ABSTRACT
Romanian autonomy also benefited from the West’s economic and diplomatic support. The West’s policies of “differentiation” rewarded Romania’s security policy deviations from the bloc norm with significant economic assistance and splashy diplomatic visits. The consequences of Nicolae Ceausescu’s concept of national security on the Romanian armed forces were substantial. One may see in post-revolutionaiy Romania’s national security and foreign policies a reclamation of the interwar logic of Nicolae Titulescu whose memory Foreign Minister Nastase often cites. As in the 1930s, among the most thorny national security issues facing Romania are its relations with Hungary and the successor states of the Soviet Union. The partial escape from imposed isolation was the product of a structured approach to external threats to and supports for the Romanian government’s national security priorities and was accomplished at bilateral, multilateral and global levels by diplomats of talent.
