Romanian Culture: History, Identity, and Cultural Analysis
This paper examines Romanian culture through a combination of historical overview and three distinct cultural analysis frameworks. Beginning with Romania's formation from the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, the paper traces the country's involvement in both World Wars, its decades under Soviet-influenced Communist rule, and its recent democratization and accession to the European Union. Cultural dimensions are then analyzed using Hofstede's power distance and uncertainty avoidance indices, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Values Orientation Theory — particularly the relationship with time — and Edward T. Hall's high-context versus low-context culture model. Together, these frameworks provide a comprehensive picture of how Romania's turbulent past has shaped the values, expectations, and social norms of its people today.
- Introduction: Scope, method, and frameworks introduced
- Country Overview: Geography, religion, language, and formation
- Romania in the World Wars and Soviet Era: WWI, WWII, Soviet domination, democratization
- Cultural Analysis: Hofstede's Dimensions: Power distance and uncertainty avoidance applied
- Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Values Orientation: Time orientation and five cultural criteria
- Hall's High-Context vs. Low-Context Culture: Explicit versus implicit cultural communication norms
- Conclusion: Synthesis of frameworks and cultural transition
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates three distinct cultural frameworks — Hofstede, Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, and Hall — rather than relying on a single lens, giving the analysis comparative depth.
- Grounds theoretical claims in historical context, showing how specific events (Soviet domination, democratization) directly shaped measurable cultural dimensions.
- Maintains a clear progression from factual country overview to increasingly abstract cultural theory, making the argument easy to follow.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper applies multiple analytical frameworks to a single subject and shows how each reveals a different facet of the same cultural reality. For example, the legacy of Communist ambiguity is explained through Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance index, then reframed through Hall's high-context/low-context model to show the same transition from a communication perspective. This layered approach demonstrates sophisticated comparative analysis.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief introduction establishing scope and method, followed by a factual country overview covering geography, religion, language, and political history. A separate section then addresses the World Wars and Soviet-era domination before the analysis turns to three sequential theoretical frameworks. Each framework section introduces the model, applies it to Romania, and links findings back to historical causes. The paper is compact but covers all major dimensions expected in a cultural profile assignment at the undergraduate level.
Introduction
This paper explores the culture of Romania, a relatively new country and only recently an independent force in the geopolitical sphere. By examining Romania's history — from its founding in the latter half of the nineteenth century, through its participation in the two World Wars, through its Soviet domination, and up to the emerging democracy the country is today — the values, notions, and perspectives of its people can be ascertained. Three different cultural frameworks will be applied to this study of Romanian history in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nation's culture.
Country Overview
Romania was formed as a nation in 1859 from the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which had been under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire for several hundred years (CIA 2011; USDOS 2011). Two millennia prior, the region had been part of the Byzantine Empire, and the Eastern Orthodox denominations of Christianity have remained the majority religion of the peoples of this region regardless of their official nationality — something that continues to this day (BBC 2011; CIA 2011). The peoples of this region have also been bound by a common language for some time; Romanian is one of the Latinate or Romance languages and is also spoken in neighboring countries (USDOS 2011). Political events in the twentieth century, however, created certain complications and new trends in Romanian culture.
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