Romanian Culture: History, Identity, and Cultural Analysis

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.

Romania in the World Wars and Soviet Era

In the First World War, Romania entered on the side of the Allies and obtained Transylvania — a region situated between Romania and Hungary and populated by ethnically and linguistically distinct peoples (BBC 2011). In the Second World War, however, Romania joined with the Axis powers in their attack on the Soviet Union. This decision partially contributed to the Soviet takeover of Romania at the end of the war, leading to decades of harsh domination (CIA 2011; USDOS 2011). This domination did not end despite the growing independence of the Romanian government in the late 1950s, or even with full independence in 1968. Instead, Communist Party leaders in Romania retained the same kind of authoritarian control, and those same leaders remained in place even after the fall of communism (USDOS 2011). For the past fifteen years, however, the country has dramatically democratized and is now a member of the European Union (BBC 2011).

Cultural Analysis: Hofstede's Dimensions

According to Hofstede's analysis of culture, Romania has a traditionally high power distance index, though this appears to be waning with increased democratization and greater equality (IBC 2008). The opposite can be said of the country's uncertainty avoidance index, which measures how well a culture accepts ambiguities in social roles and other social elements (IBC 2008). Decades of corrupt and double-speaking Communist totalitarian rule produced an interesting blend of strict hierarchies and pervasive ambiguities. Now that the country is moving in a more democratic direction, Romanian citizens increasingly expect greater clarity, openness, and honesty from their institutions. Individualism is also on the rise as a result of these changes (IBC 2008).

Conclusion

Taken together, Hofstede's power distance and uncertainty avoidance dimensions, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Values Orientation Theory, and Hall's high-context versus low-context model each illuminate a different aspect of Romanian cultural identity. Romania's turbulent history — spanning Ottoman rule, wartime alliances, Soviet domination, and eventual democratization — has left a lasting imprint on the values, expectations, and social norms of its people, making it a compelling subject for multi-framework cross-cultural analysis.