Tuesday 26 June 2007 18.30 – 20.30, The Romanian Cultural Centre, 8th floor, 54-62 Regent Street, London W1B 5RE; Tel. 020 7439 4052, ext 102; e-mail: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com; Entry is free but booking is essential. Rejoining the transatlantic family after almost 50 years on the dark side of the Iron Curtain did not bring Romania the desired peace of mind. As certain American and European international policies became excruciatingly divergent, Romania (like many other former communist countries in the region) was caught in the middle and pressured to take one side or another. This paper tries to answer key questions such as ‘What prompted Romania to align sometimes with the US and other times with the EU when these two major allies defended antagonistic positions?’ ‘Did Romania take a course of action out of fear of losing the support of the stronger ally or fear of being confronted with retaliatory measures?’ or ‘Did Romania cunningly calculate the costs and benefits before each decision in order to maximise the benefits?’ or ‘Were Romania’s policy decisions the projection of an ongoing process of societal transformation or the manifestation of evolving identities and interests?’. To answer these questions, the author employs the explanatory power of three dominant international theories (realism, liberalism and constructivism) on four case studies in which American and European stances clashed and Romania was under great pressure to support one side or another (the War on Iraq, the International Criminal Court, Kyoto Protocol and international child adoptions). - Mircea Micu, University of Oxford Mircea Micu is currently reading for a postgraduate diploma in diplomatic studies at the University of Oxford. He has previously obtained a master’s degree in political science from the National School of Political and Administrative Studies and a bachelor’s degree in finance-banking from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. He pursued short-term studies in comparative political and economic systems and the economics of the EU at Georgetown University and London School of Economics. Prior to commencing his studies at Oxford, Mircea has worked for more than three years as EU/Economic Adviser with the British Embassy in Bucharest. Before that Mircea held several financial analyst positions at two multinational companies, one investment bank and one rating agency. ‘Culture Power’ is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of seminars focused around a presentation followed by a constructive dialogue with an invited audience. The domains are varied, ranging from contemporary art to money remittances and political theory, passing through architectural studies and advertising. David Webster, Director of the Anglo-Romanian Economic and Political Forum, will chair the discussions. Organised by The Ratiu Foundation UK www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com