The Influence of National Identity on States' Foreign Policy Agenda

268 Pages·2017·3.53 MB·English

The Politics of Identity – The
Influence of National Identity on
States’ Foreign Policy Agenda
A Case Study of Post-Socialist Romania

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy
at the University of Leicester

By

Ioana Tartacuta-Lawrence MA
School of History, Politics and International Relations
University of Leicester

2017
Abstract

This thesis explores the influence of national identity on Romania’s post-socialist
foreign policy agenda, working at the intersection of Strategic Culture and Foreign
Policy Analysis. It adopts a constructivist approach, putting forward a narrative theory
of identity, according to which profoundly held beliefs about the nature of the Self and
Others influence the behaviour of states through the prerogatives, anxieties and red-
lines they generate. The thesis identifies the telling of national history as the main
vehicle for the socialisation of the identity narrative. It then traces the development of
the Romanian identity narrative, from its formative years in the nineteenth century to
contemporary times, arguing that the sedimentation of its main features is linked to
the consistency of its historical narrative. A particular emphasis develops in the
Romanian imaginary in terms of prioritising the issues of state security, sovereignty,
territorial integrity and unity. The thesis then explores the influence of these elements
on Romania’s post-socialist behaviour. It focuses firstly on the transition period, when
identity-related prerogatives resulted both in a desire for Euro-Atlantic integration, but
also in an anxiety towards change at domestic level which acted as an obstacle to the
realisation of these international goals in the first half of the 1990s. Secondly, the
thesis investigates the nature of three relationships critical to Romania’s foreign policy
agenda – those with Russia, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova. Overall the thesis
shows that there exists a noticeable pattern of behaviour which conforms with
Romania’s identity-driven anxieties and prerogatives, particularly in the current
volatile environment. Whilst relations with Russia and Hungary are marked by
attitudes of anxiety and distrust, that with Moldova is characterised by an affinity
rooted in their shared identity markers. This makes Romania acutely sensitive to
recent regional developments and has resulted in the state’s adapting its behaviour
towards these three actors in order to alleviate its identity-related anxieties
concerning security, unity and independence, not only of itself, but also of Moldova.

