National Peasant Research Articles

Does István Bibó’s Concept of the „Misery of Small States” Carry a Message for the Western Balkans Today?

István Bibó (1911-1979), a lawyer and doctor of political science by profession, became a prominent Hungarian political theorist from the late 1930s. He joined the left-wing populist party and became an expert on constitutional affairs for the National Peasant Party. He obtained professorship at a young age and was elected correspond-ing member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1946. The hereby analyzed work – foregrounded by years of preliminary research – was published in large numbers shortly after the end of World War 2 (1946). Drawing on extensive international theo-retical and historical knowledge, Bibó analyzed the long-term evolution of historical processes in Central-East Europe (addressing the two regions separately and togeth-er), concluding that disruptions in the neighbourhood context, internal conflicts and divisions have been the major factors behind the repeated failures, the „misery” of the small states of the region (Czechia/Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary). Despite not being a „Balkan scholar”, Bibó was well acquainted with the advances of interna-tional and particularly Hungarian research, with an outlook to state-building processes in the Balkans and providing particular insights on the states in question. Bibó became notorious for his involvement, his ethical, principled stance demonstrated during the 1956 revolution but his scientific contributions were recognized only after his death with the publication of his works in foreign languages. Bibó’s state and political theoretical approaches and his insights on ethical peace may have particular relevance for the Western Balkans today. A series of unresolved internal issues within the region can create legitimate grounds for external intervention even in present-day circumstances.

Contribuții la bibliografia lui Vladimir Streinu

We publish in this issue eleven articles by Vladimir Streinu, which were not selected by the editor George Muntean in the postumuous 3 volumes collection entitled Pagini de critică literară (Pages of Literary Criticism), published in 1974, 1976 and respectively in 1976. Two of them were found in “Semnalul” (“The Signal”) newspaper, in 1946. The other nine were discovered in “Dreptatea” (“The Righteousness”), the main daily journal of the National Peasant Party led by Iuliu Maniu, in 1947. It is relevant to highlight that these less known texts have ideologic and political coordinates. Vladimir Streinu, a member of the National Peasant Party between 1932 and 1938, displayed real courage returning in the doctrinary battles, although his party had been sabotaged during the elections from 19th of November 1946 and thus did not benefit of any spot in the Deputy Assembly. This situation, which eventually led to the suppression of the National Peasant Party and to the abusive arresting of a series of important figures in July 1947, hints that Vladimir Streinu resisted that time to certain typs of compromises.

The Crises in Post-War Education in Cluj

"This article aims to analyse the education system in the city of Cluj during the post-war period, after World War 2, with a close focus on the period of time between 1944 and 1948. It's a period characterized by a series of successive crises resulting from political decisions. These decisions affected all levels of education, all ethnic and religious groups in the region, as well as the political opponents to the newly established communist regime of the Romanian Communist Party, primarily represented by these three political parties: the National Peasants' Party, the National Liberal Party, and the Socialist Party. Throughout the research into education within this time period, a combination of methods were used, including historical, comparative and statistical methods, and the sources used refer to both official and unofficial archived documents, contemporary press, and edited documents. Keywords: crises, communism, education, Cluj, democratization, reform"

Problema respectării drepturilor minoritîților naționale în activitățile politice ale reprezentanților ucrainenilor din Bucovina în anii 1928-1929

The death of King Ferdinand Ist and of the leader of the National Liberal Party I. I. C. Brătianu in 1927 laid the conditions for the change of power in Romania. The meeting in Alba-Iulia in May 1928 played an important role in the National Peasant Party coming to power, because the program of the party’s activities for the near future was announced there. After the government of I. Maniu came to power in November 1928, the representatives of the national minorities of Romania expected changes in the government's attitude towards the observance of the rights of national minorities, as well as the political regime liberalisation. The observance of the rights of national minorities for the Ukrainians of Bukovina was seen primarily in the return of the Ukrainian teaching language to the educational sphere adopted by the government. The resumption of activities was another issue after the abolition of the siege state in northern Bukovina, as well as Ukrainian educational societies, primarily the “Ruska Besida”, which performed tasks in educational activities through reading and amateur theatrical groups. The third issue, which should guarantee the implementation of the first two ones, was to obtain a sufficient number of seats in parliament for representatives of the Ukrainian community. From mid-October 1928 through February 1929, Ukrainian communities of Bukovina filed requests for teaching in Ukrainian. The newspaper “Chas” (Time) also dealt with this issue, publishing reports on the meeting of the communities. As a result, 199 applications were received with 30 thousand signatures, which gave the government grounds to talk about the possibility of introducing the corresponding number of teaching hours in schools of 139 communities. In general, the decision of the government in the field of teaching in the Ukrainian language was not made till December 1929 that caused concerns and statements from the Ukrainian side. Also, V. Zalozetskyi who was elected to the Senate in January 1929 made a statement about the loyalty of the Ukrainians of Bukovina to the authorities and motivated the need to introduce the Ukrainian language of teaching for Ukrainians. A number of statements concerning the need to study the state and Ukrainian languages in equal proportions was made by the communities. V. Zalozetskyi called the national consciousness of the Ukrainians of Bukovina not posing a threat to the Romanian statehood, but it could become a condition for preparing the intelligentsia for the future ‘non-Bolshevik Ukraine’. The restoration of the number of organizations of the “Ruska Besida” society led to the spread of the amateur theatre group activities. Such steps gave grounds, primarily to representatives of national liberals, to make statements about the demands of Ukrainians to remove the Romanian language from school. The active role in presenting the situation was played by the newspapers “Curentul” and “Universul”, describing the position and actions of national minorities too critically. In general, the Ukrainians turned out to be a very quiet minority comparing with the Hungarians’ protests and the situation in Dobrudja, although they were less organized to fight for the observance of their rights.

UN SAGGIO BIOGRAFICO: IULIU MANIU (1873–1953)

Iuliu Maniu (1873–1953) was a prominent Romanian politician known for his unwavering integrity and honesty. Maniu’s legacy as a champion of Romanian patriotism and his close ties to the Greek-Catholic Church are celebrated. The narrative delves into his pivotal role in the union of Transylvania with Romania, alongside figures like Cardinal Iuliu Hossu and Patriarch Miron Cristea. sheds light on the challenges Maniu faced under the communist regime, culminating in his unjust imprisonment and tragic passing. The paper also examines Maniu’s early life, education, and political career, highlighting his instrumental role in the Great Union of 1918. His leadership in the National Peasants’ Party (Partidul Naţional Ţărănesc) and his efforts to create a thriving middle class in Romania are explored. The test emphasizes the stark contrast between the pre- and post-World War II political landscapes in Romania, marked by the rise of the Romanian Communist Party and the subsequent suppression of traditional parties. The grim reality of political trials and the harsh treatment of dissenting voices, including Maniu, are vividly depicted. The article concludes with reflections on Maniu’s enduring legacy, underscoring his continued admiration for his contributions to Romanian nationhood and democratic ideals. Despite the efforts to erase his memory during the communist era, Maniu’s impact remains an indelible part of Romania’s history.

Deputați bucovineni în Parlamentul României Întregite. Dorimedont Popovici (legislatura 1920 - 1922)

Dorimedont Popovici (1874–1950) was a Bukovinian politician who became involved in cultural-national activities, campaigning for the rights of Romanians in Bukovina. He attended primary school in Suceava, secondary school and university courses (Law School) in Chernivtsi, later obtaining a PhD in Law. From the autumn of 1918, he became involved in the national liberation movement of the Romanians in Bukovina. He was one of the organizers of the National Assembly on October 27, 1918, Vice-President of the Romanian National Council; was part of the Bukovina government; participated in the General Congress of Bukovina (November 28, 1918) and voted for the unconditional union of Bukovina with the Kingdom of Romania. After 1918, Dori Popovici continued his political activity, contributing to the integration of Bukovina into the structures of the Romanian state. He held various public functions and dignities. He was a member of the Democratic Union Party (1919), the People’s Party (1920) and the National Peasant Party (1927). He was an MP from the People’s Party in the legislative period between 1920 and 1922, Minister Secretary of State in the Averescu governments (1920–1921, 1926–1927). His parliamentary interventions focus on issues related to the unification and administration of the province. In 1944, before the occupation of the northern part of Bukovina, Dori Popovici fled to Romania. Arrested on the night between the 5th and the 6th of May 1950, then imprisoned at Sighet without trial, he died in extermination on June 12, 1950. In the Annex we present an interpellation about the problems of Bukovina integration (administrative and legislative unification), important for understanding how Dorimedont Popovici saw the organization of the province within the Kingdom of Romania.

