The Socio-Legal Construction of Organised Crime in Romania

Considering current trends towards global policy and internationalisation of policing serious threats such as terrorism and organised crime (OC), there is need for careful analysis of the benefits and pitfalls of transnational policy. The proposed project will explore how OC was constructed in post-communist Romania and whether current anti-OC strategies are successful in maintaining the stability of the country. Considering the present context in which the role of the EU and its policies are being questioned, this project could help understand how Romanian OC and corruption threaten the stability of Romania and, by extension, that of the EU. Romania's communist past and current EU membership could enable an analysis that goes beyond the US-inspired models of constructing and combating OC, by considering how OC plays out in specific, local ways within Romania. The project will address questions about the extent to which western OC policies were transferred to Romania, how they influenced its activity, and whether current Romanian anti-OC policies are perceived to be effective. I will conduct an ethnography of criminal justice (CJ) agencies involved in anti-OC policing in Romania, qualitative interviews with CJ experts and an analysis of Romanian OC legislation, in order to chart the sociolegal construction of OC in Romania and to discuss the broader effects of CJ policy transference.

Research methods
To answer these questions, I intend to conduct an intensive ethnographic study of CJ agencies involved in anti-OC policing in Romania, such as police investigation teams, anti-OC squads, border police teams, and special intervention teams, for which I have already been granted formal permission and access (endorsement letters available upon request). This rich ethnographic data will enable me to analyse how OC control strategies are actually implemented (RO2) in Romania. I will also examine the socio-legal construction of OC in Romania by analysing OC legislation, legal documents and legislation initiatives in order to chart how the law evolved in Romania. I will also look into cases of corruption and OC prosecuted by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. This data will help me assess how OC was constructed in Romania and to what degree the country adopted the western paradigm of OC (RO1). Additionally, I will conduct semi-structured interviews with Romanian law-enforcement agents (active now or during the communist period), anti-corruption agents, intelligence officers, legal practitioners, academic researchers and other experts. I also hope to conduct interviews with representatives from regional institutions, like the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center, and to take advantage of departmental links with various European institutions (like EUROPOL, EUROJUST, OLAF, the European Crime Prevention Network and others). This will help me uncover how OC is perceived by various CJ actors and experts (RO3).

Proposed schedule
Oct 2017-June 2018 Analysis of existing literature; write-up literature review (Essex)
Oct 2017-July 2019 Analysis of legislation and official documents/RO1 (Essex)
Oct 2017-July 2019 Analysis of court materials/RO1 (Essex)
Sept 2018-July 2019 Ethnography/RO2 (Romania)
Sept 2018-July 2019 Qual. interviews and transcription/RO3 (Romania)
Aug 2019-Sept 2020 Analysis of findings; conclusions; write-up of final thesis (Essex)