scholarly journals One Bloody Regime Change and Three Political Paradoxes. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 and Its Legacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 117-140
Author(s):  
Dragoş Petrescu
Keyword(s):  
Regime Change ◽  
Romanian Revolution

Este estudio se centra en tres paradojas políticas que caracterizan el sangriento cambio de régimen de 1989 en Rumania y el período de treinta años que transcurrió, es decir, 1989-2019. Estas tres paradojas políticas dicen lo siguiente: Paradoja # 1: La sangrienta revolución anticomunista de 1989 llevó al poder a los miembros de segundo y tercer rango de la élite del poder comunista y a varios tecnócratas que habían estado cerca de las estructuras de poder del difunto Partido Comunista Rumano (RCP); Paradoja # 2: El número de víctimas registradas después del colapso del régimen comunista el 22 de diciembre de 1989 supera el número de víctimas registradas durante el período del 16 al 22 de diciembre de 1989 en una proporción de aproximadamente 7 a 1; y Paradoja # 3: Aunque Rumania pasó por una de las transiciones más largas y dolorosas a la democracia en la Europa Centro-Oriental, el país no ha experimentado hasta ahora un retroceso autoritario después del año 2010 siguiendo el modelo centroeuropeo (especialmente los casos de Hungría y Polonia). El presente estudio aborda estas paradojas y explica por qué el colapso violento del régimen comunista en Rumania ha llevado al nacimiento de una cultura política de contestación, que provocó varias olas de movilización de abajo hacia arriba en favor de la consolidación democrática y, hasta ahora, obstaculizó el auge del autoritarismo en este país.

Sovereign Debt, Austerity, and Regime Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornel Ban
Keyword(s):  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Foreign Debt ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Policy Regime ◽  
Romanian Revolution ◽  
The Cost

Historically, high sovereign debt and austerity policies have coincided with regime-changing popular uprisings. Nicolae Ceausescu’s Romania was no exception. Why, when faced with a sovereign debt crisis in the 1980s, did his regime choose to pay its foreign debt as early as possible, at the cost of economic recession and dramatically compressed consumption? How did these choices relate to the regime’s failure to survive the end of the decade? The article argues that while exogenous shocks shattered the economic bases of the regime, it was the ideas with which the regime understood development and interpreted the crisis that shaped government policy responses in the 1980s. When the price of oil and development finance went up abruptly in 1979, the low energy efficiency of Romanian industry pushed the country into a situation where debt levels became unsustainable. Committed to a view of development that blended nationalist and Stalinist ideas, but with a focus on policy sovereignty, Ceausescu diagnosed the crisis as evidence that debt-financed development and policy independence were incompatible. Consequently the regime decided to pay off foreign debt through a mix of austerity, import substitution, and export-led accumulation of dollar reserves. By the time all debt was paid off in 1989, the regime’s economic sources of legitimacy were exhausted. In the external environment of 1989, this policy regime change contributed to political regime change even in the absence of an organized civil society. In addition to casting a new light on the causal mechanisms of the Romanian revolution of December 1989, the findings of this article contribute to emerging scholarship that stresses the nexus between debt-induced economic crisis and popular uprisings.

Aftershocks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seva Gunitsky
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
International System ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sudden Rise ◽  
The World ◽  
National Borders

Over the past century, democracy spread around the world in turbulent bursts of change, sweeping across national borders in dramatic cascades of revolution and reform. This book offers a new global-oriented explanation for this wavelike spread and retreat—not only of democracy but also of its twentieth-century rivals, fascism, and communism. The book argues that waves of regime change are driven by the aftermath of cataclysmic disruptions to the international system. These hegemonic shocks, marked by the sudden rise and fall of great powers, have been essential and often-neglected drivers of domestic transformations. Though rare and fleeting, they not only repeatedly alter the global hierarchy of powerful states but also create unique and powerful opportunities for sweeping national reforms—by triggering military impositions, swiftly changing the incentives of domestic actors, or transforming the basis of political legitimacy itself. As a result, the evolution of modern regimes cannot be fully understood without examining the consequences of clashes between great powers, which repeatedly—and often unsuccessfully—sought to cajole, inspire, and intimidate other states into joining their camps.

Korean Nuclear Crises: Is There A Way Forward?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muzaffar Ganaie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Nuclear Weapon ◽  
North Korea ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
Nuclear Weapon State ◽  
Policy Challenge ◽  
Positive Results

<p><i>North Korea’s nuclear programme remains a key foreign policy challenge for United States. After its first nuclear test in 2006, Pyongyang has made an impressive progress in developing a credible nuclear deterrent through series of nuclear and missile tests. The diplomatic efforts to dissuade North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have not yielded positive results so far, as Pyongyang has not only developed a credible deterrent but continues to expand and strengthen it. The failure of Hanoi Summit, latest in the series of diplomatic initiatives to end the series has depended pessimism regarding future negations. Experts are skeptical about finding a diplomatic solution to the crises and the demand to explore other alternatives <sup>_____</sup> limited surgical strike, regime change, treating North Korea as de-facto nuclear weapon state <sup>_____</sup> to end the crises has intensified in recent years. However, dealing with the threat though these tools is highly risky and diplomatic outreach is the most preferred course to end the crises.</i></p>

CLIMATIC REGIME CHANGE IN THE ASIAN PACIFIC REGION, INDIAN AND SOUTHERN OCEANS AT THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Ponomarev ◽  
Vladimir Ponomarev ◽  
Elena Dmitrieva ◽  
Elena Dmitrieva ◽  
Svetlana Shkorba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Precipitation Decrease ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
South Siberia ◽  
Asian Pacific ◽  
Southern Oceans

Multiple scale climate variability in Asia of temperate and high latitudes, Pacific, Indian and South Oceans, their features and linkages are studied by using statistical analyses of monthly mean time series of Hadley, Reynolds SST, surface net heat flux (Q), atmospheric pressure (SLP), air temperature (SAT) from NCEP NCAR reanalyses (1948-2015). Three multidecadal climatic regimes were revealed for the whole area studied by using cluster analyses via Principal Components of differences between values of Q, SLP, SAT in tropical and extratropical regions of the Asian Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. The climate regime change in 70s of the 20th century in this area is confirmed by this method. It is also found that the climate regime is significantly changed at the end of the 20th century in both same area and World Ocean. The characteristic features of recent climate regime after 1996-1998 are SLP increase in the central extratropic area of Indian Ocean, North and South Pacific being prevailing in boreal winter. It is accompanying SLP increase and precipitation decrease in South Siberia and Mongolia prevailing in boreal summer. Inversed SLP and precipitation anomaly associated with increase of cyclone activity and extreme events in the land-ocean marginal zones including Southern Ocean, eastern Arctic, eastern Indian, western and eastern Pacific margins. It is known that low frequency PDO phase is also changed at the same time.

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