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1. The Rise and Fall of Authoritarian Post-Communist Regimes in Romania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. A Comparative Analysis.

Author

Tudoroiu, Theodor

Subjects
*AUTHORITARIANISM, *POLITICAL systems, ROMANIAN politics & government, SLOVAKIAN politics & government, BULGARIAN politics & government
Abstract

This paper uses an approach inspired by Alexander Wendt's constructivism in order to analyze the rise and fall of three post-Communist "soft" authoritarian regimes responsible for Romania's, Bulgaria's, and Slovakia's difficult democratization: the neo-Communist regime of president Ion Iliescu (1990-1996) that used ultra-nationalism in order to legitimize itself as well as to hamper the development of democratic values; the ultra-nationalist regime of Prime Minister Vladimir Mečiar in newly independent Slovakia (1993-1998); and the neo-Communist regime of Prime Minister Jan Videnov in Bulgaria (1995-1997).The three authoritarian regimes were able to hamper but not to eliminate the influence of external factors. Bucharest, Sofia, and Bratislava were members of three institutional structures - the CSCE/OSCE, European Union's Europe Agreements, and NATO's Partnership for Peace - that facilitated the diffusion of Western democratic values. This led to the progressive development of vibrant civil societies, which in turn seriously eroded political support for neo-Communists and ultra-nationalists. In 1996-1998, electoral "revolutions" brought the fall of the three regimes. The new, democratic ruling forces took resolute steps toward democratization that allowed the three countries to finally join the rest of CEE-10 states in their NATO and EU accession efforts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2007

2. The Trajectory of Post-communist Welfare State Development: The Cases of Bulgaria and Romania.

Author

Sotiropoulos, Dimitri A., Neamtu, Ileana, and Stoyanova, Maya

Subjects
*POSTCOMMUNISM, *SOCIAL problems, *SOCIAL change, *COMMUNISM
Abstract

Governments of countries undergoing a post-communist transition face the dilemma of balancing conflicting demands for greater economic efficiency (to achieve a successful transition to a market system) with demands for enhanced social protection (to legitimize regime change through a visible improvement in living standards which includes vulnerable groups). This paper analyses the transition in Bulgaria and Romania. Unlike other European countries, these countries did not embark on retrenchment policies until the mid- to late 1990s, so convergence with policies of spending constraint elsewhere in Europe was belated and partial. The social problems created by strict economic policies, exacerbated by a determination to reorganize the post-communist welfare states along the lines promoted by international organizations, are now being recognized. Post-communist governments in South-eastern Europe have belatedly started to address the social aspects of transition to democracy and the market. This probably reflects the process of regime change in Bulgaria and Romania, which has been characterized as a “two-step transition to democracy”, with liberal governments only succeeding transformed communist elites in power after a protracted transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2003
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