THE EU “COSTS” OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS

THE EU “COSTS” OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS

Author(s): Alexandra POPESCU (ANGHEL) / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Cohesion issues; European Union; Measures; Refugee crisis; Summit; Syrian civil war

Considered by some to be an instrument used by the Russian Federation against the US policies and strategies, the current refugee crisis is a social and political phenomenon, caused by the emergence of the conflicts from North Africa and the Middle East, and has been one of the most important issues of 2015. Although the entire process dates back to 2011, when the Syrian civil war started, its effects and consequences were felt in Europe with the beginning of the last year, when almost 400000 people risked their lives to leave their countries and go to Europe, in search of a safe and secure environment. Due to the fact that EU member states have positioned themselves differently towards this problem, the European Union is now regarded as an international organization that could not handle this kind of issue, failing to provide efficient solutions. The migrant issue has been addressed to at six summits to the date, where the EU leaders tried to find proper measures to adopt, although these proved to be either inadequate or slow. Thus, this paper aims to explain how the refugee crisis has affected the cohesion of the EU, presenting the way the Union has managed the migrant flux. In the end, the 2015 brought one single question concerning this issue: will the refugee crisis cause the break-up of the European UnionConsidered by some to be an instrument used by the Russian Federation against the US policies and strategies, the current refugee crisis is a social and political phenomenon, caused by the emergence of the conflicts from North Africa and the Middle East, and has been one of the most important issues of 2015. Although the entire process dates back to 2011, when the Syrian civil war started, its effects and consequences were felt in Europe with the beginning of the last year, when almost 400000 people risked their lives to leave their countries and go to Europe, in search of a safe and secure environment. Due to the fact that EU member states have positioned themselves differently towards this problem, the European Union is now regarded as an international organization that could not handle this kind of issue, failing to provide efficient solutions. The migrant issue has been addressed to at six summits to the date, where the EU leaders tried to find proper measures to adopt, although these proved to be either inadequate or slow. Thus, this paper aims to explain how the refugee crisis has affected the cohesion of the EU, presenting the way the Union has managed the migrant flux. In the end, the 2015 brought one single question concerning this issue: will the refugee crisis cause the break-up of the European Union?

AZERBAIJAN’S BALANCED FOREIGN POLICY TRAPPED IN A VOLATILE GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

AZERBAIJAN’S BALANCED FOREIGN POLICY TRAPPED IN A VOLATILE GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

Author(s): Sabina Strimbovschi / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Azerbaijan; Democracy; Energy security; European Union; Nagorno-Karabakh; Russia

Following a study visit in Baku, the author exposes in this paper some of the research results, being also embedded the opinions of Azerbaijanis experts that were interviewed. The aim is to perform an analysis on the evolution of Azerbaijani state interpreted both from the European and Azerbaijani perspective. On the one hand, it is approached the development of the Republic of Azerbaijan after the collapse of Soviet Union and the way the Nagorno-Karabakh unsolved conflict has influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy. On the other hand, it is researched the manner in which the European Union – Azerbaijan relations have evolved since 1991, but especially once the Eastern Partnership has been created. Considering the fundamental purpose of the European Neighborhood Union, to ensure security, stability and prosperity in the EU’s vicinity, it is analyzed the impact of two multilateral platforms within the Eastern Partnership (Democracy, good governance and stability, and Energy security) was achieved on the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the same time, it is investigated whether the European Union should accept an authoritarian leadership, as a legitimate actor and partner on the international stage just because the EU has a strategic interest to diversify its energy sources and, eventually, reduce the dependence on Russian Federation, or it should change its approach and adopt a firmer stance. Last but not least, are revealed the geopolitical frictions in the South Caucasus region and the reasons for which Azerbaijan tries to maintain its status as a sovereign and independent country, avoiding to ally with any geopolitical bloc, but opting for economic, energy and military cooperation with both sides.

