The appointment of a new editorial team for an academic journal is an occasion for reflecting not only about the goals of a specific publication, but also about the relevance and intricacies of editorial work within the contemporary scientific landscape. Additionally, the process provided food for thought on the openings and limits of a disciplinary tradition - in this case, political science - within an institution, a country, a region and the larger academic community.

Keywords: editorial, academic journals, political science as a discipline, scientometrics, standards, scientific integrity, open access

This text is an edited version of the opening remarks that Thibaud Boncourt, Past President of the Research Committee 33 (The Study of Political Science as a Discipline) of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and associate professor at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne / Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique (CESSP), gave at the special panel “The Future of the Studies of Political Science as a Discipline” sponsored by IPSA-RC33 at the 7th international interdisciplinary conference of political research SCOPE: Science of Politics (University of Bucharest, 20-24 September 2021, www.scienceofpolitics.eu). The event was organized and hosted by the Centre for the International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC) of the Department of Comparative Governance and European Studies, Faculty of Political Science, University of Bucharest, and gathered participants from several countries on all continents, via a virtual meeting. The aim of the panel was to contribute to the global conversation on the current state of political science as a discipline, as well as to discuss the practical means through which IPSA-RC33 can contribute to it and to support the work of political scientists worldwide.

Keywords: political science as a discipline, IPSA RC33, institutionalization, de-institutionalization, autonomization, gendering, postcolonizing

This article explores factors that affect the strength of beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories drawing on data collected in an online survey of undergraduate and graduate students from Romanian universities. The results indicate that students with lower socio-economic status, lower levels of news consumption in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, who rely primarily on information from television and discussions to their peers, as well as those with lower levels of education/analytical skills are more susceptible to endorsing conspiracy theories regarding the origin and the nature of COVID-19. Education, analytical skills, and exposure to high quality media information appear to equip students with the necessary tools to critically assess COVID-19-related conspiracies. Given the link between conspiracy belief and health behaviors in the context of the pandemic, these results point to the importance of analytical skills and media regulation for curbing misinformation in societal contexts of heightened uncertainty, confusion, and existential threat.

Keywords: conspiracy beliefs, COVID-19, Romania, Central and Eastern Europe, postcommunism, university students, news consumption, analytical skills, scientific literacy

This article focuses on the links between political discourse and feminine beauty in one of Romania’s first national beauty pageants. By selecting its “Miss Romania” in March 1929 and sending her to compete in the international “Miss Universe” pageant in Galveston, Texas, the popular magazine Realitatea Ilustrată sought to affirm its role in creating a visible symbol of the Romanian nation. “Miss Romania” was promoted and legitimized as an incarnation of national unity capable of assuring internal cohesion and external renown. In this way, the idealization of the national beauty winner and her transformation into a symbol of collective virtue translated political and propagandistic ambitions in terms of feminine identity.

Keywords: beauty pageants, feminine identity, nation-building, symbolic politics, Romania, Greater Romania, popular magazines, Realitatea Ilustrată

This article explores types of European semi-presidentialism and outlines the powers of political institutions and actors and the peculiarities of relations between them in the triangle president–prime minister/cabinet–parliament. Semi-presidentialism can be embodied in the forms of both unified or divided, as well as majority or minority systems and their derivatives. Accordingly, the logics, functionality and dynamics of European semi-presidentialism depend both on constitutional norms, as well as political practice. The research also focuses on the updated and expanded taxonomy of semi-presidentialism based on the peculiarities of dualism, party affiliation, responsibility of the executive and the composition of legislatures. In particular, we argued that semi-presidentialism should be classified within the logics of the fully or partly unified majority systems, fully or partly unified minority systems, divided majority systems and divided minority systems, which provide various political implications.

Keywords: semi-presidentialism, executive dualism, party affiliation, responsibility of the executive, composition of legislature, unified and divided systems, majority and minority systems

To legitimize its actions and to control the population, the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) worked constantly to impose its vision, with the propaganda apparatus acting intensely during both the period of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, as well as during the reign of his successor, Nicolae Ceaușescu. From its establishment in 1956, the Romanian National Television (TVR) had been one of the instruments through which the voice of the communist authorities had been heard, both literally and figuratively. In this study I investigate the evolution of TVR as a propaganda tool of the communist regime during the 1970s, with a focus on the evolution of the propaganda programmes and on the main requirements of the Party. For this purpose, I used sources from the Romanian National Archives and the Archives of the Romanian Broadcasting Society, and I analysed the measures that PCR took in relation to TVR so that the latter meets the ideological expectations of the communist regime.

Keywords: Romania, communism, Romanian Communist Party (PCR), Romanian National Television (TVR), propaganda, ideology, media studies

Diana STANCIU (2002) Caracteristicile lui Shaftesbury – filosofie şi politică. Analele Universității din București. Științe Politice IV (2002): 11-22.

In October 2021, the journal’s editorial team became aware of author misconduct concerning suspected plagiarism for this article. Upon further investigation, the journal’s editorial team has decided to retract the article for reasons of plagiarism. [Printed version]