Political violence in the late 1940s' Romania: regime power and peasant protests

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between the type of power exercised by the political elites in the early stages of development of the communist regime in Romania and the reactions to peasant riots during the collectivization process. I focus on a single case study (riots in Arad county, in the summer off 1949) and elaborate on the use of political violence as a resource aimed at securing social control in the absence of strong institutional capacity. I review the first stages of collectivization (1949-1956), I identify and analyze short and longterms measures taken against the peasants who participated in the riots and their families; and I examine some of the measures taken to consolidate and expand the functions of the Secret Police as a direct consequence of the riots. The findings reflect on the weaknesses of a despotic regime that had not yet fully developed its infrastructural powers and relied on a high level of physical violence against actions it perceived as threats to its authority.