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Table of Contents
TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................ 5
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................. 5
LIST OF FIGURES WITH SOURCE ATTRIBUTION .................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 6
CASE-STUDY AND CONTEXT ............................................................................................................ 9
STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................... 15
CONCLUDING REMARKS ............................................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 20
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 20
AT THE CROSSROADS OF STRATEGIC CULTURE AND FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS ..................................... 20
STRATEGIC CULTURE (SC) ............................................................................................................ 21
FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS (FPA) ................................................................................................. 36
LIMITATIONS OF SC AND FPA AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF THIS THESIS TO THE FIELD ............................. 48
SC and the Study of Identity ............................................................................................... 49
The Agent-Structure Debate .............................................................................................. 51
The Utility of a ‘Small State’ Case Study ............................................................................ 55
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 57
CHAPTER 2. METHODS – APPROACH AND CONSIDERATIONS ............................................... 59
EMPLOYING A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH .................................................................................... 59
METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 65
A Note on Interviews and Romanian Sources .................................................................... 65
The Nature and Content of the Romanian Identity Narrative ........................................... 66
The Influence of Identity on Behaviour .............................................................................. 72
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 75
CHAPTER 3. ROMANIAN HISTORY AND IDENTITY – A NATIONAL OBSESSION WITH
UNIQUENESS ....................................................................................................................... 79
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 79
THE CONTINUITY OF THE ROMANIAN IDENTITY NARRATIVE ................................................................ 80
ANTIQUITY – FOUNDATION MYTHS: ORIGINS, HABITUS, RELIGION ..................................................... 82
Origins ............................................................................................................................... 82
Habitus ............................................................................................................................... 83
Religion .............................................................................................................................. 85
THE MEDIEVAL ERA AND EARLY MODERNITY – THE ‘BESIEGED FORTRESS’ ........................................... 86
The Three Provinces ........................................................................................................... 88
Transylvania – Hungary as the Essential Other ................................................................. 88
Wallachia and Moldavia .................................................................................................... 92
THE MODERN ERA – THE THEME OF UNITY ..................................................................................... 94
The Birth of Romanian National Identity – Unity ............................................................... 94
The Essential Others and Need for Identity Narrative Continuity .................................... 100
THE COMMUNIST PERIOD .......................................................................................................... 103
Ceausescu and the Weaponising of Romanian National Identity .................................... 103
The Others in Ceausescu’s Romania ................................................................................ 107
CONCLUSION – STRUCTURE, AGENCY AND ROMANIAN IDENTITY ...................................................... 110
CHAPTER 4. CONTINUITY RATHER THAN CHANGE – ROMANIA’S NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE
TRANSITION ERA ............................................................................................................... 114
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 114
ROMANIA IN 1989 ................................................................................................................... 115
ROMANIA IN EARLY TRANSITION – ION ILIESCU AND THE USE OF IDENTITY AS ELECTORAL TOOL ............. 117
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ROMANIA’S CONTEMPORARY IDENTITY NARRATIVE – CONTINUITY ONCE MORE ................................. 123
ROMANIA IN THE TRANSITION ERA – FOREIGN POLICY DIRECTION AND DOMESTIC REFORM .................. 128
Desire to Join the West – Stronger commitment towards NATO ..................................... 128
Obstacles to Accession – Resistance to Change and Insistence on State Sovereignty ..... 132
THE RETREAT OF IDENTITARY ANXIETIES IN THE MID-1990S ............................................................. 140
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 142
CHAPTER 5. ROMANIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA – SURVIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE
GREAT EASTERN POWER ................................................................................................... 144
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 144
A NOTE ON ROMANIA’S CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN POLICY AND THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE 145
ROMANIA’S IDENTITY DRIVEN ATTITUDE TOWARDS RUSSIA – DISTRUST, FEAR AND ANXIETY OVER SECURITY
AND INDEPENDENCE ................................................................................................................. 148
RUSSO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD ..................................................... 152
CONTEMPORARY RUSSO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS ........................................................................... 158
FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RUSSO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS ................................................................ 169
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 174
CHAPTER 6. ROMANIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HUNGARY – MANAGING A LEGACY OF A
THOUSAND YEARS OF CONFLICT AND DISCORD ................................................................. 176
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 176
ROMANIA’S IDENTITY DRIVEN ATTITUDE TOWARDS HUNGARY – DISTRUST AND ANXIETY OVER TERRITORIAL
INTEGRITY AND SOVEREIGNTY ..................................................................................................... 177
HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN RELATIONS DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD ............................................. 181
CONTEMPORARY HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN RELATIONS ................................................................... 190
FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN RELATIONS ........................................................ 199
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 203
CHAPTER 7. ROMANIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA – TWO STATES,
ONE PEOPLE? .................................................................................................................... 205
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 205
ROMANIA’S IDENTITY DRIVEN ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA – AFFINITY FOR THE
ESTRANGED SELF ...................................................................................................................... 206
MOLDO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD ................................................... 210
CONTEMPORARY MOLDO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS ......................................................................... 217
FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR MOLDO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS .............................................................. 225
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 232
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 234
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................ 240
DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE ..................................................................................................... 244
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 246

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Tables and Figures

List of Tables

Major Events of Romanian History and Identity Narrative Themes …………………. 67
Major Events of Romanian Contemporary History……………………………………………. 102

List of Figures with Source Attribution

Figure 1. The main periods of Romanian history and their corresponding
themes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69

Figure 2. Map of modern day Romania (1945-).……………………………………………… 73
Source: Romania Mare (Judete si Regiuni Istorice) [Greater Romania (Counties and Historical
Regions)] in Henius Atlas (Leipzig: Kartographische Anstalt von F.A. Brockhaus, 1926),
Copyright: Public Domain, available from Wikimedia Commons, Category: Old Maps of
Romania, uploaded by Olahus, 06.12.2007,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Romania_Mare_(judete_si_regiuni_istorice).JPG
[accessed 13 December 2016].

Figure 3. Map of the Old Kingdom (1859-1918).…………………………………………….. 87
Source: Ibid.

Figure 4. Map of Greater Romania (1918-1940).…………………………………………….. 88
Source: Ibid.

Figure 5. Map of Territorial Losses of 1940.……………………………………………………. 90
Source: Ibid.

Figure 6. Map of the Republic of Moldova……………………………………………………… 196
Source: Cepleanu, S.I., Moldova Today, Copyright: Creative Commons Share Alike 3.0
Unported, available from Wikimedia Commons, 12.11.2011,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MoldovaToday.png [accessed 09 January 2017].