Buying Off the Revolution: Evidence from the Colombian National Peasant Movement, 1957-1985

Buying Off the Revolution: Evidence from the Colombian National Peasant Movement, 1957-1985

On the Problem of the Czech-German Opposition in the Hussite Wars

Since the time of the historico-political polemics between František Palacký and Constantin von Höfler in the middle of nineteenth century, the term “national” has been used by Czech historians to identify the character of the Hussite wars. The execution of Jan Hus in Constance as well as the proclamations of the crusades against the Hussites in Bohemia are defined as “an insult to national honor” (František Palacký), and they produced the Taborite movement as “a national peasant war of the Czech under the flag of religion against the German nobility and the supremacy of the German Emperor” (Friedrich Engels / Josef Macek), while the military invasion released a “national” which spread among the whole society (František Šmahel). To what extent does the term “nationalism of defense” and its derivates befit the study of the contradictions that existed between the Czechs and the Germans in the Bohemian kingdom of that period? This paper proves that the Prague Hussites did not consider the Bohemian Germans their “natural foes” but did so of the crusaders who came from the German lands along with King Sigismund. The author argues that the Prague Hussites had not a cultural, but a political xenophobia focused on the foreign German invaders.

Writing History Through Trials: The Case of the National Peasant Party

This article provides a comparative account of two criminal trials that addressed the role played by the National Peasant Party (PNŢ) in national history. The focus is on the ability of legal trials to construct historical narratives. The first was conducted in 1947 by the newly-established communist regime and resulted in the legal ban of the party. In 2015, the narrative was entirely reversed in court. The PNŢ was presented as a fully democratic actor. Alexandru Vişinescu—a former commandant of the Râmnicu-Sărat prison where prominent party leaders were subjected to repression—was sentenced for crimes against humanity. The sharp differences between these two legal proceedings—a Soviet-style show trial versus legal action that was oriented to providing some redress for the victims of communism—is emphasized. But the conclusion is that criminal trials in general fall short in providing historical lessons and that retrospective justice does not necessarily produce reconciliation or accountability.

SOE, Iasi-Chișinău Offensive and Coup D’Etat from August 23, 1944

Abstract Between 1941-1944, S.O.E. (Special Operation Executive)activity in Romania depended heavily on the collaboration with Maniu and P.N.T (National Peasant Party - Partidul National Țărănesc). In order to improve its activity, S.O.E. has taken steps to create a reliable communication channel between S.O.E. residents in Istanbul and Bucharest. The connections between the residence in Istanbul and the S.O.E. network in Romania were made through the connections of Switzerland and Turkey or through the transmitters sent to Istanbul, Ankara and Cairo, or through radio and radio transmissions launched by the parachute. Our study aims to find the connection between the S.O.E. activity in Romania, the Soviet Iasi-Chisinau offensive and the coup d’etat on August 23, 1944.

Mihail Ralea between the Ministry of Arts and the Romanian Communist Cultural Diplomacy

Mihai Ralea was a university professor and prominent representative of the Romanian interwar literary intelligentsia. M. Ralea taught psychology, sociology and aesthetics, and was at the same time the director of a reputed literary magazine (Viaţa românească-Romanian Life). Ralea was also a politician, initially an important member of the National Peasant Party, representing its centre left wing. In his case, one may notice the contradiction between his moral arguments in public and his deeds after he reached positions of power (Minister of Labour under the royal dictatorship, Minister of Arts under the pro-communist Petru Groza government, etc.). Ralea was also called “the moralist without morals”, and the compromises he made – manifested through his adherence to anti-democratic regimes – can be documented by numerous archival documents. Due to strong political connections, Ralea survived in the high ranks of cultural bureaucracy even during cultural Stalinism. He maintained important positions both at the University of Bucharest and with humanities research institutes of the post-1948 Soviet-style Romanian Academy of Sciences. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also gained posi-tions of international cultural representation with the Romanian branch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNES-CO) and the Romanian Institute for the Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (IRRCS, the Romanian VOKS). His survival (as a professor of psychology after 1948) had a significant price – Ralea’s collaboration with the Stalinist regime. Using open sources and also newly declassified archival documents, the article is an attempt to approach M. Ralea’s case of survival in the high cultural bureaucracy in the East European context.

