socialist countries, including Romania, represented a rejection of one-party government and particularly institutionalized one-party rule to a much greater extent than they represent a rejection of socialism per se. This assessment is particularly relevant to the situation in Romania where the former Communist party regained political control of the government in the general election in the Spring of 1994.
To be sure, however, great dissatisfaction existed and continues to exist among the Romanian population with both Communism specifically and socialism generally. The political and economic systems that replaced communism and socialism, however, have not yet realized their promise in Romania (Ionescu, 1994, pp. 28-34). The political system that was displaced in Romania was
institutionalized one-party rule. As it happens, the institu-tionalized party that was displaced was the Communist Party of Romania.
For more than 40 years in the Eastern European socialist states including Romania citizens had become accustomed to highly disciplined, orderly societies. Regardless of the fact that the discipline and order was imposed, the new potential for upheaval and chaos poses a threat to many people in these states generally and to many Romanians particularly (Tismaneanu, 1993, pp. 388-348). A failure of political and economic reform to lead to anticipated, positive political and economic results Could create conditions so unsettled that citizens would demand a return to order, even if that meant a return to one-party rule. Somewhat ominously, Romanian voters in the general election in the Spring of 1994 did return the former Communist Party to political power, although the current situation in Romania is far from a condition of one-party dictatorial rule.
The political environment in Romania is also threatened by
the emergence of extremist nationalist parties. The participation by Romanian President Ion Iliescu in a Holocaust cer...