FSP - History

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Judging communist crimes in Romania : transnational and global influences
(Oxford University Press, 2017) Grosescu, Raluca
In 2016, over 25 years after the fall of the communist regime, the Romanian Supreme Court of Justice convicted for the first time two former military officials for political crimes perpetrated in the 1950s, the harshest repressive period of the previous dicta- torship. The verdicts marked a radical break with the prior legal approaches to prose- cuting communist crimes in this country inasmuch as international criminal law (ICL) was now employed in order to overcome impunity. This article shows how the current shifts in Romanian jurisprudence have been built upon, and have drawn inspiration from, a recent global convergence towards the use of ICL for addressing the crimes of dictatorial regimes and the obstacles to their prosecution, such as amnesties or statu- tory limitations. It emphasizes the importance of noncoercive exogenous influences in enabling changes in the Romanian process of dealing with the past.
State socialist experts in transnational perspective : East European circulation of knowledge during the Cold War (1950s–1980s) : introduction to the thematic Issue
(Brill | Schöningh, 2018) Iacob, Bogdan; Dobos, Corina; Grosescu, Raluca; Iacob, Viviana; Pașca, Vlad
State socialist experts were at the center of Eastern Europe’s internationalization from the mid-1950s until 1989. They acted as intermediaries between their states and other national, regional, and international environments. The contributions integrate national milieus within broader frameworks mostly circumscribed by inter- and nongovernmental specialized organizations (the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; International Theater Institute, or the un Commission on Population and Development). The issue is an innovative initiative to identify within four fields (economy, demography, theatre, and historical studies) state socialist experts’ contributions to international debates and institution building. We argue that these groups were fundamentally characterized by their transnational dynamism. The resultant forms of mobility and transfer resituate specific systems of knowledge production from Eastern Europe within the larger story of postwar globalization. The collection also includes an anthropological study about the internationalization trajectories of lower-ranked professionals and the resilience of their expertise ethics after 1989. Socialist experts’ mobilities can be circumscribed at the intersection of multiple phenomena that defined the postwar: national settings’ impact on inter- and supra-state interactions; Cold War politics; the tribulations of international organizations; and global trends determined by the accelerating interconnectedness of the world and decolonization. Our findings de-center established narratives about the Cold War and they show how representatives from the East participated in and sometimes determined the conditions of Europeanizing and globalizing trends in their respective fields within particular organizations.
Revisiting state socialist approaches to international criminal and humanitarian law : an introduction
(Brill, 2019) Grosescu, Raluca; Richardson-Little Ned
More than twenty years after Augusto Pinochet’s arrest in London, this special issue examines the globalization of post-dictatorial and post-conflict justice and memory processes through the lens of interconnections and mutual influences between Europe and South America. The collection challenges the currently domi- nant literature on reckoning with violent pasts. It does so by moving beyond both analyses confined within specific national borders and diffusionist accounts of so- called “universalised” justice and mnemonic paradigms purportedly embraced worldwide. The Trans-Atlantic perspective provides scholars with an ideal oppor- tunity to analyse empirically the nexus between global and local scales of action, and to highlight agency in transnational mnemopolitics. Through case studies of trans-regional entanglements, we contend that the globalization of memory and justice paradigms goes hand in hand with a fragmentation of, and on occasion com- petition between different narratives concerning dictatorial pasts, between inter- national, regional and local understandings of “best practices” of dealing with political violence, and between various professional groups engaged in account- ability and remembrance processes. The collection shows the multi-faceted nature of transnational transfers and collaborations, some of which reflect concepts that have become significant in the international arena, while others mirror ideas and practices with limited global impact that circulate only between “semi-periph- eries” or between less influential networks of activists.
State socialist endeavours for the non-applicability of statutory limitations to international crimes : historical roots and current implications
(BrBrill | Nijhoff, 2019) Grosescu, Raluca
This article analyses the role of Eastern European socialist governments and legal ex- perts in encoding the non-applicability of statutory limitations to international crimes. It argues that socialist elites put this topic on the agenda of the international commu- nity in the 1960s through two interrelated processes. On the one hand, legal scholars cooperated with Western European lawyers in order to enforce the idea that the in- ternational crimes codified by the Nuremberg Charter should not be subject to pre- scription. On the other hand, Eastern European governments proposed and enabled – through their cooperation with African and Asian states – the adoption of the 1968 UN Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, this instru- ment became an important tool for advancing prosecutions of international crimes committed under dictatorships and violent conflicts, particularly in Central Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Transnational advocacy networks and corporate accountability for gross human rights violations in Argentina and Colombia. DOI:10.1080/13600826.2019.1598947
(Routledge, 2019) Grosescu, Raluca
More than twenty years after Augusto Pinochet’s arrest in London, this special issue examines the globalization of post-dictatorial and post-conflict justice and memory processes through the lens of interconnections and mutual influences between Europe and South America. The collection challenges the currently domi- nant literature on reckoning with violent pasts. It does so by moving beyond both analyses confined within specific national borders and diffusionist accounts of so- called “universalised” justice and mnemonic paradigms purportedly embraced worldwide. The Trans-Atlantic perspective provides scholars with an ideal oppor- tunity to analyse empirically the nexus between global and local scales of action, and to highlight agency in transnational mnemopolitics. Through case studies of trans-regional entanglements, we contend that the globalization of memory and justice paradigms goes hand in hand with a fragmentation of, and on occasion com- petition between different narratives concerning dictatorial pasts, between inter- national, regional and local understandings of “best practices” of dealing with political violence, and between various professional groups engaged in account- ability and remembrance processes. The collection shows the multi-faceted nature of transnational transfers and collaborations, some of which reflect concepts that have become significant in the international arena, while others mirror ideas and practices with limited global impact that circulate only between “semi-periph- eries” or between less influential networks of activists.
Jean Pangal : documente inedite 1932-1942 : contribuții la analiza rețelelor sociale istorice
(RAO, 2016) Bucur, Bogdan
Related by marriage or a direct descendant of three W Wallachian noble families of tertiary rank - Brătășanu (17th century), Djuvara (18th century) and Pangal (19th century) - who together gave modern Romania at least two ministers, an undersecretary of state and six deputies or senators, Jean Pangal is the central character of this volume. A politician, diplomat and absolute leader of Romanian Freemasonry in the inter-war period, Jean Pangal is the main subject of the 474 informative notes, published for the first time in full in this book, and compiled between 1932-1942 by the Secret Intelligence Service of the Romanian Army and the Security Police of the Ministry of the Interior. Jean Pangal, nicknamed the Sovereign Prince of Romanian Freemasonry by the press of the time, is little known today, but he was extremely controversial and influential in the interwar period, especially due to his personal relationships and direct contacts with the entire political, social, economic and diplomatic elite of Romania, and even of Europe.
Sociologia proastei guvernări în România interbelică
(RAO, 2019) Bucur, Bogdan
I have worked on writing and perfecting this work for 10 years (...), out of the desire that post-Decembrist Romania, which is my homeland, should try not to repeat the mistakes of its forefathers. I know that this is not happening. But this illusion, of which I am aware, has led me to persevere. In fact, not just in our country, but everywhere, hardly anyone learns from the mistakes of others. (...) However, I believe that the sacrifice of Romanians who lost their lives for the integrity of the national territory (in the two world wars) or for political freedom and the return to democracy (in December 1989) must be respected and honored, first and foremost, through good governance, something that we have unfortunately almost never had in history.
