University of Utah

Western Political Science Association

Issues in Local Communist Politics: The Romanian Case

Author(s): Daniel N. Nelson
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Sep., 1977), pp. 384-396
Published by: University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/447938 .
Accessed: 21/01/2013 16:00
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of Utah and Western Political Science Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to The Western Political Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ISSUES IN LOCAL COMMUNIST POLITICS:

THE ROMANIAN CASE
DANIEL N. NELSON

Universityof Kentucky

IT

IS, perhaps,a truismof politicsthatcapital citiesdo not reflectaccurately

the natureof politicallifein any country.Whetheror notwe can make that
forcommunist
is difficult
to say,sincelocal politics
assumption
politicalsystems
our knowlin suchcountrieshas receivedrelatively
littleattention.Untilrecently,
and
of
ministers
far
exceeded
central
councils
about
committees,
edge
politburos,
witha communist
whatwe knewabout a citizen'scontactand interaction
governforthecitiment.1Yet, it is at the local levelwherethe meaningof communism
and constantly
apparent.
zenryis mostdirectly
about "issues"
a descriptive
This paper has,first,
purposeas it reportsfindings
withpoliticalparticiin local communistpoliticsbased upon extensiveinterviews
in the
pantsin Romania. There has been extensiveacademicdebate,particularly
an "issue,"how "issues"relate
contextof Americanpolitics,as to whatconstitutes
to decisionsabout public policy,and manyrelatedpoints. Bachrachand Baratz,
for instance,have criticizedRobertDahl forbeing not cognizantof individuals
and organizationsin whose hands reststhe power to limit"the scope of actual
to 'safe'issues"2- thatis,who controlsthe"agenda" fordecisions
decision-making
officials.
This controlor influence,
bywhichtopicsforpolicymakingare
bypublic
and even trivialissues,leads to thephenomenonof "nonlimitedto unimportant
decisions"wherebya politicalactor decides to take no action,to avoid involvement, etc.3

When FrederickFrey soughtto clarifythe linesof argument,he definedan

"issue" as "a mattercallingforor involvinga decision"4and "non-issues"as "the
effective
use of powerby someactorsin a politicalsystemto deterotheractorsin
to exertinfluence."5In such definitions,
that systemfromeven attempting
Frey
central
to
the
studyof political"issues"in communiststates.
pinpointssomething
Regardlessof how one triesto measurethe issuesaround which policy-making
affected
data are strongly
bythephenomenon
systems,
processesfocusin communist
of "non-issues."Askingpoliticalactorsin suchstatesaboutlocal issuesis notlikely,
Instead,one will rethen,to generatea completeportrayalof local controversies.
ceive a pictureof "issues"withinthe parametersallowed by the party. Most (if
of certainproposalsor topics
not all) politicalactorsrecognizetheunacceptability
fromthe party'sperspectives.
the "matters"whichpoliticalactorsthinkcall for,or involve,deIdentifying
cisionsis complicatedbecause the contentof media is of limitedutilitydue to
states. An alternative,
in communist
functions
obviousindoctrination
namelyperof course,mostnotablyMerleFainsod'sSmolenskUnderSovietRule
There are exceptions,
(Cambridge: Harvard UniversityPress, 1958); Joel C. Moses, Regional Party Leader-

in the U.S.S.R. (New York: Praeger,1974); and Jerry

Hough,
shipand Policy-Making
Press,1969). Workundertaken
The SovietPrefects(Cambridge:HarvardUniversity
of
our
to
understanding
by Jan F. Triska and Yugoslavianscholarspromises enlarge
in Yugoslavia,while otherscholarssuch as
citizencontactswith local government
BernardFrolic,Cal Clark,VictorFalkenheim,and manyothersconductresearchon
states.
sub-national
politicalphenomenain communist
2 PeterBachrachand MortonS. Baratz,"Two Faces of Power,"AmericanPoliticalScience
Review56 (December1962): 952.
in the
"Nondecisions
3 For a carefulcritiqueof Bachrachand Baratzsee RaymondWolfinger,
Studyof Local Politics,"AmericanPoliticalScience Review65 (1971): 1063-80.
FrederickFrey,"On Issuesand Non Issuesin the Studyof Power,"AmericanPoliticalScienceReview65 (1971): 1088.
Ibid., p. 1092.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Issues.in Local Conmmunist Politics 385

sonal interviews
witlipoliticalactors,was utilizedin researchforthispaper. This
more obtrusivemeasureof issues is not withoutlimitations.The term"issue"
itself,when used in a communiststate,impliesdiscordand disunitywhich are
in an
among"non-issues."The term"problem"was substituted
duringinterviews
to avoidsuchimmediatepoliticalsensitivities.
effort
In additionto a descriptivepurpose,data reportedhere reflectupon much
broadertheoreticalquestionsregardingthe relationshipbetweensocioeconomic
and politicalchange. Specifically,
"development"or "modernization"
myconcern
whichpositthat
focusesupon a commonsetofhypotheses
in comparativeliterature
incurnegativeconsequences(negativefromtheirperspective)as
politicalsystems
socioeconomicdevelopmentand modernizationare pursued. The literatureto
worksbyHuntington,
whichI referis vast,includingtheoretical
Apter,Black,Pye,
H-oltand Turner,Kautskyand others.Huntington
is,perhaps,mostblatantin his
contentionthat modernizationthreatenspoliticalstability,arguingthat various
social and economic changes "..

