Romania confronts its communist past : democracy, memory, and moral justice / Vladimir Tismaneanu (University of Maryland, College Park), Marius Stan (University of Bucharest, ICUB).

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tismaneanu, Vladimir, author.

Stan, Marius, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communism--Romania--History--20th century.

Communism.

Despotism.

History.

Romania.

Despotism--Romania--History--20th century.

Romania--Politics and government--1944-1989.

Politics and government.

Romania--Social conditions--1945-1989.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

viii, 205 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Summary:

Reckoning with mass crimes perpetrated by an ideologically driven regime entails engaging in a thorough exploration of its utopian foundations. In the case of Romania, such an analysis requires an interpretation of the role of personality in the construction of a uniquely grotesque and unrepentant forms of neo-Stalinist despotism. Of all the revolutions of 1989, the only violent one took place in Romania. Confronting its Community past therefore involves addressing the abuses committed by the Communist regime up until its very last day, its failure to engage in Round Table-type agreements with democratic representatives, and the repression during the first post-Communist years--a direct legacy of the old regime. This book shows how moral justice can contribute to a restoration of truth and a climate of trust in politics, in the absence of which any democratic polity remains exposed to authoritarian attacks--back cover.

Contents:

Introduction

1. Judging the Past in Post-Traumatic Societies: Romania in Comparative Perspective

2. Romania before 2006

3. Coming to Terms with the Past in Romania: The Presidential Commission

4. Reactions to the Condemnation and Political Rearrangements after 2007

5. The Report's Aftermath: Interpretations, Polemics, and Policies

6. Romania and the European Framework of Dealing with the Communist Past.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1107025923

9781107025929

OCLC:

1013720998