Cartea de aur a Centenarului Marii Uniri
(RAO, 2017) Bucur, Bogdan
This anniversary edition is the second golden book dedicated to the Great Union. The first Golden Book - dated 1929 - is part of the national movable cultural heritage and is a hand-made manuscript on parchment, produced to celebrate the first 10 years of the Great Union. The unpublished copy - published for the first time in its entirety in the last chapter of this volume - was decorated, like medieval incunabula, with traditional painting in the Art Nouveau style by the painter Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck, commissioned by Princess Alexandrina Gr. Cantacuzino. The present volume incorporates, continues and develops the first Golden Book and was realized for the celebration of the Centenary of the Great Union. For the commemoration of the first 100 years since 1918, we have illustrated the arduous historical path, marked by so many sacrifices and sacrifices, which would eventually lead to the union of Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Banat, Crisana, Sătmar and Maramures with the Old Kingdom and the formation of the Greater Romania. While the first Golden Book is more of a book of honor intended for the signatures of the personalities who took part in the Alba Iulia celebrations in 1929, this second Golden Book is an anniversary volume containing a scholarly selection of holograph documents and vintage images of the Great Union. In both cases, paraphrasing the somewhat emphatic subtitle of the 1929 edition, we can admit, once again, that the Golden Book is indeed the honoring of those who, in the great historical moments, fulfilled the millenary dream of all Romanians: the unification of Romania. And even if the dream of uniting all Romanians into a single unitary nation-state was not a millenary one (the idea only took shape in the mid-19th century) and did not last very long (Great Romania collapsed territorially in 1940, only 22 years after the Great Union), the image of 1918 remains, without doubt, the astral moment in the entire history of Romanians. This second Golden Book is therefore a modest homage to the memory of those who made the birth of Greater Romania possible.
Justice, memory and transnational networks : European and South American entanglements
(Routledge, 2019) Grosescu, Raluca; Neumayer, Laure; Baby, Sophie
More than twenty years after Augusto Pinochet’s arrest in London, this special issue examines the globalization of post-dictatorial and post-conflict justice and memory processes through the lens of interconnections and mutual influences between Europe and South America. The collection challenges the currently domi- nant literature on reckoning with violent pasts. It does so by moving beyond both analyses confined within specific national borders and diffusionist accounts of so- called “universalised” justice and mnemonic paradigms purportedly embraced worldwide. The Trans-Atlantic perspective provides scholars with an ideal oppor- tunity to analyse empirically the nexus between global and local scales of action, and to highlight agency in transnational mnemopolitics. Through case studies of trans-regional entanglements, we contend that the globalization of memory and justice paradigms goes hand in hand with a fragmentation of, and on occasion com- petition between different narratives concerning dictatorial pasts, between inter- national, regional and local understandings of “best practices” of dealing with political violence, and between various professional groups engaged in account- ability and remembrance processes. The collection shows the multi-faceted nature of transnational transfers and collaborations, some of which reflect concepts that have become significant in the international arena, while others mirror ideas and practices with limited global impact that circulate only between “semi-periph- eries” or between less influential networks of activists.
