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A Model in the Desert: Modernization, Advanced Liberalism, and Child Protection Reform in Postcommunist Romania

Author

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  • Marian Negoita

    (University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA, mnegoita@ucdavis.edu)

Abstract

In this article, the author examines Romanian child protection reforms during European Union (EU) accession as a case of externally facilitated modernization aimed at solving acute social problems. The data for this case study came primarily from fifty-three unstructured interviews with civil servants, civil society representatives, and EU officials. The author finds that in a similar manner to other externally driven modernization projects, the belief according to which Western institutions constituted a universal blueprint, applicable regardless of particular contexts and historical legacies, led to unintended consequences. What is more, because the reformers did not envisage that Western institutions might carry their own pathologies, they ended up replicating some of these pathologies. The study suggests that the goal of externally facilitated public policy should not be to create replicas of Western institutions but to spur local innovation that takes advantage of successful Western institutional logics.

Suggested Citation

  • Marian Negoita, 2010. "A Model in the Desert: Modernization, Advanced Liberalism, and Child Protection Reform in Postcommunist Romania," Politics & Society, , vol. 38(1), pages 95-117, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:38:y:2010:i:1:p:95-117
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329209357887
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Evans, 1998. "Transferable lessons? Re-examining the institutional prerequisites of East Asian economic policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 66-86.
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    3. Linden, Ronald H., 1986. "Socialist patrimonialism and the global economy: the case of Romania," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 347-380, April.
    4. Power, Michael, 1999. "The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296034.
    5. Elena Zamfir, 1997. "Social Services for Children At Risk: The Impact on the Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 41-76, September.
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