showing 10 related works from this author
Mapping Local Democracy in Romania
2016
In East European settings, during transition, local democracy experienced great difficulties in turning from a theoretical model into a functional mechanism. As basis for citizens' political involvement, local democracy can be mapped in various ways. The authors intend to draw a map of local democracy in Romania by focusing on the function and scope of local government (second tier government), the relationship between local and central government, and the outcomes of the recent reform process. The authors intend to evaluate the quality of local democracy by the interactions between elected councilors and citizens. How elected councilors imagine their functions and responsibilities and how …
2016 Romanian regional elections report
2018
Regional elections in Romania are more important politically than it would generally be the case in a highly centralized country. Despite the limited regional autonomy of the territorial units name...
“Save Romania” Union and the Persistent Populism in Romania
2020
The electoral success of the “Save Romania” Union (USR) in the 2016 parliamentary elections sheds new light on the rising populist parties in Romania and offers a new perspective on the Romanian po...
Profane and sacred love in the writings of Julius Evola
2019
Abstract Noticing the steep degradation of love in the modern society, Evola makes an effort to overpass the social, commercial or biological conceptions of love and to unravel the forgotten ideas about love. Looking at the current modern situation, few people could imagine love as transcendent, as a force capable of overpassing the limitations of a human being. As emphasized by Evola, the union between the two lovers, when it is conceived as the unification of the opposite tendencies in a sacred union, can find the lost path towards the Unity. By detachment and transmutation, the use of the sexual energy may even lead to supra-natural powers, ecstasies and elevated consciousness.
National identity and Europeanization in post-communist Romania. The meaning of citizenship in Sibiu: European Capital of Culture 2007
2008
The structure of the requirements for citizenship in a Romanian city differs by and large from the structure of the same requirements in other European cities. The peculiarity lies in the lack of distinctiveness between the origin, the ethnic aspect and the civic aspect of citizenship and also in the emphasis on the language requirements for citizenship. The explanations could be traced back to the previous century and to the cultural and political project of state and nation-building. But the importance assigned to the national identity and national sovereignty issues in Romania may affect the European integration by hindering the feelings of European belonging and solidarity.
Young People and Political Activism in Moldova
2020
The election of a Socialist and pro-Russian candidate in December 2016 as president of Moldova marks a new turn in Moldovan politics. This is in contrast with the pro-Western attitudes of the previous government. Political instability and changing international orientations, as emphasized by this article, are partly due to political alternative victories of parties supported by different social groups. Focusing on young people's activism, the article underlines the differentiation between the political success made possible by street protests in April 2009 and the political failure in December 2016. The findings may add a new explanation to Moldova's permanent instability.
Regional Inequalities, Decentralisation and the Performance of Local Governments in Post-Communist Romania
2011
Abstract The economic growth that has occurred in post-communist Romania has polarised society and greatly increased existing inequalities. The aim of this paper is to investigate regional disparities, to underline the role of governmental mechanisms in smoothing out territorial inequalities, and to examine the possible effects of regional economic disparities on the performance of regional administrations in delivering public services, in the light of the new regionalisation debate. The conclusion is that Romanian counties' institutional performance does not completely correlate with regional wealth; but regional disparities and the mechanisms used to smooth out inequalities have to be tak…
„Bhagavad-Gītā, and the Universal Wisdom of Hinduism”
2020
Abstract The brief episode represented by the Bhagavad-Gītā, entrenched in the great body of the epic Hindu poem Mahābhārata, is revealing for the long lasting intellectual and spiritual effort made by the enlightened Indian philosophers in order to over-pass the ritual and social constraints put in place by the Veda, during the early period of the Hindu tradition. By focusing on the dialogue between a valiant knight and the earthly incarnation of God himself, a perennial wisdom is to be noticed. This is a promise for salvation from fear and death for all who dare to follow their duty, by offering them other ways of attending the Supreme. The self-sacrifice, the renunciation to all ego and …
Romania: Regional Persistence in a Highly Nationalized Party System
2017
Romania has a nationalized party system whereby the effective number of parliamentary parties has gone down and the left-right dimension of political competition has become consolidated. Statewide parties manage to electorally homogenize the electorate through using a similar electoral system for regional and national elections and by holding regional elections just before national elections. However, in this chapter, we also find that regional parties are persistently present in some regions and some of them mobilize voters along an ethno-cultural dimension. These regional parties do not only have an important impact at the regional level by offering alternative policy options but they are…