What is Left from Democracy? Electoralism and Populism in Romania

What l shall present in my paper is the relation between the frequency of the electoral cycles as well as the redistribution policies, and the increase of populism. The density of the electoral cycles and the populist redistribution policies as bribes for the poor, but numerous electorates, has turned the electoral component of democrat in an end in itself. Politicians are focused on wining the elections, not in strategic governing and even less in consolidating democracy, even just a liberal one as it became before EU accession. The most popular enemy during the electoral campaign is corruption and because its form is “state capture”, the fight against it is just populist arid endless in terms of campaign and tends to be authoritarian in terms of government. With such threats we can see Romania and other new EU member states apparently as suicidal democracies due to the weak institutionalization of the democratic mechanisms. In the times of “democratic recession”. EU protectorate is keeping its member states within a safety net which is blocking the suicidal attitudes and tolerates its new (sometimes even old) members rather as jawed democracies

Hombres de estado, mujeres de mercado. Los efectos del conservadurismo de izquierdas en política de género durante la transición rumana

En este artículo la autora intenta demostrar que las políticas dominantes en la transición de la Rumanía post-comunista orientan a las mujeres hacia el mercado mientras los hombres se dirigen al Estado. Debido al conservadurismo de izquierda, la propuesta política más popular, los principales receptores de las políticas redistributivas fueron los sindicatos de las industrias estatales donde eran mayoría los trabajadores varones. A las mujeres se les dejó «a merced del mercado», mientras los hombres eran protegidos como «víctimas favoritas» y obtuvieron ventaja como «clientes favoritos». En ausencia de una política local feminista, estas políticas altamente desiguales en cuanto al género son cubiertas por un «feminismo a la carta», según el Acquis Communautaire. Europa oriental ha alcanzado un momento post-feminista (de acuerdo con los medios de comunicación). La autora defiende la combinación entre «lo personal es político» y «lo político es personal».In this paper, the author aims to show that the dominant policies in the Romanian post-Communist transition had the effect of leading women towards the market while men were directed towards the State. With the emergence of left-wing Conservatism as the most popular political alternative, the main recipients of redistribution policies were the trade unions of male-dominated State industries. Women were left «to the mercy of the market», while men were protected as «favourite victims» and afforded preferential treatment as «favourite clients». In the absence of a local political feminist movement, these highly unequal gender policies are disguised by a «room-service feminism» due to the Acquis Communautaire. According to the media, Eastern Europe has now entered a post-feminist era. The author argues in favour of a combination between «personal is political» and «political is personal»

Neonatal Brain Abscess with <i>Serratia marcescens</i> after Intrauterine Infection: A Case Report

Brain abscesses are a possible complication of bacterial sepsis or central nervous system infection but are uncommon in the neonatal period. Gram-negative organisms often cause them, but Serratia marcescens is an unusual cause of sepsis and meningitis in this age group. This pathogen is opportunistic and frequently responsible for nosocomial infections. Despite the existing antibiotics and modern radiological tools, mortality and morbidity remain significant in this group of patients. We report an unusual unilocular brain abscess in a preterm neonate caused by Serratia marcescens. The infection had an intrauterine onset. The pregnancy was achieved through assisted human reproduction techniques. It was a high-risk pregnancy, with pregnancy-induced hypertension, imminent abortion, and required prolonged hospitalization of the pregnant woman with multiple vaginal examinations. The infant was treated with multiple antibiotic cures and percutaneous drainage of the brain abscess associated with local antibiotic treatment. Despite treatment, evolution was unfavorable, complicated by fungal sepsis (Candida parapsilosis) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

An externally constrained hybrid regime: Hungary in the European Union

The paper focuses on the unique, role model characteristics of the Hungarian hybrid regime, the Hungarian political system’s new incarnation forged in the past years’ democratic backsliding process. Following the short review of the main hybrid regime literature and the key analyses putting the democratic quality of the Hungarian political system under the microscope, the paper argues that Hungary’s European Union (EU) membership, the competencies of EU institutions, and the scope of EU law have played a crucial role in the development of the system’s unique characteristics. Based on this argument, the paper qualifies Hungary as an “externally constrained hybrid regime”. However, the EU does not only fulfil system constraining functions regarding the Hungarian regime, but performs system support and system legitimation functions as well. Ultimately, the changing scope of these functions, determined by the European integration’s internal dynamics, influences first and foremost the Hungarian power elite’s strategic considerations about the country’s future EU membership.Published versio

The Value of Legislative Versus Electoral Experience and Gender in Explaining Candidate List Placement in Closed-List PR

Candidates’ political qualities and personal characteristics reflect what priorities political parties have when they nominate for viable seats. The limited research on the link between candidate characteristics and ranking on closed lists is an important hiatus in understanding legislative recruitment since in closed list PR nomination to top positions on viable lists virtually guarantees election. We address the issue by analyzing longitudinally the determinants of candidate list placement in Romania, an intriguing case given its low proportion of reelected incumbents and women MPs. Our findings indicate that while male candidates are placed higher up on the lists than women, the positive effect of incumbency is larger for female than male incumbents