Transitional Politics of Memory: Political Strategies of Managing the Past in Post-communist Romania

Abstract

The article develops a typology of political strategies of coming to terms with the past as a theoretical frame of reference against which it assesses the transitional politics of memory pursued in Romanian post-communist society. It argues that after an initial ‘elusive’ strategy based on a politics of amnesia gave way to a confrontationist stance promoting a politics of anamnesis, the communist past was both politically criminalised and symbolically demonised. The article concludes by arguing that the failure of the ‘mastering the past’ paradigm epitomised by the 2006 Tism?neanu Report needs to give way to a ‘normalising’ paradigm of remembering Romanian communism.     

How Political Opportunities Strengthen the Far Right: Understanding the Rise in Far-Right Militancy in Russia

This article provides an overview of recent activities of the far right in Russia (2004–2006) and shows how formal organisations of the far right interact with skinhead subcultures and local communities. It argues that government actions have facilitated an increase in recent far-right militancy (2004–2006) in Russia: the authorities have provided the far-right with political opportunities that their organisations use to coordinate further actions, recruit new members and gain visibility.     

Psycho-Sociological Barriers to Citizen Participation in Local Governance. The Case of Some Rural Communities in Romania

This article focuses on the identification of three types of citizens' participation in local governance: 1) Primary participation (by paying taxes and other contributions), 2) secondary participation (at the level of being informed about the actions of local government) and 3) tertiary participation (at the level of local interest decision-making). Various inquiries carried out within a number of rural communities in Romania are presented in order to highlight certain psycho-sociological barriers that prevent participation. These barriers can range from citizens' simple indifference all the way to the fear inculcated during the communist regime. However, one might assume that such barriers would disappear in the context of Romania's genuine integration into European development projects.