Taking the short route: political parties, funding regulations, and state resources in Romania

Gherghina, S. and Chiru, M. (2013) Taking the short route: political parties, funding regulations, and state resources in Romania. East European Politics and Societies, 27(1), pp. 108-128. (doi: 10.1177/0888325412465003)

Abstract

This article illustrates how the growing complexity of regulations regarding party funding in post-communist Romania is paralleled by practices employed by political parties in their attempt to gain increased access to state resources. Our document analysis indicate that political parties managed to exploit the weaknesses of the increasingly complex legislative framework. A cyclical process takes places: parties use the existing flaws in the legislation on party funding to indirectly obtain and exploit state resources for their (electoral) purposes, an improved law tackling those shortcomings is passed, but political parties are able to identify other flaws and use them to gain financial benefits. To make the case, we assess comparatively the evolution of legislative provisions and practices employed by political parties over two decades.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., and Chiru, M.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: East European Politics and Societies
• Publisher: SAGE
• ISSN: 0888-3254
• ISSN (Online): 1533-8371
• Published Online: 29 November 2012