undermine traditionalsources of political author-

ityand traditionalpoliticalinstitutions...."6
This themehas been the concernof studentsof communiststatesas well.
PeterLudz, RichardLowenthal,AlexanderEckstein,and othersappear to expect
in communistnationsnot onlya covariancebetweensocioeconomicand political
to theintentions
contrary
variables,but thatchangein thelatterwillbe distinctly
of partyleaders.7Politicaldecisionsto pushmodernization/development
are,then,
seen to be likelycauses of politicalconsequenceswhich the partyleaderswould
deratheravoid, e.g.,a declinein elitecohesion,an increasein consumer-oriented
of stateor partyorgans,etc.
withthe performance
mands,a risein dissatisfaction
Such attitudinalshiftswould be, of course,moreindicativeof negativepolitical
statethan
in a communist
consequencesengendered
bymodernization/development
would voting,public debating,etc., since theselatterformsof politicalbehavior
to citizensin suchsystems.
are notrealisticalternatives
second
this
purpose is to explore the relationshipbetween
paper's
Thus,
or "development"and local "problems"as perceivedby political
"modernization"
participants.

counties(judete) in Romania, fourwere selectedforreOf the thirty-nine

condisocioeconomic
searchon thebasisof geographicseparationand contrasting
tions. These fourwere Timi?,Cluj, Bra?ov,and Ia?i. Tables 1 and 2 suggestdifferencesamongthecountieson social and economicvariables. Broadly,thesedata
indicatethatBrasovis the mostadvanced county,whileIasi is leastso. Tables 3
and 4, however,measureratesof changeon severalvariablesforwhichdata are
available. Withrespectto ratesof change,lasi is clearlymostrapidlydeveloping,
whileBrasovis changingleastquickly.These have,I believe,politicalimportance
-- a point to which I will returnlater.

statesis conducted,ostensibly,
in communist
Local government
throughdirectly
assembliescalled people'scouncils(or soviets). Such counelected,representative
and communelevelsin Romania.8 People's
cilsare electedat thecounty,city-town,
thebroad contactwiththemassesnecesconstitute
councilsor sovietssymbolically
communist
in
for
states; theyencouragethe party's
ideological
consistency
sary
claim that it governsfroma democratic"base." The participationof citizensin
6X
Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies (New Haven: Yale University

Press, 1968), p. 5.

7 See Peter Ludz, The Changing Party Elite in East Germany (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972);

Richard Lowenthal, "Development vs. Utopia in CommunistPolicy," in C. Johnson,ed.,

Change in Communist Systems (Stanford: Stanford UniversityPress, 1970), pp. 33116; and Alexander Eckstein, "Economic Development and Political Change in CommunistSystems,"World Politics 22 (July 1970): 475-95.
s See a full
descriptionin Daniel Nelson, "The State in Romanian Politics," International andl
Law Quarterly,
Comparative
July1976.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

386

WesternPolitical Quarterly
TABLE

1. INDICES OF COMPARATIVE
LEVELS
DEVELOPMENT/MODERNIZATION

Braiov

Cluj
62.0

Timi

Iaji
I. % PopulationUrban ............................... 63.1
45.3
36.7
II. InfantMortality(Deathsunder1
43.1
30.3
37.3
36.1
yearper 1,000livebirths)......................
9.5
III. % Roads Modernized(i.e., paved) ........
27.7
9.5
12.1
....
40.3
IV. Road Density,Modernizedkm/1,0002
70.3
42.0
35.9
V. % Labor Force Industrial....................... 56.3
44.9
43.2
31.9
VI. Investment
Level Per Capita ..................4,980
2,160
2,900
2,880
lei
lei
lei
lei
2.8
2.1
2.7
and % ofNationalTotal .. ...4.................... 3.4
VII. Ratio ofGeneralSchoolsto
36.6:1
21.3:1
14.8:1
AcademicLyceums................................. 12.1:1
18.7
19.3
17.6
9.2
VIII. % of Pupilsin Grades9-12 ...................
IX. No. of Vocational
17
14
17
(professional)Schools.............................. 20
X. Televisionsin use per
. 130
59
92
126
1,000 inhabitants
................-..........
Sources: AnuarulStatistical RepubliciiSocialisteRomania 1970, 1972 (Bucuresti:

Directia Centrala de Statistica, 1970, 1972); Judetele Patriei (Bucuregti: Editura Academiei
Republicii Socialiste Romania, 1972); Judetele Romaniei Socialiste (Bucureqti: Editura
Politica, 1969).
TABLE

2. SCALED RANKING

OF COUNTIES
OF MODERNIZATION/DEVELOPMENT

Timin

3
4
3
2
3
3

2
2
1.5
2
2

1
1
1.5
3
1
1

4
4

2
3
2.5
2

3
2
2.5
3

1
1
1
1

4
Urban Population.............................
InfantMortality............................................3
% ModernRoads ...........................4....... 4
Road Density...............................................4
% Labor Force Industrial.......................... 4
Investment
Level (combined) .................... 4

Ratio of General Schools to

Academic Lyceums .................4..................
VIII. % Pupils in Grades 9-12 ....................... 4.
IX. No. of Vocational (professional) Schools ....
X. Televisions in use per 1,000 inhabitants ....
VII.

Mean Rank ....

. 3.90
............................

Modal Rank ..........................................

lapi

Cluj

Bratov
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.

