Romania, the CSCE and the legacy of World War II

Abstract

The CSCE process was regarded by the Soviet Union as an opportunity to settle unresolved issues of the Second World War such as the recognition of its Western borders as victorious power. Romania too saw the conference as an opportunity but in another sense: to put an end to a world of victors and losers replacing it with the equality of all states. Moscow’s status as victor was the source of its hegemony in Eastern Europe, as the regime in Bucharest understood it, which is why challenging the relations and bipolarity originating from the war was Romania’s primary aim. As the regime in Bucharest claimed to pursue an independent course towards Communism and refused subordination to Moscow, Romania had reasons to presume that its security was threatened by the Soviet Union. This article explores Romania’s approach to the CSCE, the ideas it advanced and the rhetoric it used trying to undermine the bipolarity and hegemony which placed the country in the Soviet sphere of influence and explained the Brezhnev doctrine. Undermining the principles which offered Moscow such power and also promoting instruments (both legal and institutional) to limit superpower domination, Romania hoped to secure its independence and gain protection against the Soviets.