Bureaucratic Gaps in Romania during the 1980s: diasporas, transnational solidarity networks, and the second economy

This article explores the dynamics of transnational solidarity networks that fostered long‑term relief strategies that compensated for shortages of consumer goods in socialist Romania during the 1980s. The first part of the paper provides an overview of several significant factors that influenced the way diasporic communities supported their non‑migrant relatives and considers the concept of “social remittances” to focus on the work of mediators linking diasporic “donors” and “beneficiaries” in the homeland. The case study examines the formal commercial operations of trading companies, whether local or foreign, in the process of both creating and reinforcing existing transnational family ties and uncovers the socialist state’s involvement in what can be seen as a “parcel industry” that alleviated shortages and facilitated access to scarce goods. The content analysis of the parcels revealed a wide variety of goods produced in Romania, pointing to double standards embedded in socialist consumer culture and opening up new questions about processes of privilege and social (in) equality that emerged long before 1989.