More than 30 teachers from the SNSPA address a call to the current political class, both extremist and pro-European parties. University students warn that Romanian democracy is in danger, especially in the current political context, which has shown us how vulnerable we really are.
The political class should take seriously the message that the Romanians voted for. Archive
“The Community of the Faculty of Political Sciences of SNSPA, like the whole institution, was founded to professionalize the discipline of political sciences, to educate people who will work in public administration, parties and civil society, and, essentially, to support democracy and her values. It is a mission of conscience, undertaken in the spirit and letter of our Constitution. For 30 years we have contributed in every way to democratic consolidation. By the nature of our discipline, however, we were forewarned early on of the risks and vulnerabilities of this trajectory. The turn of politics in Romania forces us to take responsibility and launch this Appeal”, it is shown in the teachers’ manifesto.
“Romanian democracy is in danger, as it was and is in other countries as well”, they continue, giving examples of other democratic countries that have forgotten, over time, what democracy means. “Countries with democratic regimes have become increasingly authoritarian and illiberal, denying human dignity, equality and fundamental rights. Countries with the status of global and regional powers have made it their project to weaken democracy in Europe. Social platforms have evolved much faster than the ability of authorities to regulate them, making the political process dependent on their algorithms. Decades of educational neglect have left us vulnerable to the spread of hate and propaganda. Our competent institutions have turned a blind eye to the propagation of far-right ideas, punishable by law, but never taken seriously and fought as such. The 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections showed us the price we all have to pay. Overall, we have less trust in the democratic system, but also in each other”.
It is not too late to come up with solutions, believe the university professors, who hope that we still have time to save ourselves. With one condition, however: “However, we need political will, responsibility and courage to preserve and strengthen Romanian democracy. We encourage citizens to resist attempts to manipulate and enmity from politicians, parties, or groups within churches and cults that promote dangerous intolerant and anti-Christian ideas. We ask the public authorities to strictly apply the legislation regarding the spread of hate, ideas and symbols of criminal ideologies of the 20th century. We also ask them to become pro-active in regulating and sanctioning social platforms that enable illegal election campaigns”.
SNSPA teachers: “We ask them to respect the Constitution”
The teachers are addressing the extremist parties directly, asking them now, in the 12th hour, to take responsibility. “We ask those from AUR, SOS and POT to renounce the elements of right-wing extremism, xenophobia and populism – ideas, persons, symbols, which belong to fascism and its legionary variants. We ask them to respect the Constitution in its letter and spirit, including constructive membership in NATO and the European Union, as well as to resist the temptation to receive external support from non-democratic states”.
However, the leaders of the mainstream parties are also targeted. “We ask PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR to take citizens’ signals seriously: reach out to those who feel left behind, make sure institutions work properly for everyone and invest resources in solving the problems of the most vulnerable among we, deconstruct the party clientele, promote people of integrity and competence in public positions”.
The university students specify that they demand these things from the political class because otherwise, we will witness the polarization of society and the political class, poverty, symbolic and physical violence as well as the blocking of our European road. “We are convinced that we can maintain democratic pluralism, but we can only do so if we cleanse it of right-wing extremism and harmful external influences. We will also be able to maintain it if we double it with integrity and care for others. Romania has advanced a lot, economically and socially, in the last decades, with all the difficulties along the way, and it is our responsibility to maintain this direction, for us and for our descendants”, it is also shown in the teachers’ call.