BY INDICATORS

2.75

2.10

1.25

leastto most"developed"/"modernized."
Scale1-4suggests
Source: Table 1.

people'scouncilsas deputies,and throughtheirvotesin electionsconductedforthe

regimesas longas theimageof representacouncils,is necessaryforall communist
werecontiveassembliesis usefulfortheparty.For thisstudy,in-depthinterviews
ducted with almost 200 deputies. The sample was weightedto correctfor an
urban-rural imbalance.9
Although symbolicimportance is attached to people's councils, noncommunist
observershave generally regarded these bodies as politically impotent,performing
only a legitimizingfunction. To be sure, Romanian people's council deputies are
constrained to behave within acceptable parameters as defined by the P.C.R.
(Romanian Communist party), to which most deputies belong. Furthermore,
9This weighting
procedureis describedin Nelson,Local Politicsin Romania (New York:
in the East EuropeanMonographSeries),ApColumbiaUniversity
Press,forthcoming
pendixC.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Issues in Local CommunistPolitics 387

TABLE 3. AVERAGEANNUALRATES OF CHANGEFOREIGHT INDICES OF
MODERNIZATION/DEVELOPMENT

Bra4ov

BY COUNTY

PopulationUrban ('68) .......... 61.7%

PopulationUrban ('71) .......... 63.1

48.1%
52.0
.633%/yr

Infant Mortality ('68) ........... 48.4

Infant Mortality ('71) ............ 36.1
Mean Change . -...................... 4.1/yr

44.6
30.3
4.8/yr
14.2
12.1
.26%/yr
38.3 km
40.3 km

Mean Change ..........................

Timif

Iafi

42.1%
45.3
1.067%/yr
50.3
37.3
4.3/yr
8.2
9.5
.16%/yr

31.5%
36.7
1.733%/yr

Cluj

467%/yr

% Roads Modernized ('65) .... 22.5

% Roads Modernized ('71) .... 27.7

Mean Change ......................... 65%/yr

Road Density('65) ............... 63.6 km
Road Density('71) ............... 70.3km
Mean Change ........... ..... 1.12km/yr

.33 km/yr

59.8
43.1

5.6/yr

8.5
9.5
.13%/yr
33.6 km
29.1km
35.9 km
42.0 km
1.13km/yr 1.4 km/yr

% Industrial Laborers ('67) .. 54.2%

% Industrial Laborers ('71) .. 56.3

42.3%
44.9
.65%/yr

39.7%
43.2
.88%/yr

28.0%
31.9
.98%/yr

to Academic Lyceums ('68) .... 12.6: 1

20.8:1

14.3:1

31.6:1

to Academic Lyceums ('71) .... 12.1:1

21.1:1
-.10/yr

14.8:1
-.17/yr

36.6:1
-1.7/yr

19.1%

16.4%

9.1%

18.7

17.6

9.2

Mean Change .................. ...

Ratio ofGeneralSchools

53%/yr

Ratio ofGeneralSchools

Mean Change .......................... .17/yr

% Pupilsin
Grades9-12 ('68) ................. 10.6%
% Pupilsin
Grades9-12 ('71) ....... ..... 19.3
Mean Change ............ ..... . -.43%/yr

-.13%/yr

.40%/yr

.03%/yr

Source: Anuarul Statistic al Republicii Socialiste Romania (Bucuresti: Directia Centrala de Stastica,
1969 and 1972).

TO AVERAGEANNUALRATES OF
TABLE 4. SCALEDRANKINGSOF COUNTIES ACCORDING
CHANGE

FOR SEVEN

INDICES

OF MODERNIZATION/DEVELOPMENT

Brafov
...... 1
PopulationUrban ...............................
1
InfantMortality................................
..............
% Roads Modernized..............3......... ...... .. 41
2
Road Density.............................................
% IndustrialLaborers.......................................... 1
Ratio of General Schools to Academic Lyceums ....
% Pupils in Grades 9-12 ...-....................... .... .

4
1

Mean Rank ............................................. 2.00

Modal Rank ............................................... 1

Cluj

Timi4

Iali

3
3

2
2
3
3
3

4
4
2
4
4

2.71
2.5

3.14
4

1
2
3
2

2.14
3

2
4

1
3

Note: Source of 1 indicatesleast change,whilea scoreof 4 indicatesmostchange.

Source: Table 3.

deputies have little opportunityto express opinions given that people's councils
meet for only a dozen hours annually (in four sessions lasting about three hours
each), during which most of the time is given over to reports. Finally, the recruitment of deputies involves an extensive screening procedure under the watchful

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

388

WesternPolitical Quarterly

directionof the partyvia the SocialistUnityFrontwhich assuresthat people's

councilsare filledwithloyal,socialistcitizens.'0
theselimitationson the independenceof deputiesand the
Notwithstanding
councilsto which theybelong,I have foundthat Romaniandeputiesare clearly
and
in theirlocal jurisdiction,
dividedwithrespectto the problemstheyidentify
distinctheirattitudestowardtheirown council. Moreover,theseintra-national
citedabove. As a "wintionssuggesta relationship
withsocioeconomic
differences
dow" throughwhich to view local politics,deputies'opinionsare clearlyonlya
singleperspectiveand one withconsiderablelimitations.Yet, as will be indicated
diversities
foundin Romanian sub-nationalunitsseem
below, the intra-national
to thissourceofdata.
to transcendthelimitations
inherent
PROBLEMS FOR LOCAL ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT

