The Institutionalisation of the Romanian Party System

This paper explores the level of institutionalisation achieved by the Romanian political system since transitioning to democracy. Following through the key components of an institutionalised party system, the inquiry looks at the stability of interparty competition in Romania and the depth of its parties’ roots in society. These components are measured through such indicators as electoral volatility or the cohesiveness of the ideological preferences. Their levels suggest that the Romanian party system isn’t fully instituionalised, with fluctuating volatility and a rather incohesive ideological positioning of both voters and parties. This paper argues that in response to the double challenge of poor institutionalisation of the political parties and the party system as a whole, informal remedies, such as patronage of public jobs, or proprietary use of state resources, become highly attractive solutions for electoral success.