Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, Vol 4, No 2 (2014)

Abstract

Objectives: The paper aims at researching the interconnection between two key concepts in political sciences – “democracy” and “identity”. The analysis is focused on the Danube Region as an example of a macro-regional construct in the multi-level governance system of the European Union. Prior Work :The author is working on a PhD dissertation dedicated to the democratic deficits in the European Union, with a specific focus on two of the newest member states – Hungary and Romania. Approach: Since both “democracy” and “identity” are notions that have not been defined by consent in the post-communist member states of the Union, the paper chooses to particularly examine their impact in Romania and Hungary by researching different information sources and statistical data. Results: The paper has to examine the level of interdependency of the post-communist political identity of Hungary and Romania and the state of democracy and its institutions. The results have to be further discussed not only in the context of both countries’ EU-membership, but also with a view to their belonging to the newly established Danube macro-region. Implications: The following paper and its results are part of the long-term PhD research of the author. Value: The study will add value to the analysis of two fundamental notions in the theory of political and social sciences by trying to examine the level of their interconnection in two Danube countries.