Nations that endured communist dictatorships must come to terms with the traumas of the past before durable democracies can take hold—a lesson the author learned firsthand in Romania.

After the fall of communism, the restructuring of labor became an integral part of the larger project of building democracy and markets.

Achieving relatively easy terms under the Kyoto Protocol did not necessarily inspire post-socialist states to engage enthusiastically in international climate talks….

Unless Bulgaria and Romania manage to enact judicial reforms, fight corruption and organized crime, and protect human and minority rights, they will not be able to capitalize on the benefits of EU membership, and will continue to be regarded as second-class EU members.

Predictions of massive social unrest, political breakdown, or reformist reversals have, to date anyway, proved misplaced.

Although the publics in Poland and Romania believe there are more similarities than differences in the quality of their lives after communism, external observers argue that Poland's democracy is qualitatively better than Romania's. The challenge is to explain why there is this difference when both countries are consolidated democracies inhabited by unsatisfied…democrats.

Eleven years after the overthrow of communism, Romania is still searching for solutions to its deeper ills. It is a society in dire need of modernization, burdened with a backward political culture and a ruined economy. The challenge to the political class is how to overcome the patterns set by its predecessors, who introduced formal changes while failing to serve their constituent public.