Party-state relationship, an effect of the political competition. The party system and patronage in Romanian politics

• Main Author: Irina Lonean
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Facultatea de Stiinte Politice, SNSPA 2012-06-01
• Series: Sfera Politicii
• Subjects: Party-state relationship; patronage; state capacity; communist heritge; robust political competition
• Online Access: http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/169/art08-Lonean.php

The article examines the party-state relationship in post-communist Romania. It shows the connections between the existence of patronage, corruption and the states’ weak administrative capacity, on one hand, and the dynamics of the political party system, as an explanatory variable, on the other hand. The instability of the political parties in Romania and their changing relations within the system make the electorates’ task of anticipating and sanctioning their politics impossible. Consequently, the political parties have the possibility of extracting resources from the state without being held accountable in elections, as an effect of their dynamic, but non-robust competition.