Book Review

Book Review

Author(s): Nadiia Bureiko / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Book Review

Book Review

Book Review

Book Review

Author(s): Luminita Bogdan / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Book Review

Book Review

Travelling in Oriental Romania in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century, According to the Writings of Western Travellers

Travelling in Oriental Romania in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century, According to the Writings of Western Travellers

Author(s): Alina Cristina Munteanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2015

Keywords: Romania; Description and Travels; Oriental Aspects; Means Of Transport; Coachmen.

The purpose of this research is to prove whether in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Western travelers provided the oriental aspects in their travel through Romanian Principalities. Romania known as The Eastern Gates, intrigued with its extreme contrasts found in all aspects, the population, the customs, the languages, the garment, the social aspects, the picturesque appearance and an extraordinary mixture of all. Travelling here is a real challenge for the Western traveler accustomed with the uniformity and the monotony of the Western way of life. The traveler is confused and the usual question is” In which country am I?” The conditions of the travel in the second half of the 19th century revealed in this paper the communication network, the means of transport, the situation of the roads, the aspect of the relay stations and the accommodation possibilities in the Romanian inns, in each of them could be found the oriental aspects.

THE EVOLUTIONS OF ROMANIAN ‘HISTORIANS´ FRONT’ DURING STALINISM AND LATE SOCIALISM. RCP’S PLANS FOR ESTABLISHING A CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL HISTORY

THE EVOLUTIONS OF ROMANIAN ‘HISTORIANS´ FRONT’ DURING STALINISM AND LATE SOCIALISM. RCP’S PLANS FOR ESTABLISHING A CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL HISTORY

Author(s): Felician Velimirovici / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: historians’ front; Romanian Communist Party; history-production; ideology.

To examine the evolutions of Romanian ‘historians’ front’ during Stalinism and Late Socialism in a short study might seem presumptuous, but the following pages do not pretend to offer a full-scale exegesis of the practices of doing and using the discours(es) of history in Communist Romania. Rather, I have chosen to discuss here the metamorphoses of this crucial concept between 1948 and 1985, by analyzing its origins, significance and manners into which it has been actively engaged in the Stalinist and Ceauşescuist broader ideological framework by different social agents. The first part of my study focuses upon the ways in which party propagandists and historians have publicly used the ‘historians’ front’ formula during our ‘cultural revolution’ and the following years. In the second section of my interpretation I present, by exploiting a wealth of previously inaccessible archival sources, the Romanian Communist Party’s concrete plans and preparations to materialize this Stalinist concept by creating a single and unique Central Institute for National History. I argue that, under Nicolae Ceauşescu, the party has constantly tried to bring national history-production process under a more and more firmer political control.

WELFARE STATISTICS. ANALYSING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE 1950S ROMANIA

WELFARE STATISTICS. ANALYSING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE 1950S ROMANIA

Author(s): Mara Mărginean / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Romania; family budgets; quantitative research; Cold War; living standards.

This article unveils how a project that refined social sciences research methodologies to envision the general well-being was articulated by the Romanian state during the early 1950s. It uses as a case study the research conducted in the 1950s on family budgets. The central element of this investigation consists of contextualizing social policies based on the reconstruction of postwar Europe. It pays a particular attention, therefore, to identify differences between East and West by comparing the social welfare approaches suggested by the propagandist rhetoric, policy makers and professional authority. It aims to establish to what extent approaches to well-being during the 1950s Romania reflected ideological and professional tensions across the Iron Curtain and, on another level, if they were articulated by utopian or pragmatic goals. Equally important, it also aims to open up a discussion on the accuracy and relevance of official statistics, which is central to understanding if and how the national prestige of a state may be articulated by standardization.

URBAN CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS IN THE CITY OF CLUJ, 1952-1965

URBAN CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS IN THE CITY OF CLUJ, 1952-1965

Author(s): Călin-Andrei Olariu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: architecture; urban planning; Housing District; Socialist Realism; micro-district; modernism.

