Dragoş Dragoman, Transitional justice Romanian style: Condemning the communist ideology, but not the communist repressors
Transitional justice Romanian style:
Condemning the communist ideology, but not the communist repressors
The debate about transitional justice in post-communist Romania, though vigorously supported by numerous public intellectuals in the early 1990’s, slowly faded away after 2004, for coming at term with a merely symbolic measure, namely officially condemning communism as criminal ideology in 2007. Intellectuals’ satisfaction with symbolic measures instead of effective transitional justice is twofold. On the one hand, the condemnation of communism was a long awaited ideological victory for right-wing intellectuals. On the other hand, the public positions that many of them occupied with the support of right-wing parties in government unable them to accuse political elites in power and to keep pushing for more decisive action against former communist repressors. This inability paves the way for the final rehabilitation and legitimation of former repressors as valuable capitalist entrepreneurs, key businessmen and devoted public servants.
Keywords: Intellectuals, Right-wing parties, Populism, Post-Communism, Romania
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