Romanian National Research Articles

Unjust Deprivation of Liberty During the Criminal Process: The Romanian National Standard Compared to the European Standard for the Protection of Individual Freedom in Judicial Proceedings

The provisions of international documents that guarantee the fundamental right to freedom and security are transposed into Romanian legislation both in the Constitution and in the Code of Criminal Procedure. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the national standard of protection of individual freedom in judicial proceedings compared to the standard established by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Through documentation, interpretation, and scientific analysis as the main research methods, this paper emphasizes the possibility of establishing, through domestic legislation, a level of protection higher than that imposed by the conventional standard. From this perspective, by regulating a right to repair the damage suffered in the situation of unjust deprivation of liberty as a result of ordering a preventive measure, the national standard of protection established by the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure is higher than the European standard. This study concludes with a proposal to expand the current procedural framework configured by the provisions of the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure (with the amendments made in 2023) regarding the special procedure for repairing the damage suffered as a result of the illegal or unjust deprivation of liberty during the criminal process.

Assessing Regional Economic Performance in Romania Through Panel ARDL and Panel Quantile Regression Models

This study aims to address the persistent regional economic disparities in Romania by evaluating economic performance through Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (pARDL) and panel quantile regression (PQR) models. The analysis focuses on the impact of key economic variables, including research and development expenditures (CTCRD), IT infrastructures (IT), the number of universities (FCL), and the average number of employees (NMSP), on regional gross domestic product (GDPR). Using data from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics for the period 2003–2022, this research seeks to understand how targeted investments and policy interventions can stimulate growth and reduce inequalities across regions. The findings highlight the important role of R&D, IT infrastructures, and technological advancements in driving economic growth, especially in less developed areas. The study also emphasizes the importance of region-specific strategies in fostering sustainable growth, promoting economic resilience, and bridging the gap between more and less prosperous regions.

A Nation Yet to Be Discovered: The Romanian Reception of Keith Hitchins’s Studies on Modern Transylvania

This article attempts an assessment of Keith Hitchins’s legacy on the question of the intellectual origins and development of the Romanian nation in Transylvania from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. I focus on how his works have been read by scholars of different generations in Romania, mostly through an analysis of the reviews his books received in both scientific journals and the popular press. Closely linked to the political context of the 1960s–70s and after 1989, I suggest his success in Romanian academia rested mainly on him being perceived as a foreigner who was able to write truthfully about one of Romania’s most intimate historical topics. It is my contention that the consequence has been a lack of critical engagement with Hitchins’s idea of nation, which led to a failure to assimilate the implicit constructivist approach at the core of his investigation.

Contributions to the elucidation of a controversial episode.The Ciulei case. (1)

Considered in Romanian historiography as a representative miscarriage of justice, a proof of the imperfection of the military justice system during the First World War, the Ciulei case aroused the interest of post-war society because of the strident injustice that characterized the entire trial. To make matters even more complicated, his brigade commander, Colonel Sturdza, who had signed the order to courtmartial him, deserted to the enemy.What is actually the truth? Was Ciulei the victim of Sturdza or was he the victim of an unfortunate chain of events?With a title inspired by one of the few works that have approached this subject with scientific rigor, and here I am referring to the work of professors Petre Otu and Maria Georgescu, presented in the bibliography, this article aims to contribute to the elucidation of this episode, providing readers with arguments identified in primary sources, from documents in the custody of the Romanian National Military Archives.

Bilingualism – between Family and Educational System. Case Study – Romanian Nationality in Méhkerék

This study examines the linguistic and cultural dynamics of the Romanian-speaking community in Méhkerék, Hungary, focusing on the impact of bilingualism within families and educational settings. The research investigates how bilingual families influence their children's language use in various contexts, including school, society, and social interactions. Through a survey of 110 parents in the village, the study explores language preferences, the choice of bilingual or nationality schools, and the perceived advantages of bilingualism. Results show that while Romanian remains significant in family and cultural contexts, there is a notable shift towards Hungarian among younger generations. The findings highlight the importance of family-school collaboration in promoting and preserving bilingualism, as well as the cognitive, social, and educational benefits it offers. The study emphasizes the evolving role of bilingualism in maintaining cultural identity and fostering linguistic diversity.

Towards a Decolonial and Anti‐Racist Analysis of the Nation‐State and Nationalism

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses two calls emerging out of Sociological theory—against methodological nationalism and methodological whiteness—in relation to the study of nations, nation‐states and nationalisms. Building on Meghji's synergy of decolonial and race critical theory, I propose a historicized and globalized analysis of nationalisms and the nation‐state which can respond to these calls whilst also being attentive to the nation‐state and nationalism as sites of violence. I insist upon the importance of understanding ‘race’ and coloniality as foundational aspects to the emergence and functioning of nationalisms and nation‐states. I do so based on the empirical case of the nation‐state Romania and Romanian nationalism, what I call a ‘colonial gray zone’. I argue: (1) that modern colonialism and imperialism shaped the emergence of nation‐states and that, as a result, coloniality shapes the functioning of nation‐states and nationalisms; (2) that modern/colonial ‘race’ is central to the emergence and operation of nation‐states and nationalisms. Ultimately, I urge those concerned with the study of nations, nation‐states and nationalisms to shift their analytical tools towards coloniality and racism, and the scholarship and struggles against them.

Investment Strategies and Financing Approaches in Emerging Enterprises

Investment activities are arguably the most crucial factor in the development and sustenance of an enterprise, especially in emerging markets. While there have been numerous studies on the financing structure, there is a substantial gap in the literature regarding the impact of capital structure and cost of capital on investment efficiency in transitional economies. This research seeks to address this gap, using a mixed-method approach that combines qualitative case studies and quantitative financial analysis. The research involved conducting case studies with five enterprises from the technology, manufacturing, and services sectors. In addition, the researcher used secondary data obtained from the websites of the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the Romanian National Registry of Financial Statements. The data was used to calculate the Return on Investment, debt-to-equity ratio, and cost of capital. The analysis shows that businesses that adopt the optimal capital structure perform better, relative to their counterparts, in the aspect of profitability and market value. They also have a lower cost of capital, as well as greater financial sustainability. On the other hand, businesses with higher leverage perform poorly, with their failing market position forcing them to adopt measures such as providing discounts to customers and investing in motor vehicles to reduce operational costs. This research shows that even in the current state, some of the basic principles that have traditionally applied still have bearing. However, there are some underlying problems, some of which have been highlighted in Nenite-Petrescu et al.’s case study of three Romanian companies. Some of the factors which have been identified as contributing to the negative performance of the three companies include poor return on assets, return on capital employed, and return on investment; low levels of liquidity; low sales and profits; and high cost of Sales, as well as low purchase and employment of personnel. All these factors represent significant inefficiencies in the aspect of capital unproductivity for the businesses. Some of the lessons learnt from the analysis include the non-recognition of business risks and their mitigation. A business should consider the various events and circumstances that may impact negatively on their ability to meet obligations toward obligations taken by such businesses. In conclusion, enterprises need to manage their financing strategies to ensure that they minimize their risk, while maximizing their long-term growth potential. This research will prove important for future researchers and business enterprises in transitional economies.

GENDER EQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION – AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH

The present research explores the concept of gender equality and the main issues faced by female civil servants in the pandemic, with purpose of designing recommendations for the development of an inclusive and fair working environment in the Romanian public administration. The study is an exploratory one and was conducted in the Romanian National Agency for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, the main institution with prerogatives in developing and implementing the strategy for gender equality. The research methodology consists of a survey based on a questionnaire designed by the author. The main findings of the study are: stereotypes and gender role biases are the main cultural or systemic barriers, indicating an increased awareness, especially among women, of the impact of these stereotypes and prejudices on their career opportunities and progress. In addition, the main difficulties encountered by female civil servants during the pandemic were the necessity to spend more time with their families and doing house chores, as well as to take more often, unexpected leave days.

Refusing Redress: Debt, Inheritance, and Creation in Rosario FerrÉ’s Sweet Diamond Dust

This article proposes a reading of Rosario Ferré’s Sweet Diamond Dust through the logic of debt, an effort focused on unearthing the ideological preconditions of extraction via debt rather than the mechanism of extraction itself. This seminal Puerto Rican collection has largely been read as a critique of the national romance and its underlying racial, gender, and sexual politics of genealogical inquiry. This article traces this inquiry, yet focuses on inheritance, redress, and property ownership as both central to the national romance and as key sites for the negotiation and contestation of the ideologies central to accumulation via debt. It uses Rosa Luxemburg’s theorisation of ongoing primitive accumulation to understand the continuation of capitalism and its generation of a particular indebted subjectivity, reading Gloria and Titina’s razing of the De la Valle home in the book’s eponymous novella as a complication and negotiation of the constitution of an indebted subjectivity.

REVIEW OF THE PANDEMIC PERIOD, REORGANIZATION OF THE SZEKLERLAND’S TOURISM OFFER

The study seeks to answer the question of how the counties of Szeklerland, Harghita, Covasna and Mureș in Romania have changed in recent years, primarily between 2017 and 2022, in the middle of which period the pandemic which began in 2020, triggered various difficulties. Data from the Romanian National Statistical Institute were used in the research, providing insights into the changes in tourism in Romania and Szeklerland. The data include yearly changes, such as changes in the number of accommodation establishments, their occupancy rates or the number of guests arriving at the establishments, as well as monthly breakdowns, which are mainly necessary for the analysis of seasonality. The results obtained from the secondary data analysis used in the study reflect the nature of the difficulties faced by the tourism sector during the pandemic period and the trends in the efficiency of tourism supply in the period preceding and following the pandemic. The 2010s have clearly been a year of step-by-step development and minor successes in tourism, culminating in 2019 in terms of the turnover of accommodation in Szeklerland. During this period, a number of new tourist units opened their doors, with 35,889 new beds added in Transylvania between 2012 and 2022 and 2,427 new beds added in Szeklerland between 2012 and 2022. After a good period for the sector, a slight change in trend started in 2020, mainly due to the fact that tourists started to prefer trips that require less personal contact with other tourists, but also due to a significant change in their accommodation needs, with an increase in both the number of accommodation units and the number of beds for higher quality accommodation types, while the opposite is observed for lower quality accommodation types.

Diffusion through Multiple Domains: The Spread of Romantic Nationalism across Europe, 1770-1930

Diffusion through Multiple Domains: The Spread of Romantic Nationalism across Europe, 1770-1930

Real-Life Data, a Retrospective Report from Romania Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Registry - Single Center Experience

Background. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a type of cancer originating from the lymphatic system, characterized by Reed-Sternberg cells. It is essential due to its distinct clinical presentation, early age at diagnosis, favorable prognosis with early detection and treatment, and the ongoing need for research to optimize therapeutic strategies and improve patient outcomes. Aims: This study evaluates demographic data and clinical features, staging, and treatment options of newly diagnosed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients in the biggest Hematology Center in Bucharest, Romania “Fundeni” Clinical Institute Study design: Retrospective study Methods: Demographic data, histopathological and clinical features, treatment modalities, and treatment responses were systematically extracted from hospital records and integrated into the National Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Registry under the auspices of the Romanian Hematology Association. Key dates, including initial diagnosis, remission, relapse, last follow-up, and death, were meticulously documented to facilitate comprehensive survival analysis. Results. We analyzed data from a cohort of Hodgkin Lymphoma patients, comprising both male and female individuals, with a median age of 35. The predominant histological subtype was nodular sclerosis, and the most common stage at diagnosis was stage II. The ABVD chemotherapy regimen (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) was the most frequently administered treatment in the first-line setting. Five-year survival rates were significantly higher in patients diagnosed at an early stage and those with favorable prognostic factors, showing improved overall and relapse-free survival rates. Prognosis factors impacting outcomes included the presence of B-symptoms, serum albumin levels, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and LDH levels. Conclusion. The analysis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma data from the Romanian National Registry highlights the critical necessity for the enhancement of diagnostic infrastructure, the promotion of equitable access to advanced treatments, and active engagement in international clinical trials. Addressing these imperative issues through targeted healthcare reforms has the potential to significantly ameliorate patient outcomes and synchronize Romania's management of Hodgkin's Lymphoma with global benchmarks.

Reorganization of human resources in the tourism industry from the perspective of recent years, in relation to Transylvania

Nowadays, employment in various economic fields and the possession of appropriate professional knowledge are of considerable importance, especially in the services sector, where properly qualified personnel is a key factor in terms of the development of satisfaction in the demand segment. As an apropos of this, the human resource reorganizations taking place in the Transylvanian region and the willingness to work form the subject of the research, focusing on the tourism industry, which was a difficulty for businesses providing various services during the period of the Covid-19 epidemic that spread in 2020. In a significant part of the international studies related to the topic, the difficulties arising because of the change in the attitude of the tourist human resources are mentioned, which can lead to a disadvantageous situation in the long term of the operation of tourist facilities. As a result, the sixteen Romanian counties that make up the Transylvania region became the target of the investigation. Projected on the mentioned counties, relevant data from the Romanian National Statistical Institute (INSSE) were first used, examining the time interval between 2010 and 2022, both yearly and monthly. According to the data used, it is important to focus on the investigation of tourist traffic, as well as on the number of people employed in the sector and its change, as well as on the wages received for doing their work and the associated benefits, which can serve as a motivational factor in addition to valuing employees. An examination of the data related to the topic shows that the 2008 global crisis had a more drastic impact on employment in Romania than the Covid-19 pandemic that spread in 2020, the effects of which can still be felt today.

Between Dynastic Loyalty and the Nationalism of the “People of the Masters”: Avram Iancu and the “Invisible War” of Decorations

This study presents a very important and sensitive part of the life and activity of the Romanian national hero Avram Iancu, after the end of the Revolution of 1848–1849. Given their achievements during the revolutionary battles, he and his comrades-in-arms should have been decorated and rewarded accordingly. Despite the testimonies and recommendations of important personalities of his time, Avram Iancu did not receive the recognition and the distinctions due from the Emperor Franz Joseph I. Moreover, he and his comrades-in-arms were humiliated, falling victim to the intrigues of the Transylvanian Saxon elites in the high political spheres of Vienna. This analysis shows how the heroes of the Romanian nation from Transylvania of the first half of the 19th century, caught between dynastic loyalty, the intrigues of the Transylvanian Saxons and the nationalism of the “master people” of Austria, suffered disappointments and thus ended a difficult chapter of their modern history. It was a time of struggle for political and national rights.

Behind–the–scenes: Aspects of a film reception. The case of The Independence of Romania (Aristide Demetriade, Grigore Brezeanu, 1912) and The Rest is Silence (Nae Caranfil, 2007)

The foreign reader and viewer can find nothing better -or faster, given the exigencies of modern life- than the film as an introduction to the character, history, identity of a nation. With the awards garnered by directors like Cristian Mungiu and Nae Caranfil, new interest has been focused on Romania’s film, community, and history. That is why, an investigation regarding the Romanian early cinema would be necessary in the field of improving education from abroad. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a number of aspects, such as the importance of incorporating a course on cinema in foreign language teaching, one of the major goals being the opportunity to educate the students in the field of movies and thus offering them distinct cultural perspectives. However, this article does not plea for the need of a pedagogy of media studies in higher education, given the complexity of the topic. It rather aims to focus on the history of two Romanian movies: The Independence of Romania (1912) and The Rest is Silence (2007) and highlight the reasons why an urban icon of the city of Tampere is called “Plevna”. This paper sets out to analyze the two mentioned Romanian films who proved to be interesting for Finnish students since they depict an episode of our common history, the 1877 War of Independence (The Russo-Turkish War). At the same time, the paper aims to familiarize them with the allure of the event when Romanian and Finnish soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder on the same front, at Plevna. The Romanian film, The Independence of Romania shot in 1911-1912, was the first feature film to be kept almost entirely in the Romanian National Film Archive; the other one, The Rest Is Silence directed by Nae Caranfil (and representing Romania’s first entry into the 2009 Oscars) and inspired by The Independence of Romania wanted to show the real story of our first full-length filmmaking. Therefore, this latter film contains like a palimpsest an older mute movie, discovered in Romanian Movie Archive. The current article draws upon the insights provided by the Finnish students after watching the two films and summarizes their conclusions. In other words, these lines provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what they learned and discovered. The films were met with positive reviews, and we tried to follow the students’ spontaneous reactions and emotions. An important part of our work was to put in perspective the two inspiring patriotic marches which are commemorating the departure of the Romanian and Finnish soldiers at Plevna in the Balkan’s theater of War: Drum bun! (farewell song composed by Ştefan Nosievich to the lyrics of Romanian patriot Vasile Alecsandri) and Kauan on Kärsitty / Long have suffered, a well-known patriotic song of the Finnish Guard (Suomen kaarti). This article tangentially discusses the role of perception in educational activity, which is presented under two correlated aspects, namely: the activity carried out in this sense by the teacher and by the students and the role of cinema in creating cultural memory from a general perspective, in a way that transforms the manner we think of film and its social importance. This article starts from a very particular point of view, as we discovered by pure chance the name of Plevna building in Tampere, and goes to a more general aspect, which is the battle of Plevna, one of the most important episodes from Romania’s modern history.

Romanticism, Internationalism, and the National Poet: Genealogies of Second-World Surrogacy

ABSTRACT This article considers the national poet as surrogate: the rhetorical and poetic repertory that enables speaking for the national collectivity, and the ease with which this repertory is redirected to speak on behalf of other collectivities. It is a commonplace to attribute to Soviet multinational culture a Romantic nationalist genealogy, but this continuity or revival has generally been located in genre, intertextuality, and theories of the nation. Here, the author focuses instead on the tool kit of representation, and surrogacy in particular, arguing that the Soviet multinational literary system was a crucible that transformed the representational resources of Romanticism for the postcolonial age. The author’s account draws on the distinctively neo-Romantic approaches to representation proposed by Lukacs and Ankersmit to consider the Soviet reception and translation of the major national poets Robert Burns, Victor Hugo, and Taras Shevchenko. It also follows the Soviet Eastern (Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Iranian émigré) writer-functionaries who translated the Romantics through their own acts of surrogate representation in the Third World. The result is an account of how the Soviet Union, simultaneously anti-colonial and semicolonial, bridged the transition from the Romantic figure of the national poet to the postcolonial figure of the literary representative.

Partisan of the Absolute State: Arnold Ruge, Liberalism, and the Hallische Jahrbücher

Abstract This article considers the political theory and political theology of Arnold Ruge during the years he edited the Hallische and Deutsche Jahrbücher, paying special attention to his relationship with a variety of “liberalisms” circulating at the time. It argues that Ruge's central and consistent commitment was to the “absolute state,” which he described as “an end in itself.” Such a state, Ruge believed, would constitute a space in which citizens could realize their public freedom. I show how Ruge constructed this approach through critical engagements with three forms of liberalism: the Romantic nationalist liberalism of Ernst Moritz Arndt; the ethical pluralist liberalism of Franz von Flourencourt; and the pragmatic economic liberalism of Karl Biedermann. I conclude with reflections on Ruge's 1843 “Eine Selbstkritik des Liberalismus.”

The Making of Mămăligă: Transimperial Recipes for a Romanian National Dish

The Making of Mămăligă: Transimperial Recipes for a Romanian National Dish

Results of Response-Guided Therapy with Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a in Chronic Hepatitis B and D.

Pegylated interferon alpha 2a continues to be used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis D. The reported on-treatment virologic response varies between 17 and 47%, with relapses in more than 50% of these patients. No stopping rules have been defined, and the duration of the treatment is not clearly established, but it should be between 48 and 96 weeks. In total, 76 patients with compensated liver disease treated with peg-interferon according to the Romanian National protocol for the treatment of hepatitis D were retrospectively included. The duration of treatment was up to 96 weeks, with the following stopping rules: less than a 2 log HDV RNA decrease by week 24 and less than a 1 log decrease every 6 months afterwards. Six months after stopping the treatment, it can be restarted for unlimited cycles. The inclusion criteria were aged above 18, HBs Ag-positive, HDV RNA detectable, ALT above ULN and/or liver fibrosis at least F1 at liver biopsy, or Fibrotest and/or Fibroscan higher than 7 KPa and/or inflammation at least A1 at liver biopsy or Fibrotest. We monitored our patients for a total period of 4 years (including those that repeated the cycle). After the first 6 months of treatment, 27 patients (35.5%) had a greater than 2 log HDV RNA decrease, 19 of them achieving undetectable HDV RNA. Seventeen patients (22.3%) had undetectable HDV RNA 24 weeks after stopping 96 weeks of treatment, and none relapsed in the following 2 years. Of these 17 patients, 6 were cirrhotic, and 4 had F3. Undetectable HDV RNA at 24 weeks was the only parameter that predicted a long-term suppression of HDV RNA. In 49 patients, the treatment was stopped after 6 months according to protocol, but it was restarted 6 months later. Five of these patients finished a 48-week course of treatment; none achieved undetectable HDV RNA. During the first course of therapy, 45 patients had at least one moderate adverse reaction to treatment. In one patient, the treatment was stopped due to a serious adverse event (osteomyelitis). Treatment doses had to be reduced in 29 patients. The virologic response at week 24 can select the patients who will benefit from continuing the treatment from those who should be changed to another type of medication when available.

Evoluția amenințărilor de securitate pentru România din perspectiva strategiilor militare: din 2007 până în 2023

The evolution of the regional security environment determined the change of perspective in the elaboration of the military strategies regarding the threats faced by Romania. This retrospective analysis aims to highlight, on the one hand, the dynamics of the main threats to Romania as a result of the trends of the regional security environment, starting with the first military strategy after joining NATO until the present, and, on the other hand, to emphasise the imprint produced at the strategic level as a complementary document to the Romanian National Defence Strategy. Thus, the purpose of this research is to emphasise the amplification and complexity of threats over time as a result of the tightening of the security environment, a fact that highlights the current interdependence of threats and their transformation from autonomous elements into aspects that can no longer be analysed, in the present, in functional isolation. Likewise, the retrospective analysis also emphasises Romania’s role within the North Atlantic organisation, starting with the implementation of NATO strategic concepts within the national military strategies. If, at the beginning of 2007, Romania identified itself as a state concerned with aligning with NATO standards regarding the transformation processes of the Romanian Armed Forces, in 2016, Romania appeared as a credible state within the Alliance, and in the 2022 NATO Strategic Concept, Romania had a special strategic importance in the context of the war in Ukraine in the Black Sea region.