In the present study we intend to present the way in which communist authorities tried to solve the problems of the Romanian urban areas after the Second World War through recourse to urban planning. Between 1952 and 1965, there were two main construction patterns subsequently promoted in all communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The first one was that of the housing district in the style of Socialist-Realism architecture (accompanied by the construction of a limited number of monumental public buildings) while the second one was that of the micro-district (or microraion) in the style of modernist architecture. What we found out is the fact that at a local level, in the city of Cluj, these models were not always implemented in accordance with the discourse of the time and that the central authorities, through institutional and economical reform, tried to set the Romanian architecture on a course of ideological orthodoxy.

CONSTRUCTING SOCIALISM AT "TEHNOFRIG". A SOCIAL HISTORY CASE-STUDY INTO THE ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF THE CLUJ WORKFORCE DURING THE MID-1960s

CONSTRUCTING SOCIALISM AT "TEHNOFRIG". A SOCIAL HISTORY CASE-STUDY INTO THE ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF THE CLUJ WORKFORCE DURING THE MID-1960s

Author(s): Vlad Onaciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: urban centre; rural area; ethnicity; education; gender; migration.

The advent of the Communist regime in Romania led to great social and economic transformation with immense consequences for the population. For a poorly developed country the insistence of heavy industry growth led to the development of its urban centres, and of the surrounding rural areas. Cluj's fate during the 1960s was no different as it represents a perfect example of these changes. The following paper looks at how complex said transformations took place in terms of ethnicity, education, gender, and migration by emphasizing the example of the "Tehnofrig" factory. The first part is an attempt at explaining the relation between ethnicity and skill by observing the dynamic between traditional work ethics and the numerical report of Hungarians and Romanians. The second part marks a look at links between age/ generations and education. The third part stems from gender studies and is focused on the limited entrance women got in the 1960s in skilled positions. Finally, understanding migrational patterns between periphery and centre is essential to explaining how the ethnic balance change, and how this marked not only the evolution of Cluj's urban landscape, but also work ethics.

INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES OF PROPAGANDA IN NICOLAE CEAUŞESCU’S REGIME

INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES OF PROPAGANDA IN NICOLAE CEAUŞESCU’S REGIME

Author(s): Cristina Preutu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: propaganda; propagandist; institutional practicies; communism; television.

The aim of this study is to analyse the link between the evolution of the Department of Propaganda and Agitation and the evolution of the internal and foreign policy in the Nicolae Ceausescu regime. Could the communist propaganda system be simply a bureaucratic construct that created an artificial speech? If not, what would be the connection between the institutional practices of propaganda and the evolution of the regime? In order to answer these questions I used, in particular, archival documents from The National Archives of Romania and the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party Fund from the Department of Propaganda and Agitation. My analysis follows two key moments related to the reorganizations of the Central Institution of Propaganda from the years 1968 and 1973. In this respect, I analyse the changes imposed on these institutions and their connection with the internal and the external context of the regime.

CONTESTING THE LEADER ON DAILY BASIS: EVERYDAY RESISTANCE AND NICOLAE CEAUŞESCU’S CULT OF PERSONALITY

CONTESTING THE LEADER ON DAILY BASIS: EVERYDAY RESISTANCE AND NICOLAE CEAUŞESCU’S CULT OF PERSONALITY

Author(s): Manuela Marin / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Everyday resistance; Nicolae Ceausescu; Communism; Cult of Personality; political.