People'scouncildeputieswereasked twoquestionswhichfocusedupon problems confronting

theircouncil. These questionswere intendedto seek evidence
on
bearingdirectly the natureof issuesin sub-nationalpolitics. I was, then,inof problemsamongcountiesbut also
terestednot onlyin the qualitativediversity
in theextentto which,in one county,mattersofpublicconcernare moreprevalent
than in another.
therewas no attemptto structure
Because of theseintentions,
responsesto the
first
problemsforyourcouncil
questionwhichasked,"Whatare themostimportant
to resolvein the next 1-3 years?" I wantedto gain an approximatemeasureof
how many "problems"existedin the deputies'opinionsand did not, therefore,
limitthe numberof "problems"mentionedor tryto isolateresponsesin preconceived categories.Table 5 categorizesdeputies'responsesand comparesthe frequencywithwhichtheywere mentionedin percentages.All categoriesin which
4 percentor moreoftheresponses
fellare listed.
a mean numberof responsesper deputy
For each level of local government,
a comparative
can be calculated. The mean numberofproblemsmentionedoffers
gauge among the fourcountiesas to the quantityof local problemsor the extent
to which deputiesrecognizetasksfacingtheirlocal government.The resulting
scores(in Table 6) are, quite simply,the averagenumberof problemsmentioned
bydeputiesfromthelocale and levelindicated.Fromthesemeansone mightinfer
thatcertainlevelsor areas of Romania do have moreproblems- or,at least,that
deputieshave thatopinion.
We can, in addition,calculatea "grandmean" foreach county. (Because of
the sample'sbias towardurban-baseddeputies,however,such a calculationis not
foreach countyas listedabove. Instead,we must
merelythemean of threefigures
weightruraldeputies'responsesmorethan urbandeputies'because of the disproportionatepresenceof thelatterin thesample.) Such meansare as follows:Timi;,
2.14; Cluj, 1.46; Bra?ov,2.16; and Ia?i, 2.46.
therawaveragesforeach level,as wellas theweightedmeans
In somerespects,
above, representexpectedresults. One finds,for instance,that commune-level
council
mentionedfewerproblemsthan countyor city-level
deputiesconsistently
withtheexceptionof Cluj, citydeputiesmentionedmore
members.Furthermore,
problemsthan countydeputies. Yet, it would be inappropriateto concludeimmediatelyfromsuchresultsthatthereare moreproblemsin citiesforlocal political
ghmightsuspectthatsuchis thecase).
thanin ruralareas (althou one
institutions
in the
Mean scoresof thesortindicatedcould have been producedbya difference
"awareness"among deputiesregardinglocal concernsand problems;thatis, city
deputiesmightmentionmore problemssimplybecause theyare knowledgeable
abouta greaternumber.If thatwereso,however,theleasturbanizedcounty(Tasi)
10T have discussed the backgroundsof deputies in Nelson. ibid.. ch. IV.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TABLE 5. LOCAL PROBLEM-AREAS CITED BY DEPUTIES

Nt=97
Timni

N=127
Cluj

Education .............................. 27%

Education .............................. 21%

(as percentof total number

N=117
Bralov

General Development
& Modernization .....--..

16

Education .....................-

Roads & Public

Transportation ..-.....-....---.... 14
Health & Sanitation .............. 12

General Development
14
& Modernization .............---.....

Housing &
ConstructionQuality ...

Urban Planning .................... 13

Provisioning& Commerc

Public Services
& Maintenance ......................

Roads & Public

Transportation ......................

Urban Planning --.

Housing &
ConstructionQuality ............

Provisioning& Commerce ....

Roads & Public

Transportation -.............

General Development
& Modernization....................

Health & Sanitation ..............

Public Services
& Maintenance ...............

Agriculture

22
...........................

Agriculture --........- ........

* All percentagesresultfromweightingraw data to correctforsample's bias towardurbasl-baseddeputies.

t N, here, is the total numberof problemscited by all deputiesinterviewedin each county; keep in mind, then, that one d
could thinkof only one; e.g., rural deputieswould, occasionally,see "agriculture"as all-encompassing.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

390 WesternPoliticalQuarterly
TABLE 6
Level

LOCATION

Timis

Town-City............................... 2.96
County........................ ....... 2.33
Commune ............................... 2.00

