„Noi vrem pământ!”. Continuitate şi discontinuitate în politicile faţă de proprietatea agrară în România modernă
„We Want Land!”. Continuities and Discontinuities in the Agrarian Policies of Modern Romania

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the introduction and usage of the concept of „property” in Romanian rural areas, focusing on the redefinition of the legal status of farmlands. The topic is relevant for the public policies deployed by the state to establish the modern, capitalist concept of property in the most traditional and, for a long period of time, most numerous section of the Romanian society – the peasantry. The contribution analyzes the laws published in the Official Gazette (Monitorul oficial), which I consider relevant for the intentions of the state in terms of defining the concept of “property”. The working hypothesis is that, despite the extensive usage of the term “property” in the Romanian legislation starting with 1864, the state systematically constructed a system of social and legal relations that fuelled uncertainty as individuals and different state institutions shared ownership over farmland. This approach to property in the rural areas was a continuity in Romanian policy between 1864, when the first agrarian reform was enacted, and the beginning of the 2000s. Only the negotiations for EU accession brought a radical redefinition of agricultural policies.

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