My paper analyzes how a part of the Romanian people contested on daily basis their leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, and also the overwhelming presence of his cult of personality in their life especially during the 1980s. To this end, I will employ James C. Scott’s concept of everyday resistance in order to map the array of means used by the people in order to express their protest towards the public homage paid to the Romanian communist leader. My examination of the documents created by the Securitate (the former Romanian political police) and also by the Romanian department of Radio Free Europe, of the memoir literature published after the demise of the communist regime helped me to identify the following forms of everyday resistance towards Nicolae Ceausescu’s cult of personality: political discussions, individual or collective actions directed against the images of the Romanian communist leader, writing and spreading “documents containing hostile message” (unsigned letters, leaflets with messages against Nicolae Ceausescu) and political jokes. They will be analyzed from two main perspectives that will show and explain in what their resistance core lies in. The first one underlines that these forms of everyday resistance reversed the meanings of the homage assumptions made by the Romanian propaganda about Ceausescu’s leadership in order to identify what and particularly why certain aspects of his rule became the focus of the daily popular protest. The other perspective evaluates the role played by everyday resistance in the gradual undermining of Nicolae Ceausescu’s domestic legitimacy that along other evolutions led to the popular revolt against his rule in December 1989.

BATTLE FOR HEGEMONY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD: CIVILIZATIONAL DISPUTE IN HISTORIOGRAPHY

BATTLE FOR HEGEMONY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD: CIVILIZATIONAL DISPUTE IN HISTORIOGRAPHY

Author(s): Vlad Onaciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: civilization; competition; historiography; inventions; hegemony; West vs. East.

The issue of cultures or civilizations interacting has always obsessed historians and political analysts alike as most scholars believe it can help better understand international relations. The rise of global terrorism on the lines of religious fundamentalism has only served to strengthen the belief in the idea of a clash of civilizations. Yet as the historiographical analysis proposed here shall strive to demonstrate, defining such interactions is somewhat more difficult as it is necessary we take into consideration other elements as well, such as economic interests, commerce, and of course local and regional social developments. The paper will look at some of the most influential works written on the subject in an attempt to compare several theories regarding the rise of the West, a possible resurgence of the East/Rest, how this has influenced civilizational interactions, and to propose new possible interpretations.

BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

Author(s): Dorin-Gabriel Pop,Răzvan Ciobanu,Vlad Onaciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Dan Lungu, Amelia Gheorghiţă, eds., Books, music and other forms of entertainment from communism, Polirom, Iaşi, 2014. Dragoş Sdrobiş, The Limits of Meritocracy in an Agrarian Society. Intellectual Unemployment and Political Radicalization of the Youth in Interwar Romania, Polirom, Iaşi, 2015.Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe (1944-1956), New York, Doubleday, 2012.Tiberiu Tănase, Sides of the Coin. The Legionary Movement between 1941 and 1948.

SOCIAL AND SPATIAL CONTINUITIES AND DIFFERENTIATIONS AMONG PORTUGUESE CIGANOS: REGIONAL PROFILES

SOCIAL AND SPATIAL CONTINUITIES AND DIFFERENTIATIONS AMONG PORTUGUESE CIGANOS: REGIONAL PROFILES

Author(s): Maria Manuela Mendes,Olga Magano,Pedro Candeias / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: Ciganos; Roma; social continuities; social differentiations; Portugal.

The coexistence of people and societies marked by ethnic, social, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity is a subject that still generates controversies in contemporary societies. The “Ciganos’ situation” is an unavoidable issue that crosses the boundaries of different European countries, which leads to controversy and ambivalence in the so-called multicultural and/or intercultural societies characterised by the principle of universalism. In Portugal, despite the social and economic transformations that have occurred, the problems of exclusion and poverty among Ciganos persist. They are still considered the poorest ethnic group, with the worst housing conditions, lest schooling and the main target of racism and discrimination. The Portuguese Ciganos are not a homogeneous community. The diversity and plurality are not always easy to grasp by the glare generated by the adoption of interpretive perspectives that are reductively linear and deterministic of the Portuguese Ciganos. For the purpose of outlining a national picture of Portuguese Ciganos, a national study was developed that combines both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. The central goal of this article is to present the main results obtained through a questionnaire survey carried out to Ciganos persons and to discuss the social and spatial continuities and differentiations among Ciganos in Portugal.

FOGGY DIASPORA: ROMANIAN WOMEN IN EASTERN SERBIA

FOGGY DIASPORA: ROMANIAN WOMEN IN EASTERN SERBIA

Author(s): Annemarie Sorescu Marinković / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: diaspora; women and gender; migration; Serbia; Romania.

Drawing on ethnographic and anthropological research on the Romanian communities in Eastern Serbia, this article seeks to contribute to the global scholarship on diaspora and migration. It reveals interesting differences between the well defined and intensely studied notion of “diaspora” on the one hand, and the understudied, but useful concept of “near diaspora” on the other. First, the presence of Romanians in Eastern Serbia is looked at from a gender perspective, in the wider context of feminization of international migration. Second, the paper argues that the Romanian women in Eastern Serbia adopt the strategy of living in the “social fog”, thus becoming what can be termed “foggy diaspora”.

DIGITAL NATIVES OR NOT? HOW DO ROMANIAN ADOLESCENTS CROSS THE BOUNDARIES OF INTERNET COMMON USE

DIGITAL NATIVES OR NOT? HOW DO ROMANIAN ADOLESCENTS CROSS THE BOUNDARIES OF INTERNET COMMON USE

Author(s): Bianca Balea / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: digital natives; digital engagement; ladder of opportunities; digital inequalities.

The present paper challenges the dominance of the digital natives’ agenda and turns its attention to the social context in which Internet usage among adolescents occurs. Findings indicate that even when young people are using the Internet with the same frequency, i.e. every day, the differences among them remain significant. Therefore, it can be argued that considering an entire cohort to be similar in terms of Internet use only due its age is a misconception. The way children make use of the Internet and the gratifications they gain after using it depend, as van Dijk (2005) showed, on the quality of access, on the level of skills, and on the personal (e.g. Experience, self-efficacy, confidence) and positional resources (e.g. Age, gender, socio-economic status). Questioning the main determinants that lead to the most advanced way to make use of the Internet, the logistic analysis shows that, in order for a Romanian adolescent to turn into an experienced user once he or she embedded the Internet in his or her everyday life, is a matter of skills, experience, and time online, and is less a matter of socioeconomic background. However, we have to keep in mind the previous path analysis’ findings, which emphasize that online experience, time spent online, self-efficacy, and digital skills are all determined, through direct or indirect effects, by demographic variables (i.e. age, gender and socio-economic status), even when age is held constant (Fizesan [Balea], 2012).

ELDERLY PARENTS, ADULT CHILDREN AND THE ROMANIAN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY APPROACH

ELDERLY PARENTS, ADULT CHILDREN AND THE ROMANIAN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY APPROACH

Author(s): Ionuț Földes / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: intergenerational solidarity; transnational families; elderly care; population ageing.

Recent demographic changes such as ageing, low-fertility, and large out-migration from Eastern European countries, brought into discussion the vivid question of the future of intergenerational solidarity within families. In the context of increasing geographical mobility of young people in search for better paid jobs, the unmet need for personal assistance among the elderly, the underdeveloped system of care services, Romania knows new dynamics of intergenerational support. Contrary to perspectives that consider spatial proximity between adult children and their elder parents the indisputable enabling factor for intergenerational support transfers (Rossi and Rossi, 1990), emerging literature on transnational families highlights that such tight kinship relations continue to exist even across borders (Baldassar et al., 2007). Using recent data from the nationwide survey “The Impact of Migration on Older Parents Left Behind in Romania” (2011), this paper examines the complex dynamics of intergenerational solidarity involving adult children as transnational migrants and their elder parents who remain at home. The statistical models used indicate the migrants’ role as providers of remittances, but also the ways in which other forms of support are distributed among the dyads. Despite a possible presupposition that parents who were left at home might only be beneficiaries of support, the data show the opposite: elderly persons, depending on their age, were active providers of help as well.

THE ROMANIAN PENSION SYSTEM REFORMS: EVIDENCES FROM LEGISLATIVE ROLL CALL ANALYSIS

THE ROMANIAN PENSION SYSTEM REFORMS: EVIDENCES FROM LEGISLATIVE ROLL CALL ANALYSIS

Author(s): Claudiu Barbu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: pension privatization; pension system reform; party system; DW-NOMINATE multidimensional scaling; Romania.

