The Romanian government and demographicpolicies : Ceauşescu’s regime and contemporary perspectives

Abstract

The Centrally Planned Economy of the Romanian Socialist Republic is very relevant from the point of view of demographic studies, because, after 1966, it also relied upon brutal demographic policies aimed at ensuring the necessary workforce in a 20-25 years perspective. Particularly, the abortion ban issued during Nicolae Ceauşescu’s regime has transformed Romania into a case study of governmental demographic policy reminiscent of other tragic experiments made on the human body during the 20th century. The tragic consequences of this particular legislation, specifically decree number 770 issued by the Romanian Socialist Republic, can also be seen in contemporary Romania. This PhD thesis intends to analyse the overall consequences of this particular policy during the years of its application, observe its impact in the latter years of the Communist Regime and offer indications as to the extent to which it is still conditions the Romanian population and economy today. The rationale of the analysis is that an invasive demographic policy enforced by a totalitarian regime conditions society long after its abolition. The objective of this PhD thesis is to start from statistical data and provide a complete picture of the demographic phenomenon, detailing (1) the ideological and philosophical outlook (2) the political implications (3) the demographic aspects (4) the sociological and juridical elements (5) the anthropological consequences (6) the systematization of the repression in the totalitarian regime and (7) the human cost of the demographic policies over a 50 years period of time. It considers the context at the starting point, the social, political, cultural and human implications of the assertive presence of the Romanian State in the process, both during the communist regime, and after the 1989 events. The approach of the analysis aims at understanding demographic behaviour in a different and more profound way and seeing the people behind the numbers. The attempt to be made is to offer a multi-disciplinary approach for part of the PhD thesis, encompassing the broader scope of humanities together with social sciences, in particular anthropology and philosophy as well as statistic and political science.