The Romanian Army from the guardian of constitutional order to a political actor for its change in Romania on December 30, 1947

Abstract

The study analyzes the role of the Romanian military institution in the process of changing the constitutional regime by removing the Monarchy on December 30, 1947, from two perspectives: its position as guardian of constitutional order, but also that the monarch was the supreme commander of the army. The non-intervention of the army in the event that led to the overthrow of the Monarchy was interpreted in pre-1989 historiography as respecting its status of neutrality to the political struggle in society. It would have been true if there had been a regime of genuine democracy in Romanian society and not a dictatorship in which the army as an institution was subject to transformations that were not in line with traditions or the spirit in which it was formed and educated. All this shaped the military's path from political neutrality to be an instrument in the service of communist leaders.