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Introduction
Awaken, Romanian, from your deadly slumber
In which barbaric tyrants have sunk you
Now or never fashion a new destiny
To which even your cruel enemies will bow.
Now or never let us prove to this world
That through this hands Roman blood still flows
And in our chests we proudly hold a name
Victorious in battle, the name of Trajan.
Watch, mighty shadows, Michael, Stephen, Corvin
The Romanian nation, your great-grandchildren,
Weapons in arms, your fire through their veins,
‘Life in freedom or death’ all shout.
Priests with crucifixes at the helm, as the army is Christian
The aim is freedom and its sacred goal
We would rather die fighting, in full glory
Than become slaves again in our ancient land.1
The verses above are from a poem by Andrei Muresanu, a Transylvanian Romanian
poet and political activist, written in the context of the 1848 Pan-European
revolutions. Later put to music, the hymn became known as Awaken, Romanian and
was adopted as Romania’s national anthem in the aftermath of the anti-communist
insurrection of 1989. Despite its inherent patriotism, or perhaps because of it, these
verses tell us something about what Romanians have understood, across the centuries,
to be essential features of their character and history. There are hints to a Roman
origin, a link is drawn between present and past generations, and a picture of a
troubled history awaiting vindication is painted. To someone familiar with Romania’s
history the fact that the figures mentioned come from the state’s three provinces –

1 A. Muresanu, ‘Un Rasunet [An Echo],’ originally published in Foaie pentru minte XI:25, 21 June 1848
(pagination unknown), in C. Bodea (ed.), 1848 la Romani – o Istorie in Date si Marturii [1848 for
Romanians – a History in Dates and Testimonies] (Bucharest: Editura Stiintifica si Enciclopedica, 1982),
pp.506-507.
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Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, respectively – is, itself, symbolic. This poem
constitutes a call to arms, an invitation for Romanians everywhere to awaken, realise
their destiny of unity and independence and avenge a history in which they have been
separated and oppressed by foreign powers. In 1848, the stanzas stood for a
desideratum. In 2017, nearly one hundred years since it became a reality, they have
not lost their salience. Indeed, as lyrics to the national anthem, they serve as a
reminder of past struggles, as well as offering a snapshot of what it is, and what it has
always been, to be Romanian. The anthem has pride of place in Romanian public life –
it is played, according to law, at official ceremonies and festivities, at the beginning of
each session of Parliament, and even, as this author may confirm, at the start of every
school-day of the primary and secondary cycles.2 Additionally, each school textbook of
Romanian history and language must feature on its first page the exact verses
reproduced above.3
This study began with the self-evident fact that national identity is a constitutive
feature of Romanians. The portrayal of the Self, its characteristics and the priorities
which flow from them, are significant to this people. More importantly, these
representations both reflect and shape the manner in which Romanians view the
world and their place within it. The notion that Romanians are a Latin, Orthodox
people, who have fought for unity and independence, creates a particular image of the
role, or even destiny, that their state has. Put simply, this role is, much like that of any
nation-state, to protect the Romanian nation, both physically and culturally, and foster
its development. However, understanding how the specific goals and priorities of this
state are set, or the manner in which it relates to other actors, requires an in-depth
knowledge of the peculiarities created by Romanians’ stories about their national
identity, the priorities and anxieties, the attitudes and red-lines they generate. These

2 Parliament of Romania, Law nr. 75/1994, Article 10, published in the Official Journal of Romania 237
(26 August 1994), available from Monitorul Juridic [n.d.] http://www.monitoruljuridic.ro/act/lege-nr-75-
din-16-iulie-1994-privind-arborarea-drapelului-romaniei-intonarea-imnului-national-si-folosirea-
sigiliilor-cu-stema-romaniei-de-catre-autoritatile-si-institutiile-publice-4303.html [accessed 05 January
2017).
3 Law nr. 75/1994. On a different note, Article 13 of the same law stipulates that the anthem may only
be reproduced in Romanian. As such, there are no official translations of the verses at the beginning of
this chapter, and, consequently, the translation is the author’s own and the source to which it is
attributed is the poem, rather than the anthem itself.
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will be unique to Romania, as its historical experiences and the manner in which they
have been framed through its narrative on identity will be exclusive to it. The rationale
behind certain types of behaviour, therefore, is connected to, and indivisible from, the
precepts which emerge from the story of national identity. In other words, behaviour
is inextricably linked to identity, because the latter forms the lens through which
Romanians appraise their environment.
This thesis, therefore, has at its core the conception that identity matters in the
articulation of Romania’s interests and preferences but also in perceptions of other
actors’ actions. In other words, the project takes the view that it is through stories
about ‘who we are’ that Romanians are able to make sense of the world around them
and that, as a result, the narrative on identity constitutes the inter-subjective reality
within which the state functions. As a result, accounting for the state’s behaviour
requires grasping the essential tenets of the Romanian national identity narrative and
assessing their influence on its actions. As such, this projects’ main research question is
‘What is the impact of the national identity on Romania’s post-socialist foreign policy
agenda?’ Its aim is to add another layer of understanding to the motivations behind
state behaviour by adopting an identity-based perspective. What is of interest, firstly,
are the answers Romanians have given to the questions of ‘who we are,’ ‘what is
important to us,’ and ‘who our Others are.’ These will offer clues as to the nature and
content of the identity narrative, as well as the types of interests that draw on it, and
will allow for an evaluation of the international environment through the Romanian
lens. On the other hand, assessing its impact on behaviour entails overlaying this
image over contemporary events and tracing when, where, and to what extent the
attitudes, priorities and red-lines that flow from this narrative come into play. Overall,
the aim of the project is to show that there exists a discernible pattern of behaviour
which follows a specific rationale conforming with Romania’s identity-based
prerogatives.
The present endeavour is, therefore, a multi-disciplinary study which engages with
issues of identity, history, sociology, foreign and domestic affairs. It aims to explain
how stories about Romanian identity have developed and been perpetuated and also,
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more importantly, how they feed into present day behaviour. The aim is to show that
the national identity narrative, amongst other factors, like external pressures, acts to
influence state action in a manner which has rarely been accounted for by research
into Romanian foreign policy. In a sense, this project brings together two hitherto
largely separate enterprises – Romanians’ own interest in defining ‘what it means to
be Romanian’ which has generally taken the form of sociological, anthropological or
psychological works, and efforts, which are fairly rare in the West, to explain
Romania’s foreign policy direction after 1989. By combining the two, the thesis will
shed light on the motivations behind Romania’s actions which, whilst they may appear
obvious from inside Romania, are difficult to comprehend from the outside or have
been over simplified by rationalist or materialist explanations. The avenue offered into
the study of state behaviour by an identitary perspective is not an altogether novel
one, but its application to the Romanian case is, particularly outside of its borders.
Bringing Romania in to the fold, however, is a useful undertaking not only because it
fills a gap in the research by examining a state which is seldom the subject of study,
but also because it paints a more accurate picture of the inter-state relations and
conflicts which are currently in play in Eastern Europe, as the following section will
show.
Case-Study and Context
The scope of this thesis places it at the confluence of Strategic Culture (SC) and Foreign
Policy Analysis (FPA), within the specific field of constructivist studies on the influence
of national identity/culture on state international behaviour. The present endeavour
seeks to add to a growing, if still underdeveloped, area of research. SC has had a
traditional interest in the study of culture as a variable impacting on behaviour, and its
focus has generally been on, as the name suggests, the strategic sphere, especially
concerning the use of force. Research into political culture4 or, more broadly, national
culture, are rare and even those tend to emphasise the strategy aspect.5 On the other
side, works on identity within FPA are a more recent development, due at least in part

4 See Duffield (1999).
5 See Berger (1996) or Gray (2007).
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to the constructivist shift which began in the 1990s. Both schools, however, have
tended to prioritise case studies concerning great powers and, consequently, the
spotlight has rarely fallen on small states, as both Rasmussen within SC and Browning
in FPA have pointed out.6 The present thesis, therefore, aims to add to the field by
focusing on Romania, a medium-sized former socialist state within Eastern Europe.
There exists a view, implied in the emphasis on large powers, that smaller states
provide less useful case studies, as they are on the receiving, rather than generating,
end of the regional or world order. In other words, that the behaviour of small states is
to a large extent dictated by the activities of the great powers which dominate
regionally or internationally. This is true to a point. It is not the intention of this thesis
to argue that Romania has the same freedom of action as Russia or the United States,
or even its allies in Western Europe. Instead, one acknowledges that external
pressures are more powerfully felt by small states than they are by great powers.
Having said that, the project rejects the notion that the behaviour of small states is
only determined by the global balance of power, or, indeed, that all small states’
priorities are set externally. Instead, it holds the view that, not only is the study of
small states a useful endeavour because minor actors have just as strong a sense of
their own identity as greater ones, but that they do, in the current context of a
globalised and inter-connected world, have the ability to impact the regional, if not
international, order.
With this in mind, a case study of Romania’s motivations for behaviour is both
worthwhile, and, more importantly, a propitious enterprise. Firstly, Romania provides
the opportune context in which to explore the influence of identity narratives on
behaviour. Despite being a small and relatively young nation, Romanians have
developed a particularly powerful sense of identity which has been perpetuated across
several generations to the point that its main features have become sedimented.
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the Romanian identity narrative is its historic
continuity. As such, this thesis argues, in the specific areas in which it functions, such
as ensuring the physical integrity of the state, or prioritising certain relationships over

6 See Rasmussen (2005) and Browning (2008).
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