in January, a miners’ riot which had all the characteristics of a coup d’état endangered the existence of the weak Romanian democratic institutions. Every day the miners reassessed their determination to march to Bucharest unless they had seen their demands fulfi lled. Every day the media announced an imminent assault of the miners on the capital. Images of angry faces and violent clashes with the police forces invaded the TV news shows and tabloids. No barricade or obstacle was able to stop them. Th e miners were marching in disciplined rows and had organised patrols to observe the movements of the gendarmes. “It seems that only God, by letting it snow, can put an end to their well-organized move” remarked a reporter.1 Th at something like this could happen ten years aft er the collapse of communism astonished everybody. Politicians and media analysts busily debated the new international security challenges and predicaments, but nobody seemed to pay attention to internal security threats. Th is is how I realised that the disruptive potential of domestic vulnerabilities is sometimes underestimated in favour of external threats. When I started to write this book I was interested in security matters and securitization in Romania and in the role of defence structures in these processes. While doing my research, I came to the conclusion that I would have to expand my subject. Th e more I read about securitiza- tion and the circumstances that create a favourable environment for it, the more I realised that these were all elements typical of a democratic society. In Romania, in many cases, these elements were clearly in an embryonic stage, which rose questions about the possibility to identify elements particular to the securitization logic. As securitization can- not take place without public consent, it became obvious that the fi rst investigation phase of my book would have to focus on the formation of a participatory political culture, that is, the emergence and develop- ment of a democratic system. In the absence of a democratic society it would be futile to search for securitization attempts. 1 Razvan Belciuganu quoted in Andreea Cascaval, Petru Zoltan, “Epopeea mineriadei din 1999”, Jurnalul National, 14 May 2008, www.jurnalul.ro. xii foreword Moreover, not only defence structures play a role in these processes but also other political and non-political actors, leading me back, again, to participation and—implicitly—to democratization. Finally, while analysing securitization movements in Romania, many outcomes proved relevant to the development of a democratic culture in general, giving new signifi cance to the link between democratization and securitization. None of the processes, namely, could register progress in the absence of the other. Consequently, the topic of my book had to include both democratization and securitization. In dealing with the Romanian case, I sometimes use very detailed examples. My intention is to off er readers the possibility to draw their own conclusions besides the ones presented by the author. Moreover, as the specialised literature referring to Romanian society is not very abundant, I aim at contributing to all those interested in Romania’s recent history and transformation. Another interesting point in this book refers to Romania’s integration in the European Union. Th e pre- accession phase was marked by very vibrant activity especially among politicians. EU conditionality worked remarkably before 2007 (on 1 January 2007 Romania became an EU member) while it had almost no noticeable results aft erwards. Moreover, the fi ght against high-level corruption and judiciary reform has even made few steps back. Roma- nia is not an isolated case in this sense, other examples are Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria, but this could mean that, in order to induce further sustainable and irreversible progress of the newcomers, the EU has to fi nd other means of ensuring them (clearly, the safeguard clauses have not made enough impression on the local political class). Still, a great deal of progress has been registered in the last few years despite a tense and quarrelsome governing coalition. Th e independence of the judicial power, the fi ght against high-level corruption and the reform of the political class can be attributed to a strong political will that put things in motion, and to the maturation of non-governmental organizations that play their mediating role in society. Hence,