The Transylvanian promise: political mobilisation, unfulfilled hope and the rise of authoritarianism in interwar Romania

This article addresses the relationship between political mobilisation by raising hope for change and the increasing loss of confidence in democratic order in the Romanian transformation process after the First World War from a regional perspective. The survey focuses on the political discourse of the Transylvania-based National Party (from 1926 the National Peasants’ Party), which gained governmental power in 1928 through regionalist activism, benefiting from a multi-stranded discourse of permanent crisis caused by living conditions that could not meet the expectations of social advancement raised by the general enthusiasm about the emergence of ‘Greater Romania’. Unable to fulfil its promises of fundamental political change and economic recovery after a century of failed transformation, the Transylvanian-led government’s failure marks the moment of another profound disappointment, which saw the public discourse on political order turn more and more towards strengthening the concept of ‘authority’.

Encrucijada de guerra en mujeres peruanas: Augusta La Torre y el Movimiento Femenino Popular

Augusta La Torre (second-in-command of the Communist Party of Peru-Shining Path (PCPSP) formed in 1970) founded the Women’s Popular Movement (WPM) in the 1960s. This marked the beginning of a type of “proletarian feminism” which took its inspiration from Marx, Engels, Mao and Mariategui. It is radically different from and opposed to other Peruvian popular women’s movements of that time. This paper traces the history and the role of the WPM in the context of the national peasants’ and workers’ social movements of the 1960s, and the “armed struggle” waged against the Peruvian State from 1980 to 1992. The article makes an epistemological break in order to attempt to come to a counter-hegemonic understanding of the history of the women of Shining Path.

Remembering the Indonesian Peasants’ Front and Plantation Workers’ Union (1945–1966)

The absence of a strong national peasant and agricultural workers’ movement in Indonesia can be traced back to the violent destruction of the Indonesian Peasants’ Front (BTI) and Plantation Workers’ Union (SARBUPRI) in 1965–1966. This contribution reflects on their role in building a progressive movement of peasants and workers in the face of continual attempts to squash them by the Indonesian state and military. How did the cadres learn about the situation and problems in rural areas, and what were their priorities in working with the peasants? Unpublished reports from the last round of the BTI's local-level ‘participatory action research’ conducted in 1965 provide some answers to these questions.

Guvernările Partidului Național-Țărănesc din timpul Marii Crize Economice / The National Peasant's Party government during the Great Depression

In this article, the accent falls upon the interwar period of the Romanian history. Immediately after First World War ended, the Romanian society and political class were still very effervescent. In these conditions, from the former territories of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy arise some new movements. PNŢ’s (The National Peasants’ Party) history at country’s leadership overlaps with a period that influenced the whole world : The Great Depression. The difficulties the governments had to face are reflected in historical analysis, but also in press articles that try to present power abuse, economic and social decisions. We propose to present the way this doctrine evolved and the way it''s ideas have been implemented as the PNŢ led the Romanian government.

A Research Project about Communism in Romanian Countryside: Ploughmen’s Front Propaganda (1944-1953)

The Ploughmen Front represented the strongest and the oldest “comrade” of the Communist Party from Romania, with a major role in the countryside communization. In general, the studies dedicated to Romania communization focused on institutionalization of the regime, liquidation of democratic order, repression, anticommunist resistance and less on the transformations undergone by the Romanian countryside. The only important issue was the agriculture collectivization. Our project takes into consideration a new approach, which is the research of the way communism became popular in the rural areas, which meant 80% of the Romanian population, how the popularity of the historical parties was dislocated, especially the National Peasant Party, in these areas. The issue is extremely complex and that is why our intercession will focus on a case study: the role of procommunist propaganda organized by the Ploughmen’s Front, the main “comrade” of the communists in communization of the rural area between 1944 and 1953. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p543

The agroecological revolution in Latin America: rescuing nature, ensuring food sovereignty and empowering peasants

This paper provides an overview of what we call ‘agroecological revolution’ in Latin America. As the expansion of agroexports and biofuels continues unfolding in Latin America and warming the planet, the concepts of food sovereignty and agroecology-based agricultural production gain increasing attention. New approaches and technologies involving the application of blended agroecological science and indigenous knowledge systems are being spearheaded by a significant number of peasants, NGOs and some government and academic institutions, and they are proving to enhance food security while conserving natural resources, and empowering local, regional and national peasant organizations and movements. An assessment of various grassroots initiatives in Latin America reveals that the application of the agroecological paradigm can bring significant environmental, economic and political benefits to small farmers and rural communities as well as urban populations in the region. The trajectory of the agroecological movements in Brazil, the Andean region, Mexico, Central America and Cuba and their potential to promote broad-based and sustainable agrarian and social change is briefly presented and examined. We argue that an emerging threefold ‘agroecological revolution’, namely, epistemological, technical and social, is creating new and unexpected changes directed at restoring local self-reliance, conserving and regenerating natural resource agrobiodiversity, producing healthy foods with low inputs, and empowering peasant organizations. These changes directly challenge neoliberal modernization policies based on agribusiness and agroexports while opening new political roads for Latin American agrarian societies.

Reply: solidarity

During the past two decades, nation-states in developing countries have been transformed by a triple "squeeze": globalization, (partial) decentralization, and the privatization of some of their functions (Fox 2001). Although central states remain important, they have been transformed. Different actors have contested the scope, pace and direction of the transformation, including its agrarian restructuring component. The changing international-national-local linkages that structure the terms under which people accept or resist corporate-controlled global politics and economics present both threats and opportunities for the world's rural population. The co-existence of threats and opportunities has prompted many rural social movements to both localize further, in response to state decentralization, and to internationalize, in response to globalization. The seemingly contradictory social political pressures of globalization and decentralization that are transforming the nation-state are also changing rural social movements. More horizontal solidarity linkages and "polycentric" rural social movements are emerging and struggling to construct coherent structures for the coordination of greater vertical integration. La Via Campesina is the largest and most politically coherent of all current transnational agrarian movements (TAMs). Via Campesina is an international movement of poor peasants and small farmers from both the global south and north. Initiated by Central, South and North American peasant and farmers' movements and European farmers' groups, Via Campesina was formally launched in 1993. Existing transnational activist networks located in peasant movements and nongovernmental funding agencies in the North facilitated the contacts between key national peasant movements that emerged primarily in the 1980s. By 2008, Via Campesina represented more than 150

Market-led agrarian reform: policies, performance and prospects

Market-led agrarian reform ( mlar ) has gained prominence worldwide since the early 1990s as an alternative to the state-led approaches widely implemented over the course of the 20th century. This neoliberal policy framework advocates voluntary transactions between ‘willing sellers’ and ‘willing buyers’ and the removal of various ‘distortions’ from land and agricultural markets. Related policies aim to secure and formalise private property rights. Emerging evidence from across the developing world suggests that such policies are incapable of challenging the political and economic power of large landowners and are unlikely to meet the land needs of the rural poor and landless. In key areas such as land transfer, farmer development and programme financing, mlar is shown to be falling far short of its objectives. Meanwhile, it is being actively challenged by national and international peasant movements that are calling for more direct intervention by the state in order to restructure patterns of landholding and provide the necessary support for small-scale farmers, many of whom produce primarily for their own consumption. The future of agrarian reform, it is argued, lies not in a return to the top-down, statist models of the past but in new forms of partnerships between progressive political forces and peasant movements that go beyond the confines of the market to redistribute land and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for the rural poor and landless.

Biodiversity Policy Making in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Biodiversity Law of 1998 is perhaps the most comprehensive legislation implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity. It includes provisions to better protect the intellectual property rights of rural communities regarding uses they have developed for natural resources and plants and animals they have bred. This article addresses how groups representing these peoples—the National Indigenous Board and National Peasant Board—obtained these provisions despite opposition from traditionally more powerful scientific and business communities. Data were collected on the formulation of the Biodiversity Law through qualitative techniques, including intensive interviews and archival research. It was found that fortuitous political conditions, or political opportunity structures, were crucial to the success of organizations representing rural communities. These supports included better-resourced allies, favorable international legal obligations and public opinion, and existing law that could be built on. Indicating broader patterns, it also was found that such political conditions have been salient during indigenous and peasant political activism elsewhere in Latin America and during formulation of similar biodiversity policy in developing countries.