TY  - BOOK
AU  - Dragoş Dragoman
PY  - 2019
CY  - Berlin, Germany
PB  - Peter Lang Verlag
SN  - 9783631782569
TI  - Democratic Transition and Consolidation in Romania
T2  - Civic engagement and elite behavior after 1989
DO  - 10.3726/b15323
UR  - https://www.peterlang.com/document/1056796
N2  - Democratic transition is a very complex phenomenon. It relies on the outcome of the political competition between key actors during its initial stages, as well as on economic, social, and structural constraints inherited from the previous authoritarian regime. The book compares both series of factors by focusing on citizens’ democratic engagement and on political elites’ behavior. Despite a strong path-dependency to the previous authoritarian structures and low levels of initial democratic resources, citizens made proof of remarkable willingness to support democracy. By street protests, they even pressured political populist elites in power to abandon radical undemocratic regime changes. Romania managed therefore to maintain its European course and to avoid serious democratic backsliding.
KW  - Regime change, populism, social capital, democratic setbacks, protests, elections
LA  - English
ER  -