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The 2019 elections, both the spring European elections and November presidential ballot, were depicted as high-stakes test for Romanian democracy in the aftermath of a turbulent two-year populist PSD government fraught with massive street protest, political unrest, cyclical tensions between Romanian authorities and Brussels and allegation of undermining of the rule of law. The framework of a democratic reversal, tapping into the wider European discussion on populism and illiberal democracies, was undoubtedly fruitful for civic mobilization but might obfuscate certain national political and ideological dynamics that hold the key to a better understanding of the Romanian reality. The present article is comprised of aquantitative statistical scrutinyof voting patterns for presidential ballots after 1990 and of a more theoretical analysis ofthe distinctiveRomanian populist formula. We aim to highlight the crucial issue of presidential legitimacy, as constructing by the runoff ballotage system, but also to explore the relevance of some traditional analytical categories (such as the concept of populism) for the Romanian context.

Our aim is to present the ethical problems identified in the empirical research made in 21 prisons. We analyze the positioning and the way the researcher relates to the prison universe, the focus of the research being placed on the urgent need to adapt the research instruments and methods. We consider it appropriate to initiate a debate applied in the academic environment on academic ethics and deontology within the empirical research that involves the interaction of the researcher with vulnerable subjects, but also with an environment that he cannot control. The perspective that we propose concerns the problematization of how research instruments are adapted to ethical principles, with an emphasis on the legitimate interests of the researcher and the subjects with whom he interacts. We intend to complete the recent studies in the Romanian area dedicated to applied ethics and academic deontology, aiming to explain the choices and positioning of the researcher in the research visits made in the prison. The exploration of an unknown universe generates a diverse range of ethical issues regarding the collection, processing and interpretation of data by the researcher, in order to ensure the most accurate representation of the researched universe.

The general objective pursued through this research is to map out the main perspectives on the future of the European Union in the new legislature elected following the May 2019 elections, with regard to the main attitudes and preferences shaping the European citizens’ agenda for the 2019 EU elections. We aim to illustrate and interpret the main trends at European and national level, providing a better understanding of how citizens relate to the main challenges faced by the European Union. The secondary objective of the research is to highlight the impact of the rise of populism and extremism on the results of the elections organized in the 28 Member States.

The general objective that we propose through this research is to analyze the conceptual and structural evolution of migration and mobility in the 21st century. We aim to illustrate and interpret classical and neo-classical theories that have marked the conceptual history of migration and mobility, the conceptual framework giving us a better understanding of the mechanisms and actions made by the European Union and the Member States to harness the potential offered the movement of large masses of people from one region to another or from one country to another. The secondary objective of the research is to identify the causes and effects of migration and mobility in Romanian and European space as well as to outline the main trends and challenges regarding the evolution of these phenomena.

The article aims at capturing the evolution of the prefect’s profile in the Gorj county (Southern part of Romania) between 1990-2015, with a special focus on the evolution of the relation between the central government, the prefect and the local governmentand its impact on the socio-professional profile of prefects. The article also tests the degree of transparency of the prefect and the prefectoral institution as well as the image the institution has in the local media. Our analysis shows that prefects of Gorj County illustrate well all the features and pathologies of the process of institutional reforms during postcommunist:the actors involved in the making of the prefect at local level, individual and parties, have taken advantage of a legal framework in constant evolution and of a fluid political context, in order to develop clientelistic and patronage strategies that hindered the expected results of the Europeanisation processes.

In this article we explain the main stakes of the electoral campaign held on the elections of 18, 20, 22 May 1914 [Chamber of Deputies] and 24, 26, 28 May 1914 [Senate], identifying the main themes present during the electoral debate. The electoral campaign in May 1914 generated significant consequences for the adoption of the two reforms, after the Legislative Assembly elected in February 1914 was dissolved after the draft Constitutional Review was finalized. The electoral campaign of May 1914 for the election of the Constituent Assembly was marked by the cleavage regarding the adoption or rejection of the agrarian reform and the electoral reform.

This paper aims to critically analyze the major projects of Kantian philosophy in relation to the ideal of Aufklärung and the establishment of Eternal Peace. The main objective of the research is to analyze the originality and boundaries of Kantian projects both at the level of the practical (moral) rationale and at the level of the relations of power and interests of the state actors on the international political scene. We aim to identify the boundaries of the Kantian approach in order to establish Eternal Peace, applying the logic of the power relations existing on the international political scene. The secondary objective of the research is to identify how the individual and the state are projected into Kantian philosophy. The original aspect of this article is the decoding of Kantian critical thinking in relation to the project of Aufklärung and the establishment of Eternal Peace. The main result of the research is that the tension of reasoning applied by philosopher Immanuel Kant regarding the definition of human nature and the relationship of forces on the international political scene. Applying the practical (moral) rationale used to define the individual’s inclination to get out of the minority state (by knowledge) becomes problematic at the time of the Kantian approach to justify the (political) necessity of Eternal Peace.

This article aims to investigate the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court regarding the public administration reform in Romania. We take into consideration the motivation of the public authorities involved in the law-making process, as well as the interpretation of the judges of the Constitutional Court concerning the legislative steps regarding the adoption of an Administrative Code, decentralization, the transfer of competences, the status of civil servants, and finally the legal regime of the newly established or reorganized institutions/authorities.The study also evaluates the steps to reform the public administration concerning the observance of the principles of constitutional loyalty, the separation of powers, the supremacy of the Constitution, and the role of the Parliament.