Romania / Democracy’s Funeral

 

Bucharest, Romania

Democracy’s Funeral

Ian Browne

15 JANUARY 2025

Romania is one of the poorest and most corruptcountries in the EU. One-third of the population either live in poverty or are at risk of poverty, particularly in rural areas. The average pension is around £360 a month. The gap in living standards and educational attainment between the urban middle class and the poor means they effectively live in separate worlds. The political class is widely despised by most sections of Romanian society. Established politicians, almost without exception, are seen as self-serving and corrupt, addicted to nepotism and theft, using the mechanisms of institutional patronage to maintain their grip on power.

Scholars and Spies / Experiences from the Soviet Union, Communist Romania, and China

Scholars and Spies: Experiences from the Soviet Union, Communist Romania, and China

Written On 17 June 2020. 

Author: Ivan Franceschini

In response to the renewed emphasis of the central government on national security, in November 2015 the authorities of Jilin province, in northeast China, introduced a hotline to report possible spies. The dilemma was how to recognise a spy. Local officials instructed concerned citizens to look out for eight revealing signs (Yang 2015). First, spies never explained their work with clarity, wore different professional hats at the same time, and had plenty of funding at their disposal. Second, at gatherings they often came up with controversial topics then withdrew in the shadows to observe how people reacted in order to select contacts to develop. Third, foreign correspondents, journalists writing about foreign affairs, missionaries, or people involved with NGOs were all likely to be spies. Fourth, spies had proper business cards, but worked irregular hours and the information on the card did not hold up to closer scrutiny. Fifth, people who had studied abroad in many different countries or whose history of studying overseas did not match their age were most likely spies. Sixth, spies enjoyed asking sensitive questions, especially on politics, military affairs, public opinion, and trade. Seventh, they held regular meetings in this or that place to exchange materials and documents. Finally, they could be found at academic conferences and business meetings, where they often gave reactionary speeches and exaggerated the positive aspects of foreign countries.