There are important differences between all Eastern European countries regarding the implementation of pension system privatization. The differences regarding the political configuration between the countries from Eastern Europe might be a possible explanation for the amount of diversity in this area. The ideology of political parties that form or sustain the government that implements the reform can also be an explanation, but this influence must be studied beyond the cliché that stipulates that the right-wing parties will support the public pension system reform and the left-wing parties will oppose it. Armeanu (2010a) showed that there are countries where privatization was supported by the centre-left coalitions that needed to overpass a strong opposition made by the right-wing parties. Using the Ideal Point Estimation technique within the voting sessions related to pension reform during the last three Romanian legislatures, we will explain the formation of pro and against coalitions regarding the pension reform from Romania during the privatization process of public pension system. We also test the hypotheses of the model presented by Armeanu (2010a, 2010b), model that predicts the behaviour of political parties based on the position they have on a two-dimensional space related to the costs of pension reform.

AN ALTERNATIVE PERIODIZATION OF ROMANIAN HISTORY. A RESEARCH AGENDA

AN ALTERNATIVE PERIODIZATION OF ROMANIAN HISTORY. A RESEARCH AGENDA

Author(s): Florin Poenaru / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

Keywords: historical periodization; world-system theories; world-economy; Romanian history.

In this paper, I suggest an alternative form of periodization of Romanian history. My aim is not to move around historical posts; rather I propose a different way of understanding Romanian history as such. This is the research agenda. I seek to write a world history from the perspective of a peripheral place like Romania has been. Therefore, this is not simply an attempt to insert a local, neglected, silenced or distorted history into a wider, European, global story (that is, to discover the history of “people without history”), just as it is not another attempt to “provincialize Europe” in favour of a view from its repressed margins. Instead, following Coronil (2004), I believe it is indispensable to globalize the periphery, to understand its worldwide formation. My investigation draws upon the conceptual toolkit of world-system theory and its underlining philosophy of history (Wallerstein, 2011). In the same vein, the guiding principles of my periodization elaborate on Andre Gunder Frank’s insight that the exchange (or rather direct transfer) of surplus between societies is what links regions and societies as whole (Frank, 1978). The focus then shifts from a given society/state and its internal relations to the wider world-system, or world-economy, in which it is embedded. The unit of analysis is not a geographical location, but relations and networks and their historical development.

(Exotic plants. The Theory and Practice of the Romanian Marxists) by Alex Cistelecan and Andrei State (eds.). Cluj-Napoca: Tact Publishing House, 2015, 357 pages. (The Historical Sociology of Henry H. Stahl) by Ștefan Guga. Cluj-Napoca: Tact Publishi

PLANTE EXOTICE. TEORIA ȘI PRACTICA MARXIȘTILOR ROMÂNI (EXOTIC PLANTS. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE ROMANIAN MARXISTS) BY ALEX CISTELECAN AND ANDREI STATE (EDS.). CLUJ-NAPOCA: TACT PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2015, 357 PAGES. SOCIOLOGIA ISTORICĂ A LUI HENRI H

Author(s): Ágnes Gagyi / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

In 2015, two books appeared at Romanian publishing house Tact that engage with the history of 20th century Romanian Marxist thought: an edited volume on the theory and practice of Romanian Marxist theorists, coordinated by Alex Cistelecan and Andrei State, and a book on the historical sociology of Henri H. Stahl by Ștefan Guga. In the local context, the project of intellectual engagement with Romanian Marxist thought is not a mere analytical effort. The exercise of the authors, as well as that of the publisher, is also a performative gesture aiming to disrupt what they see as a dominant post-1989 taken-for-granted in the social sciences: relating to Marxism through the condemnation of communism. It is a constitutive gesture to simultaneously establish intellectual predecessors and open up a debate on local applications of Marxist social theory within the small but growing intellectual new left in Romania.