BY COUNTY

Cluj

Brapov

lIai

2.29
3.00
1.22

2.68
2.10
2.00

3.00
2.68
2.40

shouldhave lowermean scores,whichit does not. Quite thecontrary,

thelocation
withthelowestsocioeconomic
leveland thesmallesturbanpopulationhas,overall,
the highestgrandmean score,denotingmoreproblemsmentionedby deputieson
the average.
The strongsuspicionarises,then,thata regionsuchas Iasi County,experiencing socioeconomicchangemorerapidlythanthe othercounties,does indeedhave
more problemsthat are recognizedby people's councildeputies. Moreover,it is
that deputiesfromIa?i Countyconsistently
mentionedmore concerns
significant
fortheirpeople'scouncilsthandid Brasovdeputies,regardless
oflocation.
Asidefromtheabove quantitative
measures,thisquestionproduceda differentiationamongresearchedcountiesas to thenatureofproblemsfacingsub-national
in one
politicalinstitutions.Not surprisingly,
problemsfacinglocal government
area of Romania differfromconcernsexpressedby deputiesin anotherlocality.
For the mostpart,the resultssummarizedin Table 5 tend to confirmotherwise
ofthefourresearched
intuitive
assessments.
Brasov,themostdeveloped/modernized
as a concernfortheirlocal
counties,had veryfewdeputiesmentioning
agriculture
remainsa problemof real impeople'scouncil. For theothercounties,agriculture
which
That my inquirybrought
with
the
councils
must
be
concerned.
portance
such responsesis reasonablegiventhe smallerpercentageof Brasov'slabor force
involvedin agricultural
pursuits.11
Brasovdeputiesalso evincedsome concernforurbanizationand urbanplanning,as did Cluj Countyto an evengreaterextent,whereasIasi and Timisdeputies
at all levelsare lessconcernedwithsuchissues.All thisrelatesratherwellwithone's
subjectiveimpressionsof Brasov Countyvis-a-visIagi; whereas the experience
gained over timehas probablyimpressedupon Brasovresidentsand deputiesthe
Iasi County
need forplanningsuch changesas urbanizationand industrialization,
withtrendstoward
(outsidethecityof Ia?i) has had farlesscontactuntilrecently
urbanizationand industrialization.
Of moregeneralizedconcernis education,whichseemsto be on themindsof
Yet, again,Iasi and Timis
manydeputiesin local Romanianpoliticalinstitutions.
when comparedto BrasovCountypercentages.
lead overall,particularly
whereTimisdeputiesseempreoccupiedwithroadsand publictransportation,
as in Brasov such thingsare of less concern. Even Iasi deputies,despitethat
county'slowersocioeconomiclevel,are not as concernedwiththe need formore
and bettertransportation.
Cluj and Timis countiesdo, as a matterof fact,rank
behindBrasovand Iasi withrespectto "road density"leadingto, one can reasonneeds in the formertwo
ably assume, a greaterrecognitionof transportation
districts.l2
Brasovdeputiesdid not once mentionhealthand sanitationproblemsas concernsfortheirpeople'scouncils,whereasin theothercounties(particularly
Iasi and
in
the
as
comthis
saw
of
important
category
Timis), higherpercentages deputies
" For a morethoroughexploration
see ibid.,ch. II.
of thesesocioeconomic
differences,
" Aggregate
Politica,
data can be derivedfromJudeteRomanieiSocialiste(Bucureati-Editura
AcademileRepubliciiSocial1969), or in the seriesJudetePatriei (Bucuresti-Editura
isteRomania,variousyears).

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Issuesin Local Commrunist

Politics 391
ing one to threeyears. This findingappears closelyrelatedto how thesesame
countiesrank in infantmortality
whereTIai has the worstrate among
statistics,
thefourand Timi?Countysomewhatbetter.l3
Provisioning(connotingthe supplyof food and consumerproducts)is, ironforurbandeputies- whichmightsuggestthatthemethod
ically,mostbothersome
of food distribution
is less thansatisfactory
in Romania. Bra?ovCounty,themost
"advanced"locale,had themostresponsesoverallindicatingconcernforprovisioning,althoughCluj citydeputieswereworriedaboutprovisioning
problemsin their
a
in
area. That such difficulties
exist
countryrapidlychangingfrompeasant
may
a function
ofa centrally
of course,and is notnecessarily
to industrialis no surprise,
planned economyany more than is the magnitudeof change in the Romanian
societyand economy.
Of other "problem"categories,severaldeservemention. Housing and the
qualityof construction
appearedas a morepressingconcernin Bra?ov,and lessso
relatedto BrasovCounty'shigher
in othercounties.This resultcould be tentatively
level of urbanization.In the "generaldevelopmentand modernization"
category,
a greaterindicationof concernat thecounty
Bra?ovdeputiesgave proportionately
and communelevels. Perhapsbecausethereis a morewidelyspreadregardfor,or
moreadvancedarea.
positiveassociationwith,thosetermsin a relatively
From both the quantitativeand qualitativemeasuresobtainedby Question
One, we can concludethat: (1) deputieswithinone level of one countyexpress
divergent
opinionsregardingproblemsthatfacetheirpeople'scouncil; (2) that,as
a corollary,
deputies'opinions"represent"to a reasonabledegreewhat one might
conditionsof theirlocality;and (3) thattheextent
expectgiventhesocioeconomic
withIa?i deputies
or degreeof concernsmentionedis notuniformintra-nationally,
councilthan
for
their
more
at all levelsconsistently
people's
problems
mentioning
deputiesin othercounties.
Anotherkindof measureis needed,however,of deputies'opinionsregarding
local problems- a measurebased on limitedresponses.In a secondquestion,I
soughtdeputies'ideas as to themostpressingsingleconcernforthepeople'scouncil
to which theybelong. Their answersare summarizedin Table 7 by coalescing
intoseveralbroadcategories.
responses
TABLE

7. MOST IMPORTANTPROBLEM-AREACITED BY PEOPLE'S COUNCIL DEPUTIES

Categoryof
Answer

N=37
Timi!
% (weighted)

N=64

N=47
Cluj
% (weighted)

N=50
Bra4ov
% (weighted)

% (weighted)

IaSi

Economic* .......................
Quality of Lifet ..............

30.6
28.1

15.2
47.5

11.8
34.1

19.9
33.8

General Development/
Modernization: ............

19.1

29.2

22.2

Education ...............

Other? .

.......................

40.7
.6

Totals ........................100.0%

21.1

17.8

3.8

.4

100.0%

100.0%

Chi Square = 24.7645

(.05> = P>.01)

23.3
.8

100.0%?

N =198

* Includesanswersfocusedon agricultureor industry.

and
f Includes answers focused on public services,housing, provisioning,health and sanitation,roads
and urban planning.
transportation,
area.
a specificsubstantive
: Answersutilizedsuch termswithoutoffering
day care centers,etc.
? Includesfinance,parks,democratization,
13

in Nelson,Local Politicsin Romania,ch. II.

