Corruption in Romania

In the opinion of some, the extent to which corruption would surface as a visible trait of post-communist transition societies was completely unexpected and perhaps even treated with blatant disregard by most of the world. A prime example of this is the country of Romania, which has struggled with the aftermath of Nicolae Ceausescu and the resulting trail of corruption and ethical dilemmas leading well into the 21st century, far after his own death. Despite the birth of these perplexing problems, Romania is still seen as a strong potential for the pursuits of globalization and foreign investment, as it aspires to join the ranks of the European Union this upcoming year of 2007. The following information contains prescribed basics for anyone considering business ventures in this particular country. According to one well-known watchdog group of worldwide corruption, Transparency International, in comparison with western states’ levels, perceived corruption remains high in Europe's former communist countries (qtd. in Stracansky). In order to question why this is so, we must look more closely at what laid the foundation for the collapse of communism in Romania, being one of these countries. The following excerpt from Adam Tolnay’s “Ceausescu’s Journey to the East” briefly explains this and sets the theme for what came shortly after Ceausescu’s deposition in post-communist era Romania:
Historically speaking, “by the mid 1980s Romania had the distinction of being the only Soviet Bloc country whose population as a whole was living at subsistence levels, with gasoline, heating, electricity and food rationed. Politically Romania was marked by a strange fusion of independent action in international politics, a mix of nationalism and Communism as sources of ideological legitimization, and a Leninist party system ravaged by corruption yet controlled by a personalistic dictator with a cult of personality” (2).

Even after the execution of Ceausescu and his wife at a