THE POLITICAL INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF THE COMMUNIST PAST AGAINST THE RULE OF LAW IN ROMANIA BETWEEN 2017-2019

The present paper analyzes how the collective memory of the Romanian people about the Securitate is used by the political leaders of the governing parties between 2017-2019 with the aim to alter the criminal law and the anticorruption strategy. This paper employs the concepts of illiberalism, collective memory, and populism to explore how the “anti-anticorruption” narrative was constructed. A qualitative analysis was conducted on a selection of speeches delivered by leaders of governing parties and Prime Ministers. The findings indicate that political figures seeking to undermine anticorruption efforts attempted to redefine the identity of the Romanian people, portraying them as a nation oppressed and monitored by the so-called “Parallel State.”