Ibid.,and surmmarized

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

392

WesternPolitical Quarterly

One shouldnote thatthe "mostimportant"problemindicatedbydeputiesin

their answers to this item did not, necessarily,correspond with answers to the first
question. What might be a concern of overwhelminglocal importance could subsume, for an individual deputy, several of the problems indicated for his or her
response to my firstinquiry. While responses were generally consistent,such a
combination did occur a few times such that we cannot inferthat responses to the
second question necessarily "arose," or were otherwise derived from answers to
Question One.
Agriculture,included under the "economic" category,is a major preoccupation of deputies from all counties. In a nation where half the population is peasantry,this should surprise no one. That Bra?ov deputies are less concerned with
agriculture relative to other problems (even at the commune level) is also to be
expected, given that county'shighersocioeconomic level. Yet, formuch of Romania.
agriculture is daily life and cannot be disassociated from the concerns of people's
councils, irrespectiveof any desire to work for"industry,""urbanization," and other
panaceas. As one Iasi commune-level deputy told me, "Our major concern has
always been and will always be agriculture; the fieldsare our lives."14
Industry and industrializationare the province of urban-based deputies. Yet,
given the great emphasis on increasing industrialproduction in Romania, such responses were surprisinglyfew. The economic "plan" is an omnipresent goal in
Romania if one believes innumerable party announcements, decrees, etc., the
achievement of which is alvays held up as a solution to whatever ails the country.
A Five-Year Plan must not only be achieved, but a massive campaign urges each
enterprise and individual worker to complete the Plan before schedule.'5 It is
interesting,then, that local deputies are so little oriented toward the industrial
aspect of "multilateraldevelopment" soughtby central authorities.
Percentagesin the "education" categoryindicate, ratherconvincingly,that this
area of concern is quite important. In all cases, education ranks among the highest
categoriesin termsof the percentage of deputies citingit as the problem forprimary
council concern. Components of this concern focused on expanding minimum
education to the entire population - specifically,to the ten years now required as
opposed to the previous minimum of eight grades. Material conditions of the
schools - sufficientclassrooms,books, etc. - were also part of the education "problem." In urban areas, the principal educational concern was material in nature,
i.e., improving the quality of education. By contrast,rural deputies' primaryconcern was reaching the tenth-graderequired level. Because Ia?i County has fewer
young people who continue on to the higher secondary grades, the latter answer
was more prevalent there than in the other counties, particularly,Brasov.
Provisioning and other "quality of life" indicators continue to be problems
in Romania as in other socialist countries,not so much because of actual product
shortages as because of poor distribution. In the city of Cluj, for instance, a number of deputies mentioned consumer products, generally, as a problem for their
council, arguing that theypersonallyknew of certain villages where items,in short
supply in Cluj, were plentiful. Particularlytraumatic, apparently,was the lack of
beer (in a hot August), most of which was on the Black Sea coast destined for
German or Italian tourists. lasi deputies and rural deputies generallyindicated less
concern for the supply of food and consumer items,whereas urban-based deputies
tended to be more vocal in this regard.
Housing and constructionappeared as a major concern in Brasov more than
elsewhere, here subsumed under the category of "quality of life." A Brasov city
Oral communication,October 1973.
" See, for example, the communique issued by the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist party after its February 5, 1974, meeting in
Romania: Documents -- Events,Vol. 4, No. 5 (January 1974).

'4

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Issues in Local Communist Politics 393

site,"and another
deputynotedthat"30 percentof thetownis a big construction
lamentedthatthe completionof new "blocs" of apartments
was notyetin view.16
The impatienceunderlying
thosestatements
witha commune-level
contrasted
Ia?i
deputywho observedthat "comparedwithtwentyyearsago, our homesare like
villas today.'17
Several factorscould account for the dichotomybetweenIasi and Bra?ov
deputies'opinionsabout housing. First,althoughIa?i Countyis, overall,more
denselypopulated,Bra?ov'spopulationis moreconfinedto townsand cities;even
the mountainoustopography
of Bra?ovpromotesthe concentration
of population.
One can, then,speculatethattheopinionsofdeputiesmirrortheconcernsofa more
highlyconcentrated
(i.e., moreoftenurban) populaceforhousingand construction
quality.
Otherreasonsfortheabove-mentioned
responsesseemfeasibleas well. It may
are involvedforBrasovCountycitizens
be, forinstance,thatsubjective"trade-offs"
Lifeis clearlybetterin a material
bylivingin an area moredeveloped/modernized.
sensein contrastto, say,Iasi, but so too do inconveniences
relatedto thathigher
standardof livingseemlarger. Perhapsa betterway of puttingthisnotionis that
be
Bra?ovcitizensmay expect comforts,
havinghad themlonger,and therefore
moreirritated
whenconstruction
is notcompletedorwhenan apartment's
relatively
facilitiesdo not work. Iasi citizens,bycontrast,
maybe onlytoo happyto see constructiontakingplace, and be moretolerantof inoperativefeaturesin new buildingsthatwerenewto themanyway.
whichI used as a "catch-all"cateGeneraldevelopmentand modernization,
goryhere,was of universalconcern.That Timis Countyhas no scorein thatcategoryresultedfrommy attempt,in the earlystagesof research,to seek specific
responsesfromall deputies.
In all of this,thereis littleto shakeone's priorintuitiveassessments.For our
of opinionsabout public
diversity
purposes,however,the thesisof intra-national
data in
with
is
significant
statistically
policy again supportedand, here,portrayed
distinctions.The mostimporcategoriesthatmoreclearlyshowcounty-to-county
tantconclusionthatcan be made is thatdeputiestendto be mostconcernedwith
problemspeculiarto theirlocal area, not,it would seem,withbroadly
day-to-day
social democracy,etc.). Instead,
based nationalgoals (e.g., of industrialization,
varyingfromarea to area as one would expect,deputies'concernsreflectimmediacyand a certainmundane quality-finishing housingand construction,
assuringbasic food and consumersupplies,having good roads and trams,and
educatingtheirchildren.If deputiesto Romanianpeople'scouncilsare aware of
aims such as "multilaterally
developedsocialistsociety,"it mustbe
party-decreed
a distinctly
secondaryawareness.
In a thirdquestion,my intentionwas to have the subjectsreflectupon the
of theircouncilin responseto the question,"What is the most
accomplishments
importantkind of activitywhich the people's councilperformsforthe public?"
and a summaryof thedata is presentedin Table 8.
Answerswereclassified,
One shouldnot,of course,attributeall these"good deeds" forthe public to
people'scouncilactivitiesalone,despitethedeputies'assertations.Insteadofmeaby people's councils,then, the questionsought
suringactual accomplishments
anotherway of lookingat councilmembers'opinionsregardingpublicpolicies.
Brasovdeputiesscoredhighest(relativeto the fourcounties)in thecategory
was in
of "economics"becausemanyrepliedthattheircouncil'smostvitalactivity
ofconcerns,
industry.Meanwhile,Iasi's deputieshad a widerdispersion
promoting
i.e., a higherpercentagein the categories"education"and "other." These scores
bothSeptember1973.
'" Oral communications,
"7Oral communication,October 1973.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

394

WesternPolitical Quarterly
TABLE

8. MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE'S COUNCIL ACTIVITIES FOR THE

PUBLIC

IN DEPUTIES'

OPINIONS

N=47
Cluj
% (weighted)

N=50
Bra4ov
% (weighted)

N=64
Iayi
% (weighted)

17.6
15.0

14.4
18.9

22.6
.8

18.9
5.6

Qualityof Lifet .............. 57.6

GeneralDevelopment/
Modernization......-..-.. 9.2
Other ............................... .6

51.6

62.5

52.3

9.4
5.7

11.2
2.9

11.5
11.7

Categoryof
Answer

N=37
Timi?
% (weighted)

Economic* ........................
Education ..........................

100.0%
Totals ........................100.0%
100.0%
N = 198
Chi Square= 18.6108
(P=.10)

100.0%

* Includes agricultureand industry.

t Includes provisioning,housing quality and availability,public service and maintenance,urbanization,
and otherresponsesgenerallyconnotinga betterlifeand standardof living.

translate to mean that people's council deputies from counties as differentas are
Bra?ov and Iasi (particularly in termsof socioeconomic condition) see the accomplishmentsof that local state organ in dissimilarways. From these data, of course,
a significancelevel of P= .10 does not allow a confidentstatementto that effect.
PROBLEMS WITHIN PEOPLE'S COUNCILS

If deputies are not of one mind regardingthe problems faced by local government, neither do they evaluate people's councils similarly. A question posed to all
deputies interviewedsought their suggestionsfor "improving" the council of which
theywere members. Indirectly,then, I sought a measure of their satisfactionwith
the activitiesof people's councils and their own role as deputies.
Responses, recorded in Table 9, implythat Iasi County has fewerdeputies who
that
no changes (or, no improvements) are needed in their council, whereas
say
Bra?ov County has, proportionately,the most deputies who indicate total satisfaction with theircouncil.
TABLE 9. CHANGES NEEDED IN PEOPLE'S COUNCILS ACCORDING TO DEPUTIES

Categoryof
Answer

N=37
Timis
% (weighted)

No changesneeded.......... 28
64
Changes,Intra-systemic*..
Changes,Extra-systemict..8.1

N=47
Cluj
% (weighted)

N=50
Brasov
% (weighted)

N=64
Iai
% (weighted)

39.4
25
35.7

44.5
33.8
21.7

19.4
28.7
52.0

100100.0%
00.1%
Totals -.................... 100.1%
N = 198
Chi Square= 35.2436
(P<or= .001)

100.1%

* These include (a) reduce numberof deputies; (b) betterpreparationforsessions;(c) lengthensessions;

(d) increasenumberof deputies; (e) improvepermanentcommissionactivities.
to deputies; (b) need betterquaified deputies; (c) more
t These include (a) more power or responsibility
citizen involvement;(d) betterexpertisein administration;(e) more candidatesper district;and severalother
responses.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Issues in Local CommunistPolitics 395

More important
are thetypesofimprovements
In administering
the
suggested.
for
structured
responseswere listedfirst,and thenan opportunity
questionnaire,
unstructured
answerswas offered.The fivestructuredrepliesare relativelyinas "intra-systemic."
nocuousforcommunist
Among
partypoliticsand are classified
become
evident:
several
clusters
open-endedresponses,
(1) give deputiesand the people'scouncilmorepower,moreimportant
work,or moreresponsibility;
moreeduca(2) improvethequalityof deputies,i.e., betterpreparation,
tionor betterattitudestowardtheirwork;
and participation;
(3) enlargecitizeninvolvement
and
(4) improveexpertise competenceofbureaucracy;
(5) increasethenumberofcandidatesin each district;and
(6) improvelocal leadership.
with the
Each of these responses,quite clearly,impliesa greaterdissatisfaction
systemof local politics,and theyare thusclassifiedas "extra-systemic."
Thereis uniformly
littlesentiment
formeasuresoffered
as structured
responses
sessions.
such as increasingor decreasingthe numberof deputiesor lengthening
Betterpreparationforsessionsreceivedsome support,as did suggestedimproveofthepeople'scouncil. Particularly
mentsin theactivitiesof standingcommissions
in the lattercase, it was a commoncomplaintof deputiesthatrecommendations
from standingcommissionswent unheeded- more so in the less developed/
countiesthanin themore"advanced"regions.
modernized
When a deputychose to give an answerotherthan thoseverballylisted,a
surprising
proportionin Ia?i Countyand in the cityof Cluj indicatedthat they
shouldbe given to deputiesand the
thoughtmore power and/orresponsibilities
people'scouncilsgenerally.Such a proposalconnotes,of course,a departurefrom
categorizedas "extraparty-ordained
proceduresin local politicsand is therefore
this
articulated
One
positionbetterthanmost:
Cluj municipaldeputy
systemic."
withtheExecutiveCommittee,
relationship
Deputiesmusthave a stronger
and have more influencewith it. As it is now, we deputiesjust wait
around for orders. I think,in my personalopinion,that we need to
initiatethings,notonlyrespond."8
to deputiesand
In Ia?i, somedeputiescalled fora greater"delegationofauthority"
the councilfromthe permanentbureau and executivecommittee.Othersubjects
weremoreexplicit:
Deputiescannotarrangeanythingnow; if the people ask deputiesto do
we mustplead with the executivecommittee.Deputies need
anything,
more authority.For example,we should be able to deal directlywith
ratherthango throughtheexecutivecommittee.
pollutionfroma factory
Deputiesshouldnotbe justintermediaries.l9
anotherIa?i deputysaid that therewas "not much of imMore succinctly,
portance"donein thepeople'scouncil.
fewdeputies
one mustrecallthatrelatively
statements,
Despitetheseinteresting
local
of
mode
to
the
established
politics,whether
contrary
openlyexpressedthoughts
or not theymighthave agreedwiththegeneralstatements.Onlyin Iasi did a bare
changesin local politics.
majorityfavorsignificant
a numberof deputiessuggestedthat people's
Criticalof theircompatriots,
councilscould be improvedif people electedas deputieswere of higherquality.
'

Oral communication,August 1973.

19Oral communication,October 1973.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

396

WesternPolitical Quarterly

weremade to: (1) the need forhighereducationallevels,and

Specificreferences
of committed
attitudeson thepartof councilmembers.At least
(2) the necessity
someof the responsesin thiscategorydealt withothercouncilmembersin a condescendingtone,such as one Cluj deputywho judged someof his fellowdeputies
as "not too bright";as he continued,thedeputynotedthatamongover200 deputiesin his council,"somedo notknowmuchnow."20Otheranswersplaced in this
different
categorywere of a considerably
sort,assertingthatnot all deputiespracticed a "socialistmentality."Most responsesthatreferred
to attitudinalimproveat
seemed
aimed
who
are
nominal
membersat best,havments,however,
deputies
ing littletime or inclinationto play the role of deputyoutsidepeople's council
sessions.
A degreeof concernis in evidencein all countiesforcitizen-people's
council
relationsor contacts.There does not seemto be any significant
difference
county
to countyin thisregard,however,exceptinsofaras Brasovcitydeputiesregister
in local govermentthan do urban areas
greaterconcernforcitizeninvolvement
in less developed/modernized
areas.
Thus, in Ia?i where socioeconomicchange is most rapid froma low level,
fewerdeputiesare satisfiedwiththe people'scouncilor, at least,a higherproportion thinkthat somethingcould be done to improvetheircouncil. Second,we
that
have foundthat Ia?i has a relativelyhighscoreforsuggestedimprovements
connotemajorsystemic
changes- thatis,counterto partycontroloflocal political
institutions.
CONCLUSION

in thispapersuggest,
thattheissuesofsub-national
Data presented
politics
first,
in communist
statesare, indeed,local. Despitethecentralization
of policymaking,
the principalconcernsof citizenswho participatein local politicscenteraround
reflectthe goals of
problemshighlyparochialin nature,whichonlyincidentally
nationalelites.
draw the inferencefromthesedata that such
Moreover,we can tentatively
of opinion among subproblemsare, indeed, "issues." There is no uniformity
nationalpoliticalactorsacrossRomania or withinanyone county.Different
problemsare recognized,as thefirstquestiondiscovered,and priorities
in
clearlydiffer
termsof what problemis mostimportantto deputies,and what activitiesof local
are seento be mostcommendable(questionstwoand threefocusedon
government
thesepoints). Even local organsof government,
are fociof disagreethemselves,
mentsinsofaras evaluationof people'scouncilsare clearlycontradictory.
What thesephenomenamay mean for a communistpoliticalsystemis not
of
altogetherclear. We might,however,expect that any outwardmanifestation
local politicalissues (e.g., more discussionleading to debate) would be opposed
throughperiodic,localized"crack-downs."On theotherhand,thereis nothingin
communist
ideologyto saydiscussionof issuescannotoccurwithintheranksof the
party;indeed,if the Romanianregimecan managethenascentconflictthesedata
of opinionmightwell serveas a sourceof strength,
suggest,differences
siphoning
offantagonisms
whichcouldotherwise
be moredamaging.
But should the party'spursuitof developmentand modernization
be related
to an increasein thequantityof issuesas perceivedbypoliticalparticipants,
and a
of stateor one's role in
withlocal institutions
greaterinclinationto be dissatisfied
such organs (as thesedata seemto imply),thenthemanagementof internalconflictsmay growmoredifficult
withthe socioeconomic"successes"of the regime.

' Oral
communication,August 1973.

This content downloaded on Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:51 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions