Last year at @uclssees.bsky.social, I argued that when it comes to health policy, Romania faced a worrying diagnosis which required difficult treatment.
So far, Dan and Rogobete have done little to change that prognosis.
Broader community outreach, both in Romania and amongst the diaspora; greater emphasis on vaccination campaigns outside of just Bucharest/Cluj all have potential.
An outbreak coinciding with flu season, a bad COVID-19 outbreak, or a novel virus risks overwhelming an already struggling healthcare system.
So what can be done? Expanding the role of school nurses to again include vaccination; education campaigns have had great success elsewhere;
Reforms to who can vaccinate have proved incredibly counterproductive, aggravating rather than alleviating the issue. Add in the well studied lack of care in rural areas, the difficulties of accessing healthcare for Roma communities and you have a ticking timebomb.
As the article rightly points out, 87% of measles cases in the EU in 2024 were in Romania. This was around 35 times the next highest country, Italy.
Much is said each year about anti-vaccination sentiment in Romania, but what this article does superbly is point out the systemic factors.
I have linked here to a very good article on the dangers a measles outbreak would (again) pose in Romania.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Look out for our upcoming @uclssees round table on Hungary’s elections and their consequences: turning point or false dawn? www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit... Monday 20 April, 6pm (UK time). In-person and online.
✍️ Hungarian PM Orbán’s defeat in last Sunday’s election rings in a new era for the country, but also for its partners to the East and West. Still, some challenges will remain, @gabrielagreilinger.com argues in her op-ed. 🇭🇺🗳️
🧑💻 Read it now:
👉 tinyurl.com/8av6bdmv
Romanian media continues to disappoint on coverage of Hungary's election. The amount of places referring to exit polls is infuriating.
Also gave an opportunity to visit Oxford's famous bookshops for the first time - I really don't think it will be the last!
PSA Name Badge of Jack Daniel Dean, UCL SSEES
Thoroughly enjoyed a trip to sunny Oxford for the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social conference presenting my working paper on media framing of militant democracy in Romania and Moldova.
A very strong range of panels and keynotes, would highly recommend!
This is an important point. There has been so much of a focus on the youth and social media influence that it is easy to think it is limited to the young - but when you look at the role of Facebook etc and how its user base skews, this has likely obscured a worrying trend in older age groups.
Great thread on the upcoming elections in Hungary. In short, apprehension is necessary.
An important contribution addressing how the Representation of the People Bill doesn't meet the needs of contemporary British democracy:
This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking for a comparative politics PhD:
Tell me you never read the academic literature on populism without telling me you never read the academic literature on populism (and still write a column on the topic with the self-confidence of someone who is well read in the academic literature on populism).
I remember meeting Dr Duncan in my MA, and him casually mentioning a conversation he'd had with Gorbachev, and being absolutely enthralled, realising that SSEES was the place for me.
An incredible loss.
Romania especially you see nostalgia for both the fascist Iron Guard and the communists/Ceaușescu, sometimes from the same party which adds a particularly odd dynamic there. There's also the chance of using the reverse as you say
Might be something I investigate if I get the chance!
📣 Call for Panels and Papers
🏫 Conference of the Standing Group on Central and East European Politics
🗓️ 21 – 22 May, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
🎓️ Present your research and receive feedback from leading scholars in the field
✅️ Open to all scholars
⌛ Deadline: 25 February
Worth a read just for the title, but the actual research is an incredible contribution to the literature on Media and Politics.
Would definitely be interested to see if the same patterns exist in Hungary and Romania, given the highly politicised nature of media in each.
Could the centre-right Republicans join forces with the far-right National Rally in France?
@phmarliere.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk writes that if a governing alliance were to be formed between the two parties, it would be unique in Europe @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social
📣 Call for Panel and Paper proposals
Conference of the Standing Group on Central and East European Politics
📆 21–22 May, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
⏰️ Deadline: Wed 25 Feb buff.ly/bOdANBs
#CEEP26 #CallforProposals
As someone for whom coding is the stuff of nightmares, applications like this raise great opportunity for quant/mixed-methods work that otherwise would take an unbelievable time investment.
Think so much of the way it has been used thus far has been replacing thinking rather than a tool to assist.
In The Politics of the Pandemic in Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Routledge, 2024), edited by Margarita Zavadskaya, the contributors provide an overview of the political impact of COVID-19 in the region with a focus on Russia. Jack Dean reviews the volume.
ceureviewofbooks.com/review/expos...
🚨Publication Alert🚨
Supply & Demand of Regional Populism in Bavaria: Explaining the Regional Success of the CSU & Free Voters in German Politics
📑TL;DR: Regional populism is distinct from AfD's general populism and predicts CSU/FW voting well.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
A short 🧵 1/n
Much of what we know of Irredentism is based on it in practice. Much also assumes a logical consistency.
Yet how do we explain the use of Irredentism in discourse but not practice, and with inconsistent application?
In my first paper, I attempt to tackle this:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Why not both?
There is much more that can be said, but short-form only allows for a limited extent. I will update semi-frequently on here with any further important developments as the situation progresses, but I would be open to discussing this long-form should the possibility arise.
This is the first significant challenge for Dan and Bolojan, and may prove to be a defining one: how do you fix a system suffering from undue influence? How do you restore public trust? How do you avoid this from affecting other aspects of society? This is unlikely to be quick or simple.
Closer to today, concerns about the electoral commission and judiciary featured heavily in the rhetoric of populist actors in the aftermath of the cancelled presidential election of 2024, and the prohibition of various candidates both before and after. This has a key impact on belief in democracy.