ABSTRACT
The process of political reform and democratization in Romania is seriously hampered by the authoritarian values and attitudes harbored by both the political elite and substantial numbers of the mass public. The political system under communism afforded large numbers of individuals the opportunity to advance politically and many more the chance for socio-economic development through the processes of modernization, but the nature of the system was not fundamentally changed, as it remained authoritarian. The relative weakness of the non-Communist forces of Romania was further demonstrated by the lack of support for other political organizations, especially other, democratic, forces of the left. For example, the Socialist Democratic Party, campaigning on the principles of social democracy known in Western Europe and Scandinavia, obtained only five seats in the parliament, and the Social Democrats two. The discrimination directed against the ethnic minorities could not mask the fact that all were discriminated against and subjugated in Nicolae Ceausescu’s Romania, regardless of ethnic origin.