Homo valachicus orientalis : (1716–1859)
(Academia Romana- Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2021) Bucur, Bogdan
By 1829, the development gap between West and East (to which Wallachia belonged) had become abysmal. The geographic and scientific discoveries, the architectural styles, the musical genres, the artistic and literary trends of the time were completely unknown in Bucharest. The country was wholly absent from the international scientific world. During that time no Wallachian concerned themselves with the study of formal science (logic and mathematics), natural science (biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy), or applied science (engineering, agronomy, medicine, and pharmacy). Until 1829, Wallachia wasn’t able to offer the world a single astronomer, doctor, engineer, architect, mathematician, physicist, agronomist, pharmacist, painter, musician, etc. On the other hand, all of these professions—and their subsequent scientific disciplines—were well known in the West, since the Greco-Roman Antiquity, and following their rediscovery at the end of the Middle Ages. For instance, in 1850, the first Wallachian institution of higher education was created as part of Saint Sava Princely Academy (which was a high school; the University of Bucharest was founded much later, in 1864). Meanwhile, the University of Bologna (1088) had been around for 762 years. In 1836, when the first Wallachian public library was established, the Malatestiana Library of Cesena (1454) had been around for almost 400 years. Until 1859, Wallachia had an illiteracy rate of over 90%, similar to that of Western Europe in 1450, but also similar to that of the Roman Empire. Also, in 1841 we learn about the first paved road in Wallachia (in Bucharest), while in 1853, the existence of the first stone bridge over a stream was confirmed (built in Bucharest, over the Dâmboviþa River). At that time, 1,750 years had passed since Apollodorus of Damascus had built Trajan’s Bridge over the Danube, in order for the Roman armies to invade Dacia. While the first stone bridge was inaugurated in Bucharest in 1853, a year later, in 1854, one of the world’s most important engineering projects came to fruition in Austria: the Semmering Railway, which crossed the Alps through 14 tunnels dug in the mountains, and across 16 viaducts and 100 curved stone bridges. Looking at the visual arts, Urcarea lui Mavrogheni pe tron (The enthronement of Mavrogheni, 1786), by Iordache Venier (who was of Venetian origin), can be considered as the first modern painting in Wallachia. Autoportret (Selfportrait) by Nicolae Polcovnicul (1788–1842), a painting finished after 1800, can be seen as the first modern painting of a Wallachian painter. Meanwhile, 500 years had passed since Giotto’s death. In actual fact, in 1829 Wallachia was outside history.
Homo Ottomanicus Orientalis (from Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia) versus Homo Ottomanicus Occidentalis (from Hungary, Transylvania, Ragusa) : A Hypothesis Regarding the Cultural Development Gaps between the Western-Christian (Catholic and Protestant) and Eastern-Christian (Orthodox) Vassal Communities and Countries of the Ottoman Empire
(Editura Academia Romana, 2022) Bucur, Bogdan
What is essential and highly relevant for the debate we intend to have in this article is the European and Christian (non-Muslim) side of The Sublime Porte. In our demonstration, both homo christianus orientalis (from Wallachia, Moldavia, Greece) and homo christianus occidentalis (from Hungary, Transylvania and Ragusa) are seen as civilizational subdivision of homo ottomanicus and subjects of the Sultan in Constantinople. In this article we are interested in explaining the massive discrepancies between the way in which homo christianus orientalis on one hand, and homo christianus occidentalis on the other, were connected to modernity. For this reason, we chose to use the phrase homo ottomanicus orientalis when referring to homo christianus orientalis from the Ottoman countries and lands with an Orthodox tradition (Wallachia, Moldavia, Greece). Subsequently, we designated the phrase homo ottomanicus occidentalis for homo christianus occidentalis from the Ottoman countries and lands with a Catholic and Protestant tradition (Hungary, Transylvania and Ragusa). The problem of the Orthodox people from Eastern Europe is not essentially that they belonged, from a political point of view, to the homo ottomanicus species, but rather that they belonged, from a civilizational perspective, to the homo christianus orientalis species. Therefore, homo ottomanicus orientalis proved to be structurally different from homo ottomanicus occidentalis because only the Catholic and Protestant people – Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans –, which were under the suzerainty of The Sublime Porte went through all the stages of modernization at the same time, just as those of Western Europe. Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans – even though they were homo ottomanicus – belonged to the civilizational subdivision of homo christianus occidentalis, just like the Italians, French, English, Spanish, etc. people did. Thus, the fact that Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans belonged to the homo ottomanicus species had no influence on their belonging to the civilizational subdivision of homo christianus occidentalis, because at that time the benefits of modernity were rather transmitted through the means of religion, than through those of politics. In the end, the religious denomination (Catholic or Protestant) played a much more important role in acceding to modernity than the geopolitical integration into pax ottomanica. We also intend to show that the Ottoman Empire had just a small part in the underdevelopment of Oriental Europe. Their Byzantine background was far more damaging for the Eastern societies.

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