ABSTRACT
This study looks at the radical right within a ‘canonical framework of democracy’ which has the power to explain the unique paradoxes present in the Romanian case. Another adjustment of mainstream theories about radical right actors, intended to capture the complexity of the specific social environment, is the distinction made between actant-resources, passive resources, and process resources. A brief history of the radical right in post-communist Romania is then presented and divided into five periods: the era of ‘ultranationalist refuge’ (1990–1992), the period of the ‘Red Quadrilateral coalition’ (1992–1996), the time of the ‘pendulum’ reaction (1996–2000), the period of containment (2000–2004), and the period of electoral decline of the radical right (since 2004). What follows shall focus on an analysis of how the abundant ‘identitary energies’ within Romanian society were oriented in the direction of religious capital. The Romanian Orthodox Church has become the major beneficiary of the containment policy toward the major radical right parties. In the 2000s, the relationship between public institutions, the political class, and the Romanian Orthodox Church underwent a qualitative jump. This new Church–state relationship manifested itself in the increasingly conservative political decisions being taken by the state, leading to the inclusion of theocratic elements into Romania’s political life. The paradox is that during the same period, the polyarchic character of the Romanian political system has stabilized. One of the non-intuitive results of the study is the unexpected connection between the stability of the political system and the de-modernization provoked by the actions of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Somewhat surprisingly, its coalition with mainstream political actors has strengthened procedural democracy. The more general conclusion is that a ‘radical right’ label assigned to various actants, processes, and passive resources does not in itself define their impact on democracy.
