Recent Developments in the Process of Consolidating Democracy in Romania

My intention in this paper is furthering the previous approaches to analyzing democracy and its consolidation in Romania after the collapse of the communist regime by the Revolution of December 1989. Those events were accompanied by the loss of human lives to open the way toward a new political path for Romania, with multiple effects on the lives of individuals. Actions for institutional building have been undertaken for more than a third of the century; a new constitution was adopted (1991) which stipulated the democratic regime, republican governance, fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as the duties of citizens, public authorities, etc. Local, parliamentary and presidential elections were held, extending to the European Parliament (after Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007) as well. At the same time, several national referenda were held. Approaching such a topic is justified by the fact that the progress recorded at any given time is not set in stone; the situation develops, and deviations might occur, so that it is important to acknowledge all changes and their effects within the society. For the entire mentioned time interval, it might be appreciated that, as shown in the SWOT analysis, the democratic political regime was maintained and upheld, despite some failures along the way. The Romanian political scene was dominated by two directions, i.e. the social-democratic one (the Social-Democrat Party), and the liberal one (the Democrat-Liberal Party and the National Liberal Party, currently unified under the name of the latter), without any of these parties having absolute majority, save for the elections of May 1990. Therefore, government coalitions were built with consistent majorities, based on the temporary collaboration of the two major orientations. As an EU and NATO member, the potential for the development of the country increases considerably, along with the opportunities for strengthening democracy, but this needs to be valued adequately, promoting actions designed to counteract all domestic dysfunctions related to public institutions, the efficient and high use of resources, eradication of corruption, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to pay more attention to improving the living conditions of the population, this being also a favorable factor for the functioning of the democracy, if it is accompanied by the support of the citizens and adequate government.