DANIEL BARBU AND THE DYNAMICS OF POST-COMMUNIST TRANSITION: THE VANISHING CLASS ANALYSIS
DANIEL BARBU AND THE DYNAMICS OF POST-COMMUNIST TRANSITION: THE VANISHING CLASS ANALYSIS

Summary/Abstract: One of Daniel Barbu’s main concerns in the mid-1990s was Romania’s ability tobuild a true Republic, meaning a dense network of solidarity ties as the very foundation ofRomanian society, by turning politics into a quest for the best conditions of living together.Three decades later, his main concern is still valid. Despite noticeable progress in institutionaldemocratization and accelerated marketization during the first two decades of democratictransition, democracy turned out to be rather unstable, with a significant democraticbacksliding in recent years. What seems to be still missing is exactly an open and neutralpublic space, capable of bringing together competing arguments and fostering dialogue,while refraining from the use of authority. Despite the optimistic perspective of the early1990s, power concentration, intellectual sense of superiority and discourse homogenizationprogressively led to the current public conformism. Moreover, this intellectual environmentfueled what Barbu feared the most, namely the rise of an authoritarian state.

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