Język Polski
English
The State of Research on Political Transformation in Romania, 1989–1992
Cristian Vasile
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7386-2969
Institute of History “Nicolae Iorga”, Bucharest, Romania
Institute of National Remembrance Review, No. 6 (2024), pages: 113-129
Publication date: 2025-12-23
https://doi.org/10.48261/INRR240605
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Abstract
This article examines a few historiographical issues in Romania’s political transformation process which were significant for the transition from the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu to the political pluralism of the early 1990s. The article presents a selection of the main perspectives on the topic by representative authors while discussing several important concepts (national communism, national Stalinism, protochronism). Starting from here, the author remarks on the growing contestation, especially by some political scientists, of the concept of national communism as applied to the period of Ceaușescu’s rule. A further topic is the legacy of the communist regime, which was still visible after December 1989. Finally there comes an examination of the causes of the difficulties Romania faced in its transition from communism to a liberal democracy.
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