Inside the pyramid of power: The evolution of strategic elites in post-communist Romania

This research project examines the role of strategic elites in the transitional environment of post-communist Romania. The project addresses the evolving values of Romania's decisionmakers, both historically and comparatively; the composition of strategic elites both before and after 1989; and their relationships and organization. Comparative studies of post-communist elites have revealed that Romania exhibits some features in common with other Eastern European transitional regimes, but also some unusual and unique, patterns of elite recruitment, values, and interaction. The main objective of this project is to carry out a configurative case study of Romanian elites - in the context of Eastern and Central European post-communist elite development - and to determine whether the Romanian case can shed light on the general features of post-communist elite development. The ongoing consequences of elite development for Romania's transition form the focus of the concluding section, which assesses elite-driven implications for the country's pluralist and European projects.