ABSTRACT

A quick glance at the political transformations that took place in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain shows that many of the countries in the region share a set of distinct features, such as political instability generated by the radicalization of the left-right divide of the political spectrum, instability of governments, an increase in people’s mistrust of politicians and institutions, politicians’ more or less successful attempts to tamper with justice, and the rise of populism (either populist movements or populist parties) at the electoral expense of traditional parties (Krastev, 2007; Mungiu-Pippidi, 2001, 2007). Post-1989 Romania is no exception; all these features may be used to characterize the country’s politically troubled itinerary in the wake of the overthrow of Ceaușescu’s dictatorship. Sold as “an alternative politics” (Shafir, 2008, p. 429) or a provider of simplified, Manichean solutions to the intricacies of democracy, populism has been a constant presence in Romanian politics, accompanying the country’s long journey through transition.