The Administrative (Authoritarian) Monarchy – a Paradigm for the Constitutional Realism in Modern Romania ?

The establishment of modern constitutionalism, especially of the parliamentary regime in Romania, was achieved under the sign of a paradox. When the European Great Powers introduced in Romania (by means of the Paris Convention) a constitutional regime with an important authoritarian potential, by offering the prince extraordinary powers, the Romanian political class honestly fought for a parliamentary democracy. When there has been a chance to establish the most wanted parliamentary regime, an authoritarian regime was established by prince Cuza. The Romanian political life of the time clearly demonstrated that the principles of the parliamentary regime were difficult to apply and that the imported democratic forms were almost incompatible with the Romanian substance. The establishment and the perpetuation of the administrative/ authoritarian monarchy was an organic response of the Romanian society to the lack of interest and to the corruption of the politicians. It still remained open the problem and the challenge to find a solution within the limits of the Romanian politicianism. This is still valid today, when, in the context of a crisis created by the political corruption, the traditional solution of the authoritarian regime does not seem the appropriate one.