Representations of Communism among Romanian Teenagers: A Research Note

A long time after the 1989 regime change, teenagers’ representations of the communist past are entirely a matter of political socialization. In the absence of any direct experience with the former regime, their perspective on Communism is expected to develop exclusively in relation to school, family, mass media or other agents of socialization. This research note explores the Romanian teenagers’ representations of the communist past based on survey data collected on a sample of 5,861 students enrolled in 86 schools across the entire country in 2010. A form of ‘second-hand’ nostalgia for Communism is identified among many of the teenagers investigated, regarded as an outcome of socialization in relation to family and school. Positive representations of the communist past appear to be facilitated by a lower socio-economic status, lower education, and the absence of travelling abroad experiences.