2025 Theses Bachelor's

Justice for the “Bloody Revolution”: Punishment and Pardon in Transitional Romania

Nicolae, Andrada

The “Bloody Revolution” of 1989 was one wrought with violence, leaving countless dead, injured, or traumatized from confrontations that wreaked havoc on the streets of Romania. The decades following the revolution witnessed a continuous series of trials dedicated to holding accountable the violence fomented in December of 1989. The extensive trials, nonetheless, were condemned as failed attempts to ensure justice—consistent with critical characterization across mechanisms of transitional justice in Romania.

The reference to, but limited literature on, presidential pardons as a reason for failure prompted investigation into the implication of amnesties for the pursuit of transitional justice in Romania. The creation of a dataset, through qualitative coding of relevant presidential pardons and indictments, allowed for analysis of quantitative trends and, in tandem with qualitative interpretation, supported the following result: the application of executive clemencies in Romania both subverted retributive justice and corrupted restorative justice, a failure in transitional justice with dire repercussions for domestic institutions and international relations.