The Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) as Part of The European Socialist Family: Ideological and Organisational Influences (2004–2019)

The importance of the ideologies in the current political landscape is often disputed or questioned. Some argue that most of the political forces moved towards the center in the last decades; they state that the catch-all model was embraced by former Conservative, Liberal, or Social democratic parties. Others consider that the ideological hegemony of neoliberalism erased the doctrinal boundaries that used to separate the Left from the Right. These discourses suggest that today’s political confrontations are in fact pseudo-conflicts because they lack an ideological background. In the present article, we contribute to the realization of an overview of the current relevance of the political ideologies by focusing on aspects linked to the recent history of the European Left.The relationship between the Party of European Socialists (PES) and the Eastern European Socialdemocratic parties was often characterized by difficulties. We observe the dynamics of the relationship between PES and the Romanian Social democrats, highlighting episodes filled with tension as well as moments of fruitful collaboration. Moreover, we discuss the messages of some relevant leaders in the European electoral campaigns, and we analyze the political profile of some Romanian Social democrats that occupied important positions in the European Parliament or the European Commission. The article also reflects on the impact had by the evolution of Social democracy on the development and the stability of the European Union. One of the main conclusions of our study is that the cultural and economic differences between the Western democratic Left and the Romanian Social democrats indicate that the relevance of the ideologies should not be underestimated

România – Regim Hibrid? Rolul social-democratilor în traiectoria unei democratizari (1990–1996)

Today, many European countries (Hungary, Poland, Austria, Italy) are becoming part of an illiberal wave that threatens to modify completely the political and economic order of the European Union. Romania is not yet a member of this illiberal club, but according to several authors (Levitsky, Way, Zakaria, Bozoki), started its postcommunist evolution by being, for seven years, a hybrid regime. The main goal of this article is to determine whether this verdict is correct or not. A secondary goal is to observe the manner in which the ideological identity of the social-democratic party changed in these seven years (1990–1996). The successor and heir of the communist party that ruled Romania for more than 40 years, this party, under three different forms, was in power in the analysed period. Thus, in order to draw the map of the evolution of the Romanian political regime, we must focus on policies and events shaped by the social-democrats. During this process, we will also observe how the transition towards democracy was influenced by external factors, highlighting the fact that in the 1990s, approaching the membership of the European Union automatically meant distancing from the area of the hybrid regimes

A treia cale si social-democratia în Romania si Ungaria. Transformarile ideologice ale stangii democratice contemporane si consecintele acestora

The electoral and organisational crisis of contemporary social democracy followed the footsteps of an ideological transformation that brought the democratic left very close to the political center. My paper describes how the substance of this concept (political center) changed during the last decades, and tries to determine how strongly connected is the crisis to the ascension of the „third way” doctrine. There are two cases which are analysed: the social democratic parties from Romania and Hungary. A section focuses on the communist past of this parties, and on how this past influenced their process of adaptation to the rules and practices of a liberal democracy. The arguments follow a mainly chronological path, explaining how the social democrats from the two countries embraced the „third way”, and how this shift affected their actions during the economic crisis and its aftermath. Observing the impact of policies of the Ponta and Gyurcsány governments is essential for reaching my conclusions. These conclusions notice that pivoting towards center is harmful for the electoral results of the social democrats. Nonetheless, the doctrinal identity of a party is not the only factor that has a role in its degree of success at the polls

Digital Democracy and the Growing Threat of Illiberalism. Opportunities and Limitations as Reflected by the Estonian Case

Currently, the fourth and fifth waves of the industrial revolution are shaping the global political, economic, and social landscape. The development of robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality (VR), doubled by the emerging importance of renewable energy sources, is redefining the relationship between the state and the citizen. In this context, the frequency of arguments that plead for an adaptation of the liberal democratic model to the digital environment is increasing. However, the latest developments in this field are also facilitating the spreading of populist and radical messages. Digital innovation is therefore, in many countries, contemporaneous with a process of democratic backsliding. Our paper represents a preliminary attempt to estimate the potential impact of digitalizing the political and social spheres on the stability of liberal democratic regimes. Answers to the questions put forward are provided by analyzing the digital evolution of politics and society in Estonia. We highlight data linked not only to topics such as online voting, participatory budgeting, or digital skills but also data regarding political participation and democratic resilience. Our conclusions suggest that, although building a genuine digital democracy can have positive effects on the level of political and civic involvement of citizens, in order to annihilate the danger of illiberalism, an improvement in the levels of trust in public institutions is also needed. Trust is a vital factor for blocking disinformation and ensuring that digital tools are not hijacked by populist groups with authoritarian tendencies

Digital Democracy and the Growing Threat of Illiberalism. Opportunities and Limitations as Reflected by the Estonian Case

Currently, the fourth and fifth waves of the industrial revolution are shaping the global political, economic, and social landscape. The development of robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality (VR), doubled by the emerging importance of renewable energy sources, is redefining the relationship between the state and the citizen. In this context, the frequency of arguments that plead for an adaptation of the liberal democratic model to the digital environment is increasing. However, the latest developments in this field are also facilitating the spreading of populist and radical messages. Digital innovation is there-fore, in many countries, contemporaneous with a process of democratic backsliding. Our paper rep-resents a preliminary attempt to estimate the potential impact of digitalizing the political and social spheres on the stability of liberal democratic regimes. Answers to the questions put forward are provided by analyzing the digital evolution of politics and society in Estonia. We highlight data linked not only to topics such as online voting, participatory budgeting, or digital skills but also data regarding political participation and democratic resilience. Our conclusions suggest that, although building a genuine digital democracy can have positive effects on the level of political and civic involvement of citizens, in order to annihilate the danger of illiberalism, an improvement in the levels of trust in public institutions is also needed. Trust is a vital factor for blocking disinformation and ensuring that digital tools are not hijacked by populist groups with authoritarian tendencies

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe