The Romanian Constitution of 1923 is framed on the backdrop of a long historical journey, lasting more than a century, of state-building and the emergence of a specific Romanian constitutional tradition. The aim is to retrace this path in its broad phases, attempting to explain it in the light of an interpretative scheme based on a generational approach, taken as a measure of periodization and as an expression of historical and political continuities and changes. The article shows the relevance in Romanian political culture of the principle of national sovereignty, expressed in the concepts of the unity of the state’s territory and independence. Going back to the first reform projects in the first half of the nineteenth century, the article outlines the main attempts at political change based on the link between national integration and territorial unification: from the Romanian national initiatives of the first half of the century (with special attention to the 1848 Revolution) to the Constitution of 1866 and the new reality of Greater Romania after the First World War. A substantial continuity of values and ideas is outlined, assessing the intergenerational dimension of the concept of national sovereignty in Romanian political culture.

The present study is a preliminary analysis, from a socio-professional perspective, of the first set of quantitative data on the generations of Romanian students who studied at the pontifical universities in Rome between 1853 and 1948. Without research that could piece together the general picture of all the students educated in Rome during the discussed period, this study identifies the generations of students trained over a century, their formative patterns, their contacts and particularities, and the professional paths followed by the graduates. It outlines the socio-cultural climate in which the three generations of students were educated and its impact on their theological and intellectual profile. A special part of this study is dedicated to identifying and analyzing the factors that contributed to the selection of the students and their career paths, focusing particularly on the impact of social origin, education, kinship relations, as well as on political factors. Last but not least, it also considers the dynamics of the emblematic figures of each generation, the university dropout phenomenon, and the reasons behind career changes.

Language regulations in interwar Romania were affected by the antinomy between their political and legal (especially constitutional) architecture, devised along Western models, and the concrete political circumstances, in a polity whose aims were defined by the ethno-cultural and linguistic character of national community supportive of the state. The perception of the alterity of the new ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities—now accounting for a significant part of the total population—occurred through the lens of two conceptual paradigms, both of them ultimately striving to promote uniformity. On the one hand, the “nation state” character of interwar Romania entailed, at least implicitly, an advancement of the economic, social and professional status of the nation supportive of the state, to the disadvantage of the national minorities. The identity claims of the latter may well be accepted, but in exchange for relinquishing the right to participate in decision-making on major political issues, concerning the state as a whole. On the other hand, the state-centered legal thinking in constitutional and administrative law—adopted under French influence—was an instrument well-suited for promoting and achieving the desired cultural uniformity. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between the Western legal and political paradigm identifying the state with the (political) nation—which formally coined the Versailles Treaty system—and the Central-European (mainly Austrian) pattern of thought, more sensitive to linguistic diversity, was discernable also at the level of the minority treaties.

The article seeks to provide a partial but genuine account of the translations from English and American literatures into Romanian in the censorship-governed, communist period. It rests on the historical, political and ideological pre-requisites that set the scene for translational censorship in Romania and focuses on issues like: the number of published translations, editorial policies, revision methods, translators and their status. Finally, it overviews the 21st century debates and further investigative initiatives on censorship and translations.

In this study, we aim to present some cases of witchcraft on the European continent. Based on unpublished archival information, the study shows how the state, the Church and the society reacted to magic, witchcraft, and alchemy. The life stories of the magical agents presented in these pages also provide an opportunity to revisit the political and social context from France to Transylvania throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Beyond the beauty of the magical symbolism lies the dramatic fate of those involved, who ended their lives tragically. Their testimonies, however, are important for the researcher who wishes to investigate the magical phenomenon.

In the 1920s Romania underwent a major political, cultural, and social change. A new generation of young people attended universities and started being involved in political life in a bigger country where access to civil and political rights was granted to all citizens. Influenced by the international context characterized by the rise of ideologies and by the habit of violence inherited from the Great War, a part of them considered terrorism as a possible instrument of action. Corneliu Zelea Codreanu’s movement was the main representative of such an attitude. Political homicides were not only a settling of scores, also transmitting the message that there was a justice that was superior to that imposed by law and it was based on the authentical values of Romanian identity. After the death of Codreanu, the Iron Guard, led by Horia Sima, did not give up terrorism, but it became a conscious method of political action with the aim of destabilizing and creating a climate of uncertainty and terror.

The Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) represents, par excellence, the war of fascism for fascism. It is no coincidence that the extensive use of military resources was accompanied by an extraordinary propaganda campaign, which also had clear and evident pedagogical implications. The regime, at the peak of its consensus and in the full deployment of its totalitarian vocation, took on the objective of raising the young and very young generations “to the level of the Empire.” The pedagogical project of the homo novus experienced a qualitative leap. The combination of war and Africa, filled with heroic fascination and ancestral mystery, stroke the imagination of teachers, educators, textbook compilers, and, similarly, excited the imagination of the youth. The enthusiasm generated by propaganda, or the propaganda itself artificially returned to the public sphere, promoted the psychological dynamics of “celebration” and play. Although fascist pedagogy underestimated the relationship between learning and play, the playful element actually emerged as an important factor in political mobilization and, above all, imperialistic education. The didactic strategies of elementary school teachers, developed in preparation for and during the African conflict, are proof of this. However, even the private industry aligned itself with the pedagogical influences of the regime, introducing a wide variety of toys on the market that served to shape an imperialist, warlike, chauvinistic, and racist mentality. The province of Perugia is undoubtedly an interesting field of investigation: on the territory of the “capital of the fascist revolution,” starting from 1923, governing groups making loyalty to the Duce the driving force of their political rise took over the institutional and administrative structures. But that’s not all: unlike elsewhere, the Gentile reform enjoyed widespread consensus in Perugia from the beginning. Moreover, the majority of teachers joined Mussolini’s movement from the very beginning.

This article discusses Montenegrin–Bulgarian relations before the First Balkan War, which Montenegro and Bulgaria, together with their allies Serbia and Greece, waged against Turkey. Montenegrin–Bulgarian relations improved from 1878 to 1912. These two states had no territorial conflicts, but both were conscious that war against Turkey would be essential if they were to liberate the Balkans from the Ottoman occupation that had lasted five centuries. There was also an emotional basis for this idea of a war. Both countries were Slavic, a feature also shared by Russia, the protector of the Balkan League. Russia wanted to expel the Ottoman state from the Balkans. The Balkan League of States under its patronage was against the thesis of the Central Powers. The way events turned out at the end of the First Balkan War, as well as the fact that Montenegro was ethnically closer to Serbia than to Bulgaria, led to Montenegro going to war against Bulgaria in 1913, although Montenegro